In the very heart of the busy bazaar and next to the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Paphos, one can see the Ottoman baths. It is probable that the buildings are of Frankish origin, that were transformed into Turkish baths for the needs of the Ottoman people, after the Ottoman occupation of Cyprus in 1571. The Turkish bath was a favourite pastime for both the Christian and the Moslem inhabitants of Paphos. It was a place where women met and the visit to the baths took days to prepare. The painting "Women's Market" by Cypriot artist Telemachos Kanthos is depicted in the foreground.

These baths are the buildings directly behind this walkway. We will cover them in a future blog.

The British Rule 1878 - 1960

In July 1878, two British warships reached the little harbour of Paphos, transporting the first British officers and a small squadron of 40 men. The island passed into the hands of the British and became part of the British Empire. Cyprus was no doubt "the key to Western Asia".

Greeks and turks managed to live together side by side, each respecting the others customs and traditions. One could travel to the other cities mainly by sea, as few owned private vehicles. The English set to work immediately; roads were constructed and, as the century turned, propositions were made to the government for the construction of a pier for the little harbour to ease loading and unloading.

Paphos participated actively in the freedom struggle of the Greek Cypriuos against British Rile. In the struggle of EOKA of 1955 - 1959 and important number of the fighters originate from Paphos and its district. Amongst them Evagoras Pallikarides, a 18 year old student hung by the British Authorities.

Paphos today is no more a small town. Its rapid development in the last twenty years has changed its identity in may ways. Paphos is the capital of the region, a multi-functional centre with autonomous services, with its own media, a number of local newspapers and local radio and television channels. Not to mention an ace website. Its three different parts - Ktima, Kato Paphos and the port area, and the region of the Tombs of the Kings - are one entity today. The modern town is changing rapidly. New buildings have been erected in these past years, highways link the city to the other major towns, there is now a new airport and a new hospital, modern shops and coffee places are to be found in the different neighbourhoods; little hotels are housed in traditional buildings with their characteristic inner yards that reflect the care and the love of the owners. Hand in hand with the traditional lifestyle, companies and banks have helped preserve the architectural character of the city, transforming the beautiful old mansions into large office spaces. Makarios Avenue houses an umber of them.

There was a time where one could gaze at endless fields with golden crops, traditional stone houses; broken columns and antiquities could be found everywhere. Times have changed; today Paphos is host to a local populations and its foreign guests and is probably the best tourist destination in Cyprus, offering quality and high standards.

And there you have it. As you descend from the Old Town to the car park, you can get the history of Paphos. It is probably best viewed on a cloudy day or the afternoon though. During the morning the sun shines through that roof cover and casts lots of shadows on over the pictures.

There are the baths mentioned in that history. We will no doubt cover them in another blog. We've been producing blogs on Paphos for nearly two years now, and we are still only scratching the surface, despite having notched up nearly 200 blogs. In fact, it was nice to read this history and be able to link some of the text to blogs we have previously written. It was nice also to see that there were plenty of places mentioned n the text that we have yet to explore...