and home to Lefkada...

Tombs of the Kings

Tombs of the Kings

 Well we are now back in Lefkas after our three and a half week jaunt to Cyprus.  In our last week we visited yet more of the historical sights which are in abundance all over the Island.  In Paphos town there is an attraction called "Tomb's of the Kings" which are still being excavated and are well worth a visit.  There are no "real" kings here but the tombs are of wealthy merchants and the like.  The place is supposedly a reconstruction of the individuals home so that when they were interred they felt at home.  There must be a dozen or so tombs but I suspect there are many more just waiting to be uncovered. 

Roman Villa mosaics.

Roman Villa mosaics.

Almost on the harbour in Paphos there is another visitor attraction which features several Roman villa's complete with hypercausts (underfloor heating) and the most magnificent mosaics I have ever seen.  Also as part of this museum there is a Templer castle which was built in 1200 and fell apart in an earthquake

in 1225 never to be reused, a lot of work for just twenty five years of use.  The whole area is soaked in historical monuments of one shape of another and is probably the biggest reason for visiting the island.  Some of the sights are having lots of money spent on them but others are very much in their raw state and

as with the Mediterranean in general the facts are not always presented to you so it's probably worth getting some background information prior to visiting although there are exceptions to this as in the case of the villa's mentioned earlier which has a good visitor centre with an audio visual  presentation and some good information boards.

Amphitheatre 

Biggest pile of Spare ribs I've every seen!

 Our verdict on Cyprus then, well, From an history and culture point of view it could keep you occupied for quite a long time but I wouldn't recommend going for the scenery as there are many, many prettier islands.  Many of the beaches are excellent especially in the north, if beaches are your thing but it is

all very concrete in the tourist area's and much of it seems in need of a little TLC.  You may not hear a Greek (or Turkish if in the North) voice for several days after arriving as there is a really huge ex-pat population there.  In general it's a little cheaper than Greece especially fuel prices and you can get everything there that you would find in a UK high street.  In the supermarkets things are labelled in English as well as Greek so no problems understanding what an item is.  From our perspective then, it's worth a visit but not a place we would live but it's very nice having good friends there so we can return at some point.

Jean & Al tucking in!

On our last night before returning home we went up into the mountains to have a meal at a place which sort of specialised in spare ribs.  We all duly ordered them and I've never seen the likes before, two full racks of ribs on each plate, the plate pictured is a very large plate believe me!  A good half of mine and Sandra's went home in a doggy bag!

The trip back home couldn't have gone smoother, Allen & Jean took us to Larnaca which is about two hours from Pathos, the flights was on time and no delays at immigration.  Straight out and onto the bus into Athens to get the coach back to Lefkas.  We thought there would be a wait at the coach terminal but within minutes we got told there was one within half an hour so we arrived home two hours earlier than anticipated.  Thanks Allen & Jean for putting up with us over the last few weeks, I hope we weren't to much of a burden :-)