Larnaka - Larnaca
Places of Interest to visit!
The Bust of Kimon
Seafront promenade. The Athenian General Kimon led 200 triremes in 450 BC to free Cyprus from the Persians. He died while he was besieging Kition. 
Larnaka District Archaeological Museum.
Plateia Kalogreon Tel: 24- 63 01 69 Interesting collection of finds from the Larnaka area dating from the Neolithic Age to the Roman period. 
The Pierides foundation Museum
Zinonos Kitieos 4 Tel: 24- 65 24 95 The oldest privately owned museum in Cyprus, set up by Dimitrios Pierides (1811-1895). It houses ancient, medieval, Byzantine and more recent objects belonging to the Pierides family. A display case of Modern Greek and Cypriot sculptures can be seen in the courtyard. 
Larnaka Fort – Local Mediaeval Museum
Larnaka seafront, Tel: 24- 63 05 76 Built in 1625, it was used as a prison in the first years of British rule. It houses the District Mediaeval Museum. The fort is also used as the Larnaka Municipal Cultural Centre during the summer. 
Kition
Approximately 500 m. northeast of Archaeological Museum Kition, is one of the most important ancient city-kingdoms, with architectural remains dating back to the 13th century BC. In about 1200 BC the Mycenaean Greeks rebuilt Kition, and excavations have revealed cydopean 
Municipal Museum of Natural History
Leoforos Grigory Afxentiou, Tel: 24- 65 25 69 Within the Larnaka Municipal Gardens. The Museum has displays of rare insects, birds and animals of Cyprus. Larnaka Area
Hala Sultan Tekesi
3 km west of Larnaka on the road to Kiti, passing the Larnaka Airport. Built in 1816 over the tomb of Umm Haram, allegedly a relative of Prophet Mohammed who died on this spot in 649 during the first Arab raids. The mosque is an important place of Moslem pilgrimage ranking immediately after the shrines of Mecca, Medina and Al Aqsha in Jerusalem. 
Royal Chapel
Pyrga Village, 35 km south of Lefkosia, 32 km from Larnaka. Built by the Lusignan King Janus in 1421, it contains a wall painting of the king with his wife, Charlotte de Bourbon, on one of its walls. It is considered one of the most interesting structures surviving from the Frankish Period. 
Stavrovouni Monastery
9 km off the Lefkosia – Lemesos road, 40 km from Larnaka Perched on a rocky peak, Stavrovouni means Mountain of the Cross. According to tradition it was founded in the 4th century by Saint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, who left a fragment of the Holy Cross to the monastery. The brotherhood is extremely devout, keeping vows as strict as those of the Mount Athos brotherhood in Greece. Woman are not allowed in the monastery, though men may visit the monastery daily from sunrise to sunset, except from 12:00 – 13:00 (15:00 in the summer), on Green Monday and the following day. There is an impressive ceremony and celebrations on 14th September, the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Monastery of Agia Varvara (Saint Barbara) at the foot of Stavrovouni hill, is easily accessible. The monks here have a high reputation for icon painting. 
Choirokoitia
About 32 km from Larnaka and 48 km south of Lefkosia off the Lefkosia – Lemesos highway. Tel: 24- 32 27 10 The ancient site of Choirokoitia, is included since 1998 in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage official list. It is the site of Neolithic settlement found in a better state of preservation than most others from this period, not only in Cyprus in the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean. It represents through its consecutive phases of building the whole history of the Neolithic period in Cyprus and divulges precious information as to the spread of the Neolithic culture throughout the region. The General Development Plan of Choirokoitia Has as its objective to maintain the authenticity of the place, to protect the natural and man-made environment and to give out information through the creation of a Visitor’s Centre. Five dwellings in close proximity have been reconstructed following the Neolithic model, using the same methods and traditional materials and have been furnished with copies of objects actually found inside the houses during excavations, in order to give a better impression of the layout of the village as it was in antiquity. In addition the plant life around these huts represents plants that were cultivated or indigenous trees that grow in Cyprus since the Neolithic times. 
