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A Geroskipou Mini Mystery
28 Sep 2017

A Geroskipou Mini Mystery

After our last blog of the strange monument near Mandria, we were delighted with the response, so we thought we would post these pictures of another forgotten site, this time in the heart of Geroskipou. Did anybody work on this site in the past, and if so, can they say why excavation work seems to have halted mid dig?
Mandria Mysteries
22 Sep 2017

Mandria Mysteries

Today's blog is about a funny little place we found a few years ago while geocaching. It is also about some other relics we discovered while researching for this article. Together they demonstrate that you don't have to travel far from Paphos in order to find adventure. There are a number of mysteries here: What is the ancient monument? Why are the pill boxes so close together? Whatever happened to the Michalis Party Tavern? For more questions than answers, read on...
Sinti Monastery
17 Sep 2017

Sinti Monastery

It's time for another guest blog, and this time Max has taken a break from his minerals to show us somewhere a bit more spiritual. Over to you Max... Sinti Monastery is a very important ancient monument and not far away from Paphos, in the beautiful Xeros River Valley. I thought I would take a round trip. In order that people can visit the place all year round (even after a good Winter's rain) in a normal car I took the longer route over the hills where the roads nowadays are all properly surfaced. On the way back you can either take the same road (Winter) or use the short cut along the Xeros river bed which is only 8 km until the next village Nata.
Kouklia Memorial
13 Sep 2017

Kouklia Memorial

We recently blogged about a little shrine by the motorway. It turns out that it was placed there in memory of two soldiers who lost their lives in a helicopter accident. I was confused myself, because I knew there was a helicopter crash memorial, but it was a little further away from Paphos, near Kouklia. An internet search revealed that there had been two crashes. So in the interest of fairness, I thought we should take a look at the other shrine. It isn't visible from the motorway, but if you take the trouble to find it, you will not be disappointed, as it is a lovely memorial...
Roudia Bridge
8 Sep 2017

Roudia Bridge

Now that we have covered the route from Vretsia to Kelefos, let's return to the subject of Venetian Bridges. This time, we will feature Roudia Bridge. For years this eluded us, as we drove past it without realising it was there. With the help of the previous blog, you should now be able to locate it and know where to park the car. So let's take a look at the bridge itself...
Abandoned Villages - Istinjo
4 Sep 2017

Abandoned Villages - Istinjo

Istinjo is an abandoned little village, with an active farm, just east of Filousa. You won't find it on Google or Bing Maps, unless you opt for satellite view and locate it manually. We have driven past it on numerous times ourselves before we realised it was actually an old village; from the main road it looked more like a slightly ramshackle farm. We only found out it's name when we did our Polis route the other other day. However, on that occasion we decided to stop and have a bit of an explore. Given that we had been following roadsigns to Istinjo since Sarama, it only seemed fair. This is what we found...
From Vretsia to Kelefos
31 Aug 2017

From Vretsia to Kelefos

This is another Road-Trip blog. Paphos Forest contains many treasures, and two of it's finest are the Venetian Bridges Roudia and Kelefos. Of the two, the latter is easy to locate. However, Roudia eluded us for some time, as it is easy to miss, being buried in woodland. So we have put together this guide, showing the route we took from our starting point of the abandoned village of Vretsia, through the forest to Kelefos and beyond. The aim of this blog is not to provide a de-facto route through the forest. After all, tracks get closed, and new tracks get opened every year. No, we mainly want to show you what you can expect to find should you decide to venture into the forest. We will do other blogs on the bridges themselves; today is all about the journey...
The Shrine by the Motorway
26 Aug 2017

The Shrine by the Motorway

Every time I drive to Limassol on the A6, I notice a shrine in a field to the left of the motorway, soon after you leave Paphos. The other day while out exploring, we found ourselves close by, so we thought we would take a look...
From Kannaviou To Polis Off Road
23 Aug 2017

From Kannaviou To Polis Off Road

Yesterday was one of those days where we just set off with no real destination in mind, but with a picnic and our swimming costumes packed in the back of the 4x4. We were starting our adventure near the Kannaviou Reservoir, but had no idea where we would end up...
Simou
19 Aug 2017

