Cyprus – Larnaca

On my 7 day trip to Cyprus I also took in the following places.

Click on the link for each place to read my post on them.

I arrived in Larnaca and based myself here, then made day-trips out by car, to see each site.

Nicosia – click here

Kyrenia – click here

Paphos – click here

Limassol – click here

Road trip around Cyprus

The more I looked at seeing one place in Cyprus, the more I was enticed to see another place.

My trip was purely designed, initially, to fly into Nicosia see the capital, a few museums, the UN Green Line and come home.

When I stated planning the trip, I found out that the capital Nicosia, doesn’t actually have an airport. Its airport was destroyed in the Turkish invasion in 1974 and never rebuilt. How did I not know that!

The nearest airport was further south, in the city of Larnaca – actually the biggest airport in the country now.

So, if I have to fly into Larnaca, why not see Larnaca too?

Ok, I’ll see two places ….. then I found out you can go across the Green Line border into Turkish controlled Northern Cyprus. Why not see a bit of the north under a different administration, I thought.

That’s 3 places. Then Paphos came up, with these huge Roman ruins, amphitheatre, lighthouse and mosaics … and …. I gotta see that in Paphos I thought.

Now, it’s 4 places.

Well, as I have to pass through Limassol, the second biggest city on the island, why not stop over there too …. That’s now 5 places!

Whoa, wait …. This started out as a single city quick visit – now it’s a five place tour.

How was I going to get around? There are no trains in Cyprus and buses between them all were ok but I’d be stuck to timetables and then finding 5 places to sleep.

I’d also be arriving in the morning to make use of time to see stuff but can’t check in until the afternoon. Where do I put my bag? How far is the bus station from each hotel? How far from the hotel to the sights etc, etc?

Buses were not too convenient and taxis too expensive between cities so I thought I would have to go back to plan A – one place only.

Then I did something I rarely do. I looked up car hire places and was ready to wince at the high prices  …. but no….. they were coming back incredibly cheap. It also meant I could stay in one place and travel the couple of hours (sometimes only 45 mins) to each site and be back within an easy day.

Car hire was actually saving me extra hotel nights due to stopovers that I wouldn’t need to do with a car.

No constant check in/out, finding the hotel from the bus station, taxis fares and getting to the sites.

Ok, I took the plunge. Found an incredibly cheap, well reviewed and reputable car hire site, booked to pick up the car at arrival at Larnaca airport and drop it off there on my return.

I took out excess insurance (which was so cheap), as I had on other trips, that covers anything not covered by the rental insurance, packed my Drivers Licence and I was set.

I’m always nervous about driving abroad. Not at my driving but by the driving standards of those other drivers who drive fast, furious and dangerously and then blame “the foreigner” after an accident, when the Police show up.

Turned out everything was fine (almost). The car was a sporty VW Golf, clean and well maintained, never let me down and very comfy. Driving standards were good – apart from the Turkish controlled north, where the roads were noticeably much more badly maintained than the Greek south and cars there were often not what I would call roadworthy. In fact, some were rusty junk heaps.

The extra insurance came in handy.

Would you believe this?  As I approached the airport to return the car, I needed to refill the petrol to full as is required. I could almost see the rental office down the road. As I stopped at the petrol pump, I heard a loud scrapping noise from the car. I got out and saw that the underneath of the front bumper had scrapped along a raised curb next to the pump! Why had they put such a stupid raised piece right next to where the car would need to park in an unseeable and unexpected area.

Annoyed I filled up and left the petrol station.

Just my luck, when they did a meticulous check of the car (even looking under the chassis, they saw the scrape and gave me a quote of repair not covered by the rental insurance for damage.

I reluctantly had to pay (they knew my flight was soon and I did not want to get held up).

The excess insurance that cost me about £15 paid for the £109 damage so I was happy!

Travelling by car to all these places was a breeze. Parking anywhere was easy and the freedom to come and go at leisure saved me lots of money and time. I’d thoroughly recommend it.

Let’s give Larnaca an historical reference

This small Cypriot town of only 140,000 inhabitants has a remarkable past and potentially holds a world record. Within Cyprus it also holds some important roles that are invaluable.

