We traveled to Cyprus on a spring weekend, specifically to the city of Paphos. The timing was perfect: everything was green and instead of the sweltering heat, we could explore the area in pleasant sunshine. It’s no coincidence that Paphos is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as the roman mosaics found here are unique. The highlight of our visit was definitely the floor mosaics of the Roman villas (the House of Dionysus, Theseus and Aion). It’s incredible to think that these were made between the 2nd and 5th centuries using the so-called opus tessellatum technique. They were laid out with such precision from small, colorful natural stones, marble and sometimes glass that they almost look like paintings from afar.
Of course, we didn’t miss out on the local flavors either. We tried the famous giouvetsi, a simple dish that is traditionally baked in an earthenware pot. The meat (mostly lamb or beef) is stewed in a cinnamon-clove tomato sauce, then the orzo pasta is added, which absorbs the meat juices and all the spices in the oven and at the end they add some anari chees on the top. And for the disk I tried the local grape pomace distillate, the Zivania.
We also walked around the harbor, where the symbol of the city, the Paphos Fortress, stands. This squat little stone building bears witness to the island’s turbulent past: it was built by the Byzantines, destroyed by the Venetians, and then rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 16th century. Although it is quite simple inside, we went up to the roof, from where there was a fantastic view of the harbor and the sea.