Description :

 

1st Day Arrival and transfer to the hotel  

  

2nd Day PAPHOS -

Breakfast at the hotel.

Spend a day sightseeing the wonders of Paphos: the whole town is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. Proceeding Westbound along the beautiful coast, we stop at Petra tou Romiou, where, according to Greek mythology, Aphrodite emerged from the foam of the water.

We will begin our day by visiting the Ayios Neofytos monastery founded at the end of the 12th century by the Cypriot writer and hermit Neofytos. The Engleistra contains some of the most beautiful Byzantine frescoes (12th and 15th centuries). We will continue to visit the Tombs of the Kings which date back to the 4th century BC, carved into the rock and decorated with Doric columns.

Then we will be able to admire the famous mosaics of the house of Dionysus. The floors of these patrician villas date back to a period between the third and fifth centuries AD and are considered among the most beautiful mosaics in the eastern Mediterranean. We will visit later. The last stop will be at the church of Panagia Chrysopolitissa, built in the thirteenth century, within whose complex you can see the column of St. Paul, where according to tradition the saint was scourged. Dinner in the hoteL.

  

 

3rd Day CHIROKITIA - NORTH AND SOUTH NICOSIA ► Distances

Breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with the guide and departure for Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus outlined by the ancient Venetian walls, known thanks to the wealth of archaeological and artistic finds contained in its museums and above all for being the last city in the world divided by a wall.

Along the way, a stop at the archaeological site of Chirokitia, an ancient Neolithic settlement; the excavations carried out have brought to light evidence of one of the most important Neolithic cultures in the world.

 

Visit to the Cathedral of San Giovanni in the archbishop's palace which houses frescoes from 1731. Passing through the Venetian walls and the Famagusta gate we will arrive at the National Museum where you can admire the fascinating collection of Cypriot finds and treasures of inestimable value . We continue to the historic center of Nicosia (Laiki Yitonia). Free time and crossing the checkpoint, visit the caravansary, Buyuk Han, one of the most famous architectural works of the Ottoman period. The Buyuk Han is located in the center of the traditional market inside the walls. We continue to the Saint Sophia Cathedral transformed into a Mosque * (visit from outside until the works are finished). Return to the hotel in the afternoon..

Entrance fees included – national museum – St. John's Cathedral – Chirokitia (THE CATHEDRAL OF Saint Sophia will be built when the work is finished)

 

4th Day TROODOS - Byzantine Churches

(San Nicolaos, Kakopetria, Podithou, Asinou)

 

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure to the Troodos mountains and guided tour of some of the famous Byzantine churches, included in the 'UNESCO "World Heritage list: the Church of Ayios Nicolaos, completely painted with frescoes ranging from the eleventh to the seventeenth century , and the Byzantine church of Panagia of Pothithou.

Free time for lunch.

We continue our journey visiting the Panagia Tis Asinou Church, in Nikitari village, one of the ten UNESCO World Heritage churches on the Troodos. Built in a pine-clad area, it has some of the finest examples of Byzantine wall painting on the island.

Return to the hotel in the afternoon.

 

5th Day Departure , check-out and transfer to the airport

 

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