Simou

As promised at the end of our last blog about Skarfos Bridge, we now take a lot at the village of Skarfos, nestled 16km oustide of Polis, and see what it has to offer.
Venetian Bridges: Skarfos
14 Aug 2017

Venetian Bridges: Skarfos

We have been meaning to look at Venetian Bridges for some time, so today I thought I would start with Skarfos, as this is easily accessible and is the Western-most Venetian Bridge that I am aware of. Situated just off the road to Simou from the B7, it may not be the most spectacular bridge Cyprus has to offer, but there are enough other attractions nearby to make it worth your journey, as you shall see...
What Are These Mystery Tags?
10 Aug 2017

What Are These Mystery Tags?

I am taking a break from my normal blogs to pose a question. On my travels throughout Cyprus, while I have been photographing interesting locations for blogs, I have often stumbled across some mysterious tags. They consist of a date, and an initial or two. I have photographed them as I explored, but have never included the photos in a blog because it doesn't really fit in with the blog's theme. However, I have now amassed sufficient tag pictures for them to warrant a blog in their own right. And my question to you is simple; why are they there?
Vretsia Tavern Revisited
6 Aug 2017

Vretsia Tavern Revisited

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about the abandoned village of Vretsia. I also did a supplementary blog about Vretsia Taven which, until last summer had still been open seasonally, for hunters and the like. In that blog, I reported that it had obviously had a nasty fire, as it was very badly burned. Well yesterday we were giving some guests a tour of the area, and we popped in to see the tavern. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found...
Sparti Adventure Park
2 Aug 2017

Sparti Adventure Park

We have driven past Sparti Adventure Park in previous visits to Paphos Forest and the Troodos. However, we normally have another destination in mind, so have never paid it a visit until now. Last sunday, some Cypriot friends invited us along and we jumped at the chance. It is a fair drive from Paphos, but the scenery along the way is beautiful, and you will be driving on regular roads, so any rental car will be fine. We cut through Paphos Forest in our 4x4, but that is the subject of another blog!
The Akamas By Car
29 Jul 2017

The Akamas By Car

Nothing beats exploring the Akamas by car. A decent 4x4 can take you to places you would never normally find on foot, and the aircon can be a real life-saver. Some routes into the Akamas are bumpier than others. In this blog take a relatively bump free route which would suite the more cautious amongst you.
Fascinating Fossilised Rocks Near The Sea
20 Jul 2017

Fascinating Fossilised Rocks Near The Sea

Max is back with another guest blog. This time he is showing us some of the fascinating fossilised rocks he has found near Aphrodite's Rock. Over to you, Max...
Cap St Georges
20 Jul 2017

Cap St Georges

Cap St Georges is a new commercial venture out near the Akamas. It was recently discussed on the Paphos Life forum, as people were concerned about the level of access to the beach area that non-residents would get. So we took our camera down to have a look. This is not a review of Cap St Georges, we didn't try any of the food or drink. This is more of a quick nose so you can see what the area is like.
The Abandoned Hospital at Amiantos Mines
16 Jul 2017

The Abandoned Hospital at Amiantos Mines

The Cyprus Asbestos Mine is situated right in the heart of Troodos forest. Following a continuous operation of 84 years, the mine came to a sudden closure in 1988, leaving behind large volumes of waste tips, a badly designed mine pit and an unacceptable environmental scar to an otherwise heavily forested natural beauty area. It also left behind a hospital, which now stands abandoned on the other side of the valley. While environmental steps have been taken to turn the area near the mines into a nature park, the hospital has been let to nature.
Giolou
9 Jul 2017

Giolou

Continuing our look at Cyprus villages, we are paying a trip to Giolou, which lies on the B7 between Stroumpi and Polis. What drew us there, you may ask? Read on and find out...
Letymbou
30 Jun 2017

Letymbou

Over the last few months, we have blogged about a number of abandoned villages in the Paphos region. As the summer holidays are approaching we thought it would be nice to change the focus to the non-abandoned villages. First up is Letymbou. We chose this first because on a recent forum discussion somebody mentioned that Letymbou was famous for having TEN churches. We felt that needed investigation, as we had only ever seen two on our travels.
Old Paphos Revisited
28 Jun 2017