So, what’s there to say about Larnaca.

Well, if you want to go back in history and look at how old the city is, then you have to go back a long, long way. Far more than the majority of cities on this planet.

Larnaca is in the running as one of the top 10 oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world! I kid you not.

There is much debate about which city is actually the “oldest” according to interpretation.

Jericho (Israel), Argos (Greece), Damascus (Syria), Byblos (Lebanon) and Rey (Iran) are usually the most common names in any list of the oldest 5. Larnaca is usually in the top 10 of most lists.

To its credit, I did once see Larnaca quoted as the oldest, so it gets around!

As I say, the lists are different according to what evidence etc they use. So, let’s go with “it’s ONE of the oldest in the world”!

As a true city as such I guess we really need to start with the ancient Mycenaean Greeks who founded a city called Kition here as a naval and agriculture exporting port. These guys were around in about 1300 BC and their remnants are still visible near central Larnaca.

Well, being an island, it attracted invasion after invasion and Phoenicians in 1000BC settled here, then the Assyrians from the middle East, then Egyptians. By 470BC the Persian Empire was in control of the city.

In the 300s BC two massive earthquakes damaged the city and harbour and everyone moved south to an area just south of present day Larnaca Castle called Skala and the city colloquially took on that name also.

The city then prospered under the Romans but the Byzantines left many of the famous buildings we know today. Ottomans came and went but not after building the famous aqueduct in 1747 that supplied the city with fresh water.

The British landed at Larnaca in 1878 when they came to the island and ruled for 83 years. In1960 Cyprus gained independence from the British. However English was still spoken in admin circles throughout the 1960s and was even the de facto official language in the Courts, unti 1989.

As cheap package holiday grew from the1960s Larnaca and many other seaside towns, built hotels and resorts and the whole island by the 1990s was a major holiday attraction for mainly Europeans.

When Turkey invaded the north of the island at Kyrenia (Girne) – click here for my post on Kyrenia – in 1974, as a result of a coup d’état by Cypriot Greeks wanting union with Greece, much changed.

The country was split into two parts – Greek speaking south and Turkish speaking north.

Larnaca received 40,000 refugees from the north seeking safety.

Famagusta was the biggest port in Cyprus and it was now in Turkish hands and cut off. Larnaca being not far away rapidly took over its port trade. It still has a major working port.

Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, was fought over and eventually divided into two between the two waring factions by the now famous UN green line – click here for my post on my visit to Nicosia.

It suffered immense disruption and its only airport bombed and now still unused. Larnaca airport took over as the main island airport and to serve the capital. It still does.

Larnaca’s importance, as I said at the beginning, was now on the map. It is however only the third biggest city on the island.

The city today has an immense sea front promenade with mega hotels for holiday-makers, a roaring tourist trade but also major service and industrial companies. It also has a large ex-pat community, mainly Brits. Around 80% of Cypriots have a good command of the English Language.

There you go, that’s Larnaca in a nurshell.

Now you know why English is so widely spoken, why it has the biggest port and airport on the island and why it has a great holiday beach but an ancient castle, church and 3000 years old ruins – quite a mixture!

Where does Larnaca get its name from?

Over the centuries it has been called many different names.

The most widely used were Salinas (from the salt water lake nearby), Lazare (from the Saint Lazarus Church), Skala (landing site) and the one that eventually stuck, from the ancient Greek, Larnax or Larnakes (meaning chest or coffin, from the many burial sites found scattered here).

It must be interesting to live in a town whose name means “coffin” eh!?

Where to stay in Larnaca

This will depend on what you are in Larnaca for.

If you are there for the beaches, then the area in front of the main Finikoudes Beach has a wide sea facing promenade. Here will be bars and eateries galore and you are only a short stagger to the beach in front. Yep, these first-line hotels may be more expensive than the ones more inland, but if beach is what you are after, then here you are paying for the convenience of being virtually on it.

There are a plethora of hotels on the north beaches, away from the city. Whilst these will give you space and plenty of beach, you are tied to the limit of eateries etc up there – which are usually found in other hotels.

You are also quite a way from the main tourist attractions in the city centre, necessitating a bus or taxi ride there and back.

