Paphos

Paphos looks out over the western coast of Cyprus. In antiquity the district was renowned for the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Old Paphos, while New Paphos developed around a harbour to the northwest. Villas, mosaics and tombs recall the prosperity of the Roman city. The harbour remained a gateway to the island long after antiquity, serving ships and travellers crossing the eastern Mediterranean.

The Lusignan rulers strengthened the port and built a castle to guard its entrance after an earthquake destroyed an earlier fortress in 1222. Paphos also received travellers from western Europe on their way to the Holy Land. As the Ottoman invasion approached in 1570, the Venetians demolished the harbour castle; the new Ottoman authorities later rebuilt it. The fort that rose at the water's edge retained the old purpose of controlling the entrance to Paphos, even as the island passed from one power to another.