Holidays in Paphos
Paphos Castle, Cyprus
Paphos castle sits there like a lost Lego brick
Paphos harbour from the castle battlements
Paphos Castle Cyprus looks more like a giant lost Lego brick than an actual castle. Paphos holiday visitors can hardly miss the solid squat rectangle posted at the entrance to Paphos harbour.
Paphos Castle has been besieged, destroyed, rebuilt dismantled, ruined and restored several times in its long history and now serves both as a less than distinctive landmark for the holiday resort of Paphos and also as the dramatic backdrop to several open-air Paphos cultural festivals (mostly operatic) held in its shadow each year.
If Paphos Castle looks empty from the outside, the inside won't dash expectations. Bare rectangles of stone mark out large empty rooms that are - well, basically bare.
A very narrow staircase scurries up to rooftop battlements where there are camera-snapping views of the harbour below, Ano Paphos beyond and the distant Troodos Mountains propping up the sky.
Although it was Byzantium that first built a fortress on the site, what the Paphos holiday visitor sees today dates back only to the 16th century.
The original Byzantium fort, known as Saranda Kolones, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1222 but rebuilt by the Lusignans later in the 13th century. The rebuild included two towers, one of which is incorporated into the present structure while the remains of the other lies in ruins about 50 metres away.
The castle was captured by the Venetians in the 14th century and they, not wishing such a solid outpost to fall into the hands of invading Ottoman hordes around 1570, destroyed much of what the Lusigians had so painstakingly re-erected.
The Ottomans set about putting Paphos Castle back together in 1592 and Paphos holiday visitors can see a sign over the main castle door declares as much. The Ottomans eschewed the towers and opted for the spare military pill-box style the castle displays today.
Rooms in the ground floor of Paphos Castle were used by the Ottomans to lock up their prisoners. A couple of tiny underground dungeons are still visible today. The first floor was used as mosque and a small Ottoman guard quarters topped the roof. Some roof canons were removed when the Ottomans left the town to the occupying British in 1878.
Ever concerned with commercial interests, the British noted how few windows the castle sported and deemed the castle's most appropriate use as a storage jar for salt. And Paphos Castle remained a giant salt cellar until 1935, when it became a listed national monument and archaeologists set to work getting it back into shape.
Although Paphos Castle is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, this is more by virtue of the fact that the whole of Paphos was added to the World Cultural Heritage List - testament to the Paphos holiday resort's value as an open museum.
Among the treasures unearthed in various Paphos resort digs are some amazingly well-preserved mosaics in the houses of Dionysos, Theseus and Aion at Nea Pafos; many extensive vaults and caves in the nearby Tombs of the Kings; a pillar to which Saint Paul was allegedly tied and whipped, and an ancient Odeon theatre. Among the many other places of interest in the Paphos holiday resort are the Byzantine Museum and the District Archaeological Museum.
Paphos castle is connected to the harbour with an arched bridge and the large square in front of the castle is used for cultural events throughout the year, most notably for the Festival of Aphrodite where Paphos Castle becomes a dramatic backdrop for operatic performances.
Paphos Castle is open for the public every day, 10am - 6pm in summer, 10am - 5pm in winter and it's a favourite port of call for many on a Paphos Cyprus holiday.