If you stay more in the city area, behind Europe Square or Larnaca Castle, then you will be within a decent walk of the beach and nearer the castle, St Lazarus Church etc.

Stay near the Castle and you will have the attractions on your doorstep, the beach a 7 mins walk away, plenty of restaurants, malls and supermarkets and a city feel. The downside may be the increase in natural city-life noise, traffic (hard to park on the street) and nearby neighbours.

Where I stayed in Larnaca

I stayed near the castle area(not Skala a little further south) and it was fine. I did ask for an apartment with a bedroom away from the street to mitigate traffic and people noise and it was needed. City life continuing when you are trying to sleep can be a problem otherwise.

I also needed easy access in and out of the city and the nearby access to main roads meant that I could get to my other destinationa without experiencing city traffic jams.

Lakis Court Apartments

I did my usual research and opted to be near the tourist sights but also near the sights I wanted to see at the beach. Also, I needed a car park space and the apartment I chose said they had free off-street parking.

I assumed that meant street parking in front of the hotel …. wrong …. and this was the only slight deception with the description.

The free parking, they referred to, was an empty but serviceable piece of wasteland a couple of mins walk away. They assured me it was safe to park there as they and their family do and nothing is ever damaged or stolen. It’s overlooked by other blocks so visible in that sense and was lit at night.

They were right and it worked out fine – I was just a bit miffed at the not quite true parking description they gave in their info. There is paid for parking nearby but I did not want to have the extra expense of 7 days of parking.

The apartment was fine. Clearly dated but very clean and tidy and everything worked fine. I had a full kitchen with everything I would need for cooking and the lounge was spacious with excellent wifi. TV channels were sufficient but I’m not a big TV watcher anyhow.

Bed was comfy and huge wardrobes filled one side of the room. Bathroom was good too.

You have a key to get in the main door and apartment and the lift, while quite small, was adequate.

Yep, it was dated and the furniture clean but cheap but the price I was paying at £35 per night was incredibly cheap anyhow. It had two bedrooms as the owner noted my need for a quiet bedroom and this one had the bedrooms at the back over looking roofs. I booked a one bedroom apartment but it was not busy in the block and so he accommodated my request this way, which I thought was very considerate.

For the price I would stay here again no problem. Click here for booking

Exploring Larnaca

My first day of exploring Larnaca was going to be a long one as I planned to see virtually everything in that time. The route I was to take, by walking …. you will all know how I love my walking   … would take in all the sites in about an hour.

Stopping off at each site for 45 mins or so meant that I would see all the 10 or so must-see places within the day. The route was circular and effectively would lead me back to the hotel street again.

Larnaca is so easy to explore and, in reality, if you are staying in central Larnaca then you don’t need a car, as you can walk to all the sites, (apart from the out of town Roman Aqueduct). Streets can be narrow with a complicated one-way system and there is no street parking in the main area anyhow.

I picked up my car from the airport on arrival and kept it parked on the recommended dirt parking lot 5 mins from the hotel anyhow, ready for when I drove to other cities on the island. I bought groceries for the week, from a supermarket 5 mins drive away (LIDL,) in another part of the town, that the owner of the apartment had recommended to me.

The apartment was also near another smaller supermarket within a few mins walk but I needed a week’s worth and didn’t want to carry it all from there. Across the road and in fact all around were plenty of bars and restaurants. There was even an up-market shopping mall virtually across the street with many other classy eateries and bars too, so my location was perfect.

My first visit of the day was 5 mins walk away on an almost direct and easy route.

Church of Saint Lazarus Larnaca

This church has an incredible history and the legends surrounding it are very famous.

It’s called the Church of St Lazarus because …. Well, it was his church!

Ok, now I’ll get a bit historical as Lazarus is quite a Christian religious figurehead.  He was a friend of Jesus Christ who, when he died, was visted by Christ, who  brought him back to life, in a miracle. Thirty years later he fled the Holy Land due to persecution and went to Larnaca.

Two of Jesus’s disciples visited him in the coming years and made him the Bishop of Kition (the old name for Larnaca).  Mary, mother of Jesus is said to have also visited him here.

