Paphos is one of the most attractive cities in Cyprus for tourists. The ancient, Byzantine and medieval monuments found here have been inscribed on the UNESCO list.
According to the tradition given by Homer in the Iliad, Paphos was founded by King Tegei Agapenor returning from Troy. And mythology indicates that it was here that the goddess Aphrodite emerged from the sea foam.
The place where Paphos lies has been inhabited since the Neolithic times. In the Byzantine period and in the Middle Ages there were huge fortresses here, whose ruins can be admired to this day. There are also several interesting churches with valuable interior polychromes.
The most important monuments of Paphos include a complex of tombs, called "royal", dating from the period between the 4th century BC and the 3rd century AD. Many of them are large and look like palaces created in the rocks, which gave rise to the claim that representatives could be buried in them power.
During the Roman period, there were many villas and ornate public buildings in Paphos. To this day, wonderful mosaics have been preserved in the so-called House of Theseus and Ajon depicting mythological, genre scenes as well as floral and geometric motifs.
Paphos is also a place where many pilgrims come. This is one of the stops of the missionary journey of St. Paweł and is on the trail of this saint marked out in the Middle East and in Greece and Italy. The most famous place associated with the Apostle is the church of Agia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa, where there is a stone at which it was to be scourged.