Old Paphos Revisited

Six months ago we posted a blog optimistically titled "A Last Look at Old Old Paphos". It proved very popular. In fact, with nearly 3000 views, it is our most popular blog to date. Six months down the line, the renovations are still not yet complete. So we thought we would take another look, to see how the work was progressing.
Yerokipia Farm
19 Jun 2017

Yerokipia Farm

If you have ever been to Aphrodite Water Park in Geroskipou, you may well have noticed the ruined buildings next to it. The first time I found them for myself, I assumed, wrongly, that they were the ruins of an old prison. They are in fact, all that remains of a farm that has been there for 100s of years.
More Paphos Murals
13 Jun 2017

More Paphos Murals

Over the weekend I was out with my camera, seeing how work on Old Paphos has progressed in the last six months. That is the subject of another blog (watch this space). However, while I was taking photos I found some more murals which I think warrant their own article...
Abandoned Villages - Melandra
6 Jun 2017

Abandoned Villages - Melandra

We first stumbled upon Melandra last Autumn. We were trying to find an interesting route from Pano Panagia to Polis, and having visited a number of isolated villages, decided to venture off-road. The countryside at the time was very brown and arid. So when we revisited the village this May, we hardly recognised the place.
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Latest Blog Articles

Christmas Time At Jumbo
20 Dec 2025

Christmas Time At Jumbo

Christmas is approaching and the stores are full of Festive offerings. If you are missing some baubles, santas, or basically anything else remotely Christmas related, then Jumbo will more than likely have what you are looking for. Let's take a look at what's on offer...
Kefalos Hotel Excavation
18 Dec 2025

Kefalos Hotel Excavation

They are building a new hotel between the Elysium and Kefalos Beach Holiday Village, and they appear to have dug up something interesting in the process. With the help of my drones trusty zoom lens I was able to get a close look at what they have uncovered. Let's take a peak.
Cap St Georges Christmas Village - Opening Day
11 Dec 2025

Cap St Georges Christmas Village - Opening Day

Last Saturday The Christmas Village at Cap St Georges opened its doors for the first time, despite Storm Byron's best efforts. We were there to capture the event and want to show you what we found. We also get a sneak peak at the new restaurant.
Polis Archaeological Museum of Marion - Arsinoe
10 Dec 2025

Polis Archaeological Museum of Marion - Arsinoe

A few years ago we reported on some archaeological sites around Polis, and noted that finds from the dig were on display at the local museum. We have finally visited this establishment and thought we would show you some of what we found. So let's take a walk around the Archaeological Museum of Marion - Arsinoe.

Latest News Articles

Paphiakos Protest at Paphos Court House On November 14 (10 am)
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Paphiakos Protest at Paphos Court House On November 14 (10 am)

Around 2,000 animals face being left without shelter as the Paphos Animal Shelter prepares to close after nearly 40 years of operation, with volunteers launching a peaceful protest on Friday, November 14 at 10AM at Paphos District Court, to demand urgent action from authorities.
Mayor Of Akamas Hits Back Over 13th Carob Festival Row
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Mayor Of Akamas Hits Back Over 13th Carob Festival Row

The Mayor Of Akamas has responded to events of the last few days concerning the 13th Carob Festival which will be held on Friday at the Church of Agios Georgios in Peyia by saying that "some people were annoyed because we did not renew their contract for the operation of a building".
New Swimming Pool Rules For 2025 Provide Respite For Complexes
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New Swimming Pool Rules For 2025 Provide Respite For Complexes

In recent years there has been much confusion over the laws governing pools in shared complexes, and to a lesser extent private villas. In July new regulations passed clarifying matters, and we try and summarise them here.
David Luiz Arrive In Cyprus!
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David Luiz Arrive In Cyprus!

David Luiz, the Brazilian Footballer who signed for Pafos FC, has arrived in Cyprus and moved into an ultra-luxury villa at Cap St Georges.