He was Bishop for about 18 years and died in 63 AD and buried at the church. His relics were removed to Constantinople (Istanbul) by the then Byzantian Emperor and installed in the famous Cathedral of St Sophia. In return for the relics the Emperor built the core of the enlarged church we see today.

The locals however, kept a part of his relics in the church and they were discovered in the 1970s in a tomb under the altar.

His relics were removed from Constantinople to Marseilles in France but then lost forever.

Legend has it that the Saint formed the nearby salt marshes when a wine grower refused to give him grapes to quench his thirst one day and St Lazarus punished him by turning the vineyard into a salt lake – that salt lake is still there.

The Church has undergone extension ie the Belfry with the tower’s bells and the vaulted side arcade over the centuries.

It is quite a unique style with its domed roofs. Legend has it that a local warlord upon seeing it when he disembarked from his ship nearby, knelt and prayed, mistaking the domes for the popular doomed style of a Mosque. His revenge for the error was to have them altered forever.

The church was locked on my arrival so I couldn’t go inside to see the marvellous interior that I had read about. I found out when it would be open later and planned to return but that unfortunately got delayed and I never did get back ….. another time maybe.

If you want the Church’s website for full details and opening times click here. 

The Church is on a wide, open plaza area and there are many cafes and bars around the square in which to rest and recover. I did just that with a refreshing cold drink on a wide terraced café that overlooked the pretty square.

Larnaca Grand Mosque (Djami Kebir Mosque)

This Mosque was built in 1835 on the site of a previous Byzantine church. It is one of only three in Larnaca and is a little gem that hardly anyone ever talks about.

The entrance is to the side and monitored by an elderly gentleman when it is open and not in use for a prayer service. I wondered if they would let me in but as I approached the man smiled, I asked if I could go in and he gladly pointed me the way round the building, to the actual entrance,

It has a five arched frontage and a upper external terrace that you can go up the steps to, for a view across the area.

In the grounds is an old Muslim cemetery and an octagonal water fountain from 1748. The then Islamic Governor od Cyprus built this as one of a series of wells that brought fresh water to Larnaca.

On entry I was the only person inside.

It was a homely local church but I recognised the internal format, prayer area, the Minbar set to the right of the Mihrab. I was used to grand, huge ornamental works of famous Mosques around the world and this was the first time I had entered a local one.

The yellow curtains covering the windows caused a golden glow from the sun poring in to emanate around the hall.

The white pillars and arches were reflecting this glow further and it added a special aura to the interior.

Much of the walls contained bookshelves and books. Tables and chairswere arranged as if it also served as a local community hall/library. It was so unlike the spartan and majestic grandeur I was used to and made it feel cosy and well loved.

I wandered, reading the literature on the walls, admiring the architecture and generally finding it very restful.

I was in there so long on my own that the outside caretaker I met on the way in, came in to check if I was still here and ok. He seemed relieved that I was just wandering and admiring and after a nod and smile left to return to his post.

One of the side windows gave a wonderful view through the outside trees and old buildings to the shoreline not far away.

On the way out he stopped to chat to me about where I was from and what brought me to Larnaca and the Mosque. He was a wisened old man but very friendly and inquisitive. His welcome made the visit even more enjoyable.

Larnaca Castle

For a city that dates from the 1400s BC, Larnaca castle, dating just over 1,000 years later, from the 1300s AD, seems a relatively modern structure!

The Byzantines built it to defend the nearby harbour of the city as it underwent expansion. However 80 years later the city was deemed important enough for the fortifications to be expanded into a full-blooded castle.

Larnaca had really come of age and was regarded as one of the most important ports and cities on the island.

The city prospered but by the 18^th Century AD a castle was not deemed necessary and it was all but abandoned.

When British arrived in 1878 they took it over and used it as a prison and even installed gallows to execute rebels and criminals. The last hanging was in 1948. After Independence from Britain, it was converted into a museum.

As you approach it from the exterior, it resembles a grand house or elaborate warehouse, The upper windows are fairly uniform in size and regularity but the lower ones appear much changed- either enlarged or shrunk. It thus has slight “top heavy” look.

The entrance from the street is through the wide archway. Do walk around the external perimeter before going in though. Tthis way you can appreciate the upper battlements and the height of the walls, which is not so apparent from the inside.

