Paphos Life Road Trip #1
Choulou Beckons
Here we are on the outskirts of Choulou. By all means stop in this layby for a photograph, but if you want to explore Choulou on foot, you can park a bit closer.
Rigena's House
The centre of Choulou has narrow roads, and it is easy to miss some of the sights. The population of Choulou has declined since the 80s, due to urbanisation (younger generation moving to city). The locals do still manage to keep the centre looking lovely though. There are some abandoned and semi-abandoned buildings, and if you visit during the week it may seem fairly empty. Come the weekend though, when the kids are out of school, and there is a lot more activity. We were actually delayed by a tractor being driven by a small girl. It was made of plastic, and she was being pushed by her mum. It was nice to see, as they were clearly both having a lot of fun.
Central Cafe
Turn right at this junction. We are following the route to Paphos. Don’t worry if you want to buy a drink from the café. There is parking just ahead…
Choulou Mosque
The best place to park, in my opinion, is by the mosque. Choulou used to be a mixed village (Christian and Muslim) before the troubles. The mosque is still preserved, though not used.
Follow The Paphos Road
There is also a tavern near the mosque. To get to the main church, you need to follow the road round to here. Instead of turning left, take a right. You may want to do this bit on foot, as there is a bit of a slope into the church carpark. It is worth checking out the church, as there are supposed to be some nice, original murals, dating back 100s of years, inside. However, when I visited, it was locked.
Once you have visited the church, come back here and follow the road left. It will lead eventually to Letymbou.
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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.
Stroumpi Murals
If you drive along the B7 from Paphos to Polis, you will eventually hit Stroumpi. It is about midway between the two towns, and nestled on the Paphos Hills. If you look to your right as you ascend the hill, you will notice some lovely murals adorning the walls. In due course, I will write a blog on the whole of Stroumpi, but today, I just want to concentrate on these murals...Related Pages
eBookCyprus Road Trip 01: the Kathikas - Panagia Loop
Let me take you on a journey around the region of Paphos, Cyprus. Starting at Paphos itself, we travel to Akoursos, then Kathikas, Kritou Terra and Simou. We continue past Lasa and Kannaviou, before taking in the delights of Panagia. Getting a bit more adventurous, we visit the abandoned villages of Statos and Agios Fotios, before passing through Choulou, Letymbou and Polemi, and rejoining the main Paphos - Polis road.
The route is suitable for all types of vehicle, and requires no off-roading. The guide contains about 130 photographs including shots of all the road signs you need to pay attention to, as well as some of the highlights you may experience along the way.
There are also several maps which will help you keep your bearings.
You can do this journey in a day, or you can break it up into chunks. You can also do it in reverse, to get some completely different views. It is entirely up to you.
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Planning a day out? Then use our map of blog locations as a handy guide. Some of the places we visit our closer to each other than you might think, so take a look and start planning your next adventure...
eBookCyprus Road Trip 01: the Kathikas - Panagia Loop
Let me take you on a journey around the region of Paphos, Cyprus. Starting at Paphos itself, we travel to Akoursos, then Kathikas, Kritou Terra and Simou. We continue past Lasa and Kannaviou, before taking in the delights of Panagia. Getting a bit more adventurous, we visit the abandoned villages of Statos and Agios Fotios, before passing through Choulou, Letymbou and Polemi, and rejoining the main Paphos - Polis road.
The route is suitable for all types of vehicle, and requires no off-roading. The guide contains about 130 photographs including shots of all the road signs you need to pay attention to, as well as some of the highlights you may experience along the way.
There are also several maps which will help you keep your bearings.
You can do this journey in a day, or you can break it up into chunks. You can also do it in reverse, to get some completely different views. It is entirely up to you.
