Salamis was an Iron Age city-kingdom and ancient city at the mouth of the Pediaios River in Cyprus. It lies on the long bay of Famagusta, only 6 km north of Famagusta.
According to legend, the founder of Salamis was Teukros, son of Telamon, king of the Greek island of Salamis of the same name. He is said to have landed in Cyprus after the destruction of Troy, built a temple to Zeus and married Eune, the daughter of Kinyras. His father-in-law, Kinyras, was the father of Adonis. more »
The city was founded around 274 BC by Ptolemy II after Salamis had been severely damaged by an earthquake. Arsinoe was described in the first century BC by Strabon in his Geographica as a „fishing town“. It remained a small fishing village for a long time. Later, when Salamis was gradually cleared during the Arab invasion under Muawiyah I, it developed into a small port.
The turning point for Famagusta from a small village to a town came in 1192 with the onset of Lusignan rule. It was during this period that Famagusta developed into a fully fledged town. It became increasingly important in the Eastern Mediterranean because of its natural harbour and the walls that protected its inner city. Its population began to grow.
more »
Bellapais Abbey is now the ruins of a monastery built in the 13th century on the northern outskirts of the small village of Bellapais in northern Cyprus, about five kilometres from the town of Kyrenia. The monastery is situated at an altitude of 220 metres above sea level and offers a wide view of Kyrenia and the Mediterranean Sea.
The site was once the residence of the Bishop of Kyrenia and a refuge from Arab attacks in the 7th and 8th centuries. The first inhabitants known to have settled here or nearby were the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, who fled after Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem in 1187. The Canons were the guardians of the Holy Sepulchre. more »
Kato Lefkara is a village in the mountains, about 35 km from Larnaka.
The landscape is criss-crossed by small rivers.
Kato Lefkara borders Pano Lefkara to the northwest, Pano and Kato Lefkara being two completely separate and independent villages, but sharing a common cultural background.
Until Ottoman rule, there was no separation between Kato and Pano Lefkara. Earlier sources mention Lefkara as a single settlement, which was apparently Pano Lefkara, while Kato Lefkara was founded by displaced Greeks.
The first written mention of Lefkara with its present name comes from Saint Neophytos in his Standard Testament, in which he reports that he was born in Lefkara in 1134. more »
Nicosia is located in the interior of the island of Cyprus and is therefore less suitable for a typical beach holiday than Larnaka, Protaras or Agia Napa on the coast. But the city, which is over 2,500 years old, has a rich cultural heritage. This applies to the Greek-influenced south as well as the Turkish-influenced north.
Because of its strategic location between Europe, Asia Minor and the Levant, Cyprus has always been a point of contention. Many ruled here: Greeks and Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders and Genoese, but also the Ottoman Empire, which ceded Cyprus to Great Britain.
It was not until 1960 that Cyprus became independent and Nicosia became the capital of the young state. In the following decades, however, there was repeated unrest between Greek and Turkish nationalists. This led to the division of the city, which continues to this day. In the meantime, both sides are getting closer again and there is an open border crossing in Ledra Street that connects the two halves of the city. more »
Larnaca has an eventful history. With its palm-lined promenade, it is a popular tourist destination on the south coast of the island. Old and new mix in the town, which, despite its many hotels, is not purely a tourist centre.
With the handover of Cyprus by the Ottomans to the British, Larnaca was rapidly upgraded from an Ottoman provincial town after their arrival; in line with European standards, the British renewed roads and infrastructure, began draining the salt marshes and established a town parliament headed by a mayor. With the end of British colonial rule, the Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island and the loss of Famagusta, Larnaca experienced an upswing as a port, business and tourism location and, after the closure of Nicosia airport in the demilitarised zone, was given the most important airport on the island.
more »