One side of the strong protective walls, in a creamy beige stone, sits directly on the beach. It shows how the castle dominated the area and from the sea would have posed an impressive sight.

The castle’s water supply still feeds to the rather big but plain watering post inside. Windows around the castle have often been clearly altered or filled. Thus the main building can appear somewhat a mish-mash of changed designs. Built in a creamy, beige stonework the walls brightly reflect the sun rays.

The interior courtyard resembles a small parade ground and cannons have been displayed in a setting as if ready to fire through the walls gun emplacement holes.

The abundant palm trees and green verges give it an almost villa style appearance.

You can climb to a second-level terrace above, which gives pretty views down to the massive courtyard of cannons below. On one side, you have a picturesque view, over the treetops, of the minaret of the nearby Mosque.

For even better views there is a third level terrace, effectively the castle’s battlements and these give a panoramic view.

To one side, the view is down the promenade of the southern suburb of Skala, from which one of the old names of the city comes.

Go to the other side and you’ll have a vista of the famous Finikoudes Beach and towards the city proper. Either view will also give you a lookout to the sea that the original defenders would have had of any approaching sea threat.

Larmaca  Castle Museum

The small museum is quite unique and despite its size I spent quite a bit more time in here than I would normally. It is quite unpretentious in design with basic glass cabinets and lighting but the displays are quite intricate.

Lots of brightly coloured original ceramic bowls, plates, utensils, armour, weapons etc are all here. They were all pretty much found in the castle or associated with it and some, for their age, are in a really good condition,

I loved how the colours and designs on the pottery had changed over the years according to religious, culture and trend effects. There was quite good printed info on them as well so I could understand what I was looking at, which I’ve found doesn’t often happen in small museums.

One room had been reset as a meeting or council room from the age and was colourful in its plush reds and creams

Another area had a wall displaying tombstones through the ages and you could see how the designs had chnaged over the years. A simple but effect way of showing history in the castle.

Finikoudes Beach and Sea Promenade

Much as I rarely go on a beach holiday, I could not ignore something that Larnaca is probably the most famous for.

Right in front of the extended town centre area is a marvellous half a kilometre long golden sandy beach. Holiday-makers flock here in their thousands and are well catered for today in the sea front hotels, bars, restaurants and shops.

However, it was not always like this. If you look at pics of this area before the 1920s you would see the sea coming right up to the present line of buildings. The whole stretch was more akin to a quayside with mini-jetties on it.

Historically, the narrow street along the quayside was called Coastal Avenue. The British, when they took over Cyprus in 1848, remaned it The Strand.

In 1922, those same Brits decided to revamp the whole stretch. A wide Avenue was created, giving space between the pavement and the street and a massive sea embankment was built along the entire length. In front of the embankment on the sea side, sand was imported and the wide beach was established.

Larnaca now had an impressive wide promenade with a wide avenue, a stylish promenade wall and a fine beach – it got the attention it now deserved. A line of palm trees were planted and they are here still today and have grown massively.

The Embankment was called Finikoudes after the palm tree variety of that name and the Brits during WW2 renamed the wide street Athens Avenue. The name Finikoudes )for the beach) was so popular however ,that colloquially the street is called that too, by many.

The walk along this promenade is really relaxing – wide pavements and terraced cafes and open air restaurants.

If you are looking for cheap and cheerful food then here it is in plentiful supply. The MacDonalds here is the first one I’ve ever seen with a second-floor open terrace overlooking a beach. The local bars will attract you in with their roadside signage too.

At one end stands a carved lion symbolising the twinning of the city with Venice in Italy. At one time, the Venetians in centuries gone by, owned the city as a huge trading port for the whole Mediterranean area.

Further along, an obelisk commemorating Cimon, a Greek military commander is situated. Why put this here? Well, it’s a kind of sign of gratitude.  Cimon laid siege to Kition (old Larnaca) from the sea against the Persian who dominated the island. He was unsuccessful and died during the siege (the local wished he had won).

However, to keep moral high he instructed his chiefs not to tell anyone he had died until they got back to their home port in Greece. On the return journey to Greece the fleet was engaged in two battles against the Persians, which they won, all the time being “commanded” by a dead leader. Thus the inscription on the obelisk- “and the dead won” – interesting, eh?

