Roman Hotel

Paphos in June

by ziksby

Sally and I spent ten days at the Roman Hotel in Paphos last June.
Saw all the archealogical sites in and around Paphos, hired a car for three days to see more of Cyprus, especially the Troodos mountains.

PHEW !! Was it hot, or was it HOT

by chickenfeet

"ABSOLUTELY ROASTING"

We were lucky enough to arrive in Cyprus just as the country was having a heatwave.

We were staying at the Tropical Dreams Apartments in Protaras.
Very clean and functional, great value for money.

Most mornings on the beach the temp. at 08:30 was averaging 31-35 degrees.(I was sweating standing under a cold shower). But I can't complain as it was better than we had hoped for.
So our 1st day was spent getting used to the heat and relaxing.

"Aphrodite's Bath"

Call me cynical if you wish, but even though Cyprus is full of legend and history, I think that some of the claims are just a little too far fetched. The bath is very pretty and secluded but quite a hike (just for a bath ).
But I suppose that if you are a romantic at heart then why should I question your beliefs.
Look at the photo for your own pleasure, deep lustrous green leaves overhanging the cool water of the bath with the sun glistening on the water as it pours through the breaks in the trees making it a calm and almost serene place for relaxation and contemplation.

"Next stop, Tomb of the Kings"

The ruins here are magnificent.From fully to partially excavated tombs, the whole area is like looking at the pages of history unfolding before your eyes.

The first photo is of a tomb which is currently being excavated, the second is a close-up of the same tomb.

Here are more examples of some of the tombs. I think that it is amazing that these structures are still standing after thousands of years,

several of them with the columns intact. Inside some of the tombs the effects of many years of erosion can clearly be seen.

We did'nt have enough time to look at everything in the area, but one thing that did occur to me was that it seems odd that a place this size should be used for only burials.
Especially if you walk down towards the fence near to the coast and look back toward the centre of the area it seems as though there was a main street leading to some sort of communal area.
That's what I think anyway, but I'm not an expert so you will have to visit yourself and make your own mind up.

"On the way to PAPHOS !!"

Driving down the road towards Paphos, a strange and quirky sight caught our eyes.
It was the Roman Hotel, some enterprising planner has built a hotel with a Roman theme. Quite picturesque and a welcome change to the usual run of the mill hotels.

"IN PAPHOS"

We only had time to visit the marina area and the castle, which was unfortunately closed when we got there. This is the (new) castle.

"A Jeep is a must have item."

Besides the sun creams, hats & swim cozzies, the only other thing that you are likely to need in Cyprus is transport.

Air con would be useful, BUT for sheer fun it just has to be a JEEP.

The lads thought that we were going to have a hot sweaty car with no air con.(who needs a/c when the roof comes off)

This was ours. We covered nearly 1200 km in 9 days.

These are the remains of the original castle which was finally destroyed by the Turks.

Here there are a lot of local children rehearsing for some sort of play or festival.
They were all full of beans and seemed to be quite a handful for the poor teacher who was trying to control them.
It must have been some historical event as the teacher had them marching to and from the castle.

"A quick walk around the marina"

A look at the very nice boats in the marina and time to dream of maybe one day owning one of my own.

Aaron, our youngest said that he would like one of these, a pirate ship he says.
Pirate ship or not , this one would do nicely.

A photo of the rugged coast line leaving Paphos.
Vertical cliffs and deep blue sea.
I got into trouble for taking this photo as I climbed over the barrier to get the shot. Sandra was not vrey happy,(who will drive the jeep if you fall down there). Still, its nice to know that she's worried about my health ha ha.

Then of course there is the world famous Petra Tou Romiou, or Aphrodite's rock as it is more commonly known.
The birth place of Aphrodite, where legend has it that Aphrodite was born from the sea.
Although being a sceptic I'm not sure which rock she came from, can anyone help?

"Please call back. Still more to come."

"Limassol"

On our 1st trip out we just decided to set off and see where we got to. We ended up in Limassol for sunbathing and swimming in the sea.
Very nice beach.

After the beach we went for a drive around the back streets and we came across Limassol Castle.
A small quaint castle on the western edge of town. This is the entrance, inside there is a small museum.

On the way back to Protaras we stopped off at a place called Governers Beach.
A small stunning stretch of coast accessed only by steep steps down the cliff face.
The dark sandy beach was in stark contrast to the brilliant white rock. Very, very picturesque.

The sea was also very cool and inviting. Here, Carl & Aaron are deciding if the water is deep enough and who should jump in first.

"HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE"

One of the longest days out that we had started with us driving to Polis. This is where the Greenback Turtles struggle ashore to lay their eggs.
It is a nice sandy beach leading to pebbles at the waters edge, once in the sea it gets very deep very quickly, so, BE CAREFUL. (sorry no pics from here)

We then drove through the Akamas Mountains. Great open views over the mountains and down through the deep valleys

What a fantastic view

and then it was onwards to ?