I met with the Managing Director of Anaxima, George Papoutsakis and he had this to say about how the maps were made:

- The creation of a new illustration in our portfolio requires many moving parts to come together in an artistic dance driven by the love we have of the destinations we select. On a corporate level we plan and chart out every detail of how we want the final outcome to look like. We decide on area, the angles, the elevation, and the detail we require. We then source the tools that are necessary for the illustration phase to begin such as: town plans, on-demand satellite imagery, aerial and drone photography and sometimes 3d rendering of buildings in the construction phase. We then prepare the brief for the final stage which is the actual illustration. This is the stage where we hand over the baton and allow our artists to do their magic. The illustration has 3 phases where our corporate team along with the creative team iron out any issues in order to provide with a final product that our city has never seen before and can be proud of. Thousands of hours of work go into creating our illustrations with our only goal, to accurately showcase the beauty of the cities that we love. Our illustration team is led by our very talented Artist Delia Potamianou who’s talent overflows with passion and skill.

So, they use bespoke imagery and town plans to put together a base for their artists to work on. Occasionally this can produce interesting anomalies. For instance, they clearly photographed the roundabout by The Mall before the walkway (that weird monorail thing) was built. Every map has this sort of anomaly though. Years ago Ordnance Survey in the UK completely omitted the town of Camberley from their map. I noticed because my parents lived there! So Anaxima can be forgiven for not including a walkway that is still under construction.

My next question would be why do they do it?

- Our mission is to create unique hand illustrated art of destinations that have filled our hearts and souls with love, emotions and unforgettable experiences. Art that extends and enhances our connection with the destinations that have shaped who we are. Whether you have danced all night, relaxed all day, fallen in love, or just explored the beauty of the streets we illustrate, our timeless illustrations will undoubtedly trigger your emotions. Feel the sun on your face, the sand between your toes, the salt on your lips, the music in your ears and the love in your heart! Have you ever acquired a special bond with a destination that you have visited? Have you fallen in love, gone on a honeymoon or explored the streets of one of our destinations? We are here to solidify those memories and emotions by bringing prints of our unique illustrations into your home.

The first stage in the artistic process involves a black and white version of the map.

Here we see the Mall (minus monorail!) in glorious colour.

You can also order the picture as a sepia print. The final option is black and white. Whatever your choice, they make perfect wall art for every home, business, holiday rental and hotel room.

This is a truly one of a kind art piece of Paphos, and it is available to all Paphos Lovers anywhere in the world, with FREE delivery though their Online store.

Anaxima produce maps of a variety of cityscapes and tourist destinations globally, and worldwide they can ship from 35 locations. This is an impressive set-up. It also means that you aren't waiting months for your picture to arrive. They were kind enough to present us with our own map, branded with the Paphos Life logo. You can see it at the end of this article. Once I sent them the logo, the picture was printed and packed in Germany, and arrived back in Paphos in under a week.