Larnaka Marina

The very end of the beach is denoted by Larnaca Marina. In fact; you can sit on the beach nearby and watch the boats enter and leave the Marina and the masts dot the length of the sea wall.

Whilst it not a tourist attraction I wandered through the gates unchallenged and walked the long boardwalks just to catch a glimpse of the many boats here. Clearly some have been here ages with people calling their boats home and there is even a section for boat-dwellers as opposed to those just visiting.

It’s another view-point into why this city is actually one of the most affluent in the whole of Cyprus.

Armenian Genocide Memorial

Beside the Marina facing Europe Square is a memorial garden. Enter here and you walk into a secluded, open, semi-garden, semi-walled, commemorative area to the Armenian Genocide. It is flanked by hundreds of pomegranate and Cypress trees.

It feels strange to have a genocide memorial right next to a fun-loving leisure beach and affluent marina but here it is.

The memorial commemorates the Armenian genocide of 1915-23, enacted by the Ottoman Turks on the ethnic Turkish Armenian population. It was a mass murder of around 1 million Armenians, mainly In eastern Turkey and their forced conversion to Islam in one of the worst atrocities the ethmic Armenians have faced.

Thousands escaped the region and fled to Cyprus and landed in craft at this very spot on the coast.

Cyprus took them in and today Armenians make up one of the ethnic groups in Cyprus.

In 2006 the President of Armenia laid the foundation stone to the memorial and it opened in 2008 with an official ceremony.

Europe Square area

Opposite the Marina stands Europe Square, a modern, open, paved area containing several statues, fountains and monuments.

The square is vey large and thus somewhat barren but well maintained and is used often for open-air events.

It is flanked on one side by a series of old buildings from the 18^th Century that today form the Historic National Archives and the Larnaca Municipal Art Gallery.

Larnaca Municipal Art Gallery

Housed in an 1881 colonial building, the Art Gallery displays Cypriot and international artworks and a Palaeontology Museum. It is quite small and I did not explore it.

The buildings however were worth the visit. Three seperate styles form a long terrace of white walls and blue coloured window frames. They look at once quite warehousey and at other points almost villa -like.

Walk the whole length of the square to admire these buildings as they are the largest concentration of separate old buildings in Larnaca.

Behind the square lies a street full of old Villa type building now converted in various small museums. The Tourist Office is here with helpful assistants that guided me on how I drive around the Northern Turkish part of Cyprus.

A large classical looking house (now a museum), stands nearby too. The family privately owned Pierides Museum holds a private collection of private antiquities collected by the Pierides family. It houses around 2500 Cypriot antiques spanning 9000 Years of culture from the Neolithic to the Medieval period. At around 4 Euros to enter it is an inexpensive culture top-up visit.

Today I arrived here too late to enter as my day was finishing just as the Museum was closing.

My day in Larnaca was at an end and my hotel was now a short 10 mins walk away. I had walked in an almost total circle – quite an efficient day’s walking I thought.

Tomorrow I would head out of town to another city and site and so an early night was needed to ensure I rested well for the car drive ahead.

My thoughts on Larnaca

So, what Had I learned about Larnaca?

Quite a lot actually. I was expecting a modern sea-side style resort and rather bland buildings. I had read there were some older buildings, a castle and an old aqueduct outside of the city. I did get tp see the aqueduct as I drove its length several times as it is beside a major road. I thus did not stop to examine it further or take photos.

In reality, yes, it does make a lot of its trade in the holiday tourism world, but there is so much more to this city.

The Castle, Mosque and St Lazarus Church are all stunning structures in themselves with quite a lot of legend and history behind them. They are also very well preserved and maintained.

Much of the central city area is pedestrianised, so walking around is easy. The places to see (apart from the Aqueduct), are all within 5 mins of each other, on an easy walking route, that can be covered in a day.

There is affluence in the city and a sense of civic pride, even along the modern more garish hotel sea front esplanade. For sure, it has plenty of history to discover as “one” of the oldest cities in the world!

Feb 2018

Below are some related posts on nearby places to visit. Click on the pic to view.