Agios Antonios Church
Kellia Village This is one of the most important Byzantine churches of Cyprus, possibly of the 9th century. It is a three-aisled vaulted basilica, which has undergone many reconstructions and repairs. It preserves significant wall paintings surviving from the 9th, 11th, 13th centuries. |
Larnaka Municipal Cultural Centre
Plateia Europis – Seafront promenade, Tel: 24- 65 88 48 Five old Larnaka Customs warehouses, built in the colonial style (1881), have recently been renovated and turned into the Larnaka Municipal Cultural Centre. It houses the Municipal Gallery and the only Palaeontology Museum in Cyprus, where the ancient fossilised remains of pygmy elephants and hippopotami that once lived on the island can be seen. The centre also has facilities for occasional exhibitions. 
Ayios Lazaros Church
Plateia Agiou Lazarou, Tel: 24- 64 24 98 Saint Lazarus is the patron saint of Larnaka. Kition became his second home after his resurrection by Christ, and he lived here for another 30 years. Saints Barnabas and Mark ordained him Bishop of Kition. In the 9th century Emperor Leo VI erected a magnificent church over his tomb. The church, one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in Cyprus, was faithfully restored in the 17th century, and the iconostasis is an excellent example of baroque woodcarving. Visitors can see the tomb of Saint Lazarus under the sanctuary and the ecclesiastical museum behind the church Tel: 24- 65 24 89 Eight days before the Greek Orthodox Easter the icon of Saint Lazarus is taken in procession through the streets of Larnaka. 
Kamares Aqueduct
Kamares area on the Larnaka – Lemesos road. A beautiful 18th century aqueduct which was in use until 1930 
Angeloktisti Church
Kiti village, 11 km west of Larnaka Angeloktisti means Built by the Angels’. This 11th century Byzantine church was erected over the ruins of an Early Christian basilica. The original apse survived together with one of the finest pieces of Byzantine art, a rare 6th century a mosaic of the Virgin Mary and Child between the two archangels, which rivals the Ravenna Mosaics. 
Agios Effimianos Church
Near Stavrovouni Monastery in Kornos area The Byzantine church of Agios Effimianos is in Lysi village, presently under Turkish military occupation. After the invasion of 1974 its 14th century frescoes were dismounted, fragmented in 38 pieces and smuggled abroad. They were finally found in Munich where the Government of Cyprus together with the Menil Foundation in USA bought the frescoes with the agreement that these will be exhibited in Houston (USA) for a period of 15 years before their return home. The people of Lysi have built a new church on the model of the original, where replicas of the frescoes are displayed in the basement. 
Kalavasos - Tenta
40 km from Larnaka, 2.5 km off the Lefkosia – Lemesos road. Tenta, one of the most important Neolithic settlements in Cyprus of 7000 BC, lies near the village of Kalavasos 
Lefkara
8 km from Skarinou, off the Lefkosia – Lemesos road, 40 km from Larnaka. A picturesque village, famous for its local lace known as ‘Lefkaritika’ and for its silverware. According to tradition, Leonardo Da Vinci visited the village and bought an alter cloth, which he donated to the Milan cathedral. The beautiful House of Patsalos, houses the Lace and silverware Museum of Lefkara. The church of Archangelos Michail in Kato Lefkara is of the single aisled domed type and has wall paintings of the late 12th century. At Pano Lefkara there is the church of the Holy Cross with a beautiful 18th century iconostasis and a unique 13th century silver cross. A religious fair takes place on the 13th - 14th September, in celebration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 
Agios Minas Convent
Near Lefkara 15th century monastery with a church at the centre of the cloisters. The nuns, besides performing their religious rites, are involved in icon – painting. The monastery is open for visits daily, except between 12:00 – 15:00 hrs. For organised group visits the monastery is open from Monday to Friday. |