Paphos

Paphos airport
Climate diagram
	Temperature in ° C , precipitation in mm
	Source: Cyprus Meteorological Service ; wetterkontor.de

Paphos
UNESCO world heritage
	The Odeon, in the background the lighthouse
National territory:	Cyprus
Type:	Culture
Criteria :	(iii) (vi)
Surface:	162.0171 ha
Reference No .:	79
UNESCO region :	Europe and North America
	History of enrollment
Enrollment:	1980 ( session 4 )

Paphos
Πάφος
Baf

Basic data

State :

Cyprus

District :

Paphos

Geographic coordinates :

34 ° 47 ' N , 32 ° 25' E Coordinates: 34 ° 47 ' N , 32 ° 25' E

Height above d. M .:

72 m

Residents :

32,892 (2011)

Postal code :

8000-8999

Mayor :

Phedon Phedonos

Website:

www.pafos.org.cy

Paphos ( Greek Πάφος , modern Greek transcription Pafos ; Turkish Baf or Gazibaf ) is a port city in the southwest of the Republic of Cyprus and the administrative seat of the district named after it . In 2017 it was - together with the Danish Aarhus - European Capital of Culture .

history

The origin of Palaia Paphos ("Old Paphos"), which is today on the southern outskirts of Kouklia , is obscure. Only after the port city of Nea Paphos (= location of today's Paphos) was founded, in the 4th century BC. BC called the old capital Palaia Paphos for distinction.

Mythical sources trace the city's foundation back to King Kinyras , after whom generations of priest-kings in Paphos referred to themselves as Kinyraden. According to Pausanias , Agapenor of Tegea , on his way home from Troy , built a temple to Aphrodite in Paphos.

Floor mosaic ( Apollon )

The prehistory of Palaia Paphos up to the late Bronze Age can be proven archaeologically . Since the 15th century BC A settlement must have existed. The immigration of Mycenaean Greeks affected Palaia Paphos in the late 13th century BC. Rich grave finds now testify to the prosperity of the city. Palaia Paphos was spared the destruction towards the end of the Bronze Age.

Its first historical mention of Paphos comes from an inscription on the Kition stele from the time of the Assyrian king Asarhaddon (680-669 BC), which lists the Paphic king Ituandar (Eteandros) as paying tribute.

When the Cypriot city kings under the leadership of Onesilos from Salamis in 499 BC. BC rebelled against the Persians , Paphos was also subjugated. Herodotus' account , which does not mention Paphos himself, is confirmed by the excavation of a siege ramp northeast of Kouklia . The king of Paphos controlled 480 BC. Twelve ships to the fleet of Xerxes . Nicocles, the last king of Paphos, made 321 BC. Nea Paphos became the new capital and also fortified Palaia Paphos, which was only important as a sanctuary of Aphrodite. After the conquest of the island by Ptolemy, the kings of Paphos were only responsible for the office of high priest of Aphrodite, a still honorable function that also the last Ptolemaic after the arrival of the Romans in 58 BC. Was offered as compensation. The Aphrodite sanctuary was under the patronage of the Roman emperors and statues of the Roman emperor Augustus and his wife Livia , of Julia and Tiberius , Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and his wife Julia, Marcia and his grandson Gaius, later also a statue of Tiberius as an autocrator erected in the sanctuary. Tiberius confirmed the cult of the local Aphrodite. Despite severe damage from earthquakes , the temple survived until the 4th century AD.

In late antiquity , a palace was built in Paphos, the apsidal throne room of which was accessible via a courtyard with peristyles . In the 5th century it was decorated with floor mosaics. It was abandoned under Justinian I , perhaps because the city of Samais (Constantia) became the seat of the newly appointed governor.

In the middle of the 7th century the city was sacked by the Arabs. Arabic inscriptions were found in the Panagia Limeniotissa cathedral. In Byzantine times the city fell into disrepair.

King Erik I of Denmark died in Paphos in 1103 on the way to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage. He was buried in Paphos. The nearby castle Saranda Kolones was perhaps under Basil I built. In 1191 she surrendered to the Crusaders under the English King Richard the Lionheart ; it was destroyed in the 1222 earthquake.

After the island was taken over by the House of Lusignan , Palaia Paphos received a castron in the 13th century to monitor the sugar cane plantations in the coastal region. The Kastron Manoir de la Covocle, also known under the name Chateau de Covocle or Conuclia, is likely to have given today's place Kouklia its name. In 1426 it was destroyed by the Mamluks , then rebuilt and, under Turkish rule, served as the seat of the Turkish Chiftlik of Kouklia. Today it houses the museum.

geography

After Nicosia , Limassol and Larnaka , Paphos is the fourth largest urban region in Cyprus with 51,300 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2004). The city itself has about 27,500 inhabitants.

The port city of Paphos is located on the southwest coast in the Greek-speaking part of the island. To distinguish it from the ancient Palaia Paphos ("Old Paphos") located about 15 km south-east, the city was previously also called Nea Páfos ("New Paphos"). The town of Ktima , located a little above, is also called Pano Paphos ("Upper Paphos").

climate

Paphos has a subtropical Mediterranean climate. Precipitation occurs only between mid-November to March, snowfall about every 10 years. In summer there is practically no precipitation (0.1%).

Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Paphos Airport

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C )	16.8	16.8	18.0	21.3	24.2	27.4	29.6	30.2	28.8	26.2	22.0	18.5	O	23.3
Min. Temperature (° C)	7.7	7.4	8.1	10.8	14.2	17.5	20.1	20.5	18.5	15.9	12.2	9.4	O	13.6

Precipitation ( mm )	94.0	69.0	49.0	24.0	10.0	0.7	0.2	0.2	1.7	31.0	52.0	98.0	Σ	429.8

Hours of sunshine ( h / d )	6th	7th	8th	9	11	12	13	12	11	9	8th	6th	O	9.3

Rainy days ( d )	11.3	9.1	7.7	4.0	1.9	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	4.3	7.3	10.4	Σ	56.9

Water temperature (° C)	17th	17th	18th	20th	21st	24	26th	27	26th	24	21st	19th	O	21.7

Humidity ( % )	78	76	69	64	57	52	54	56	56	61	71	74	O	63.9

Source: Cyprus Meteorological Service ; wetterkontor.de

traffic

Port: Paphos has an important port, which today is mainly a tourist destination.
Airport: Paphos International Airport has picked up traffic since it stopped serving Nicosia and tourism increased in southwestern Cyprus.

Road: On the land side there is a connection to the Cypriot motorway A6 Paphos - Erimi . Paphos is thus the westernmost point of the south coast motorway.

To the north coast, the B7 national road leads to Polis Chrysochous .

religion

In Paphos is the early Christian basilica of Panagia Chrysopolitissa (Our Lady of Chrysopolis) with the so-called Paulus column, to which St. Paul was supposedly chained to be scourged. The Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Paphos of the Cypriot Orthodox Church gave Agia Kyriaki to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem for the Roman Catholic community in 1987. The Anglican, German, Finnish, Lutheran and Maronite congregations also use them. The Roman Catholic parish also operates the St. Michael Hospice for palliative care .

Attractions

The "royal tombs"

The medieval fort on the port of Paphos

Royal tombs

The so-called royal tombs of Nea Paphos from the 3rd century BC. BC, when Cyprus was under the rule of the Ptolemies , were used for burials until the 3rd century AD. However, no kings were buried there, but members of the Cypriot upper class. From the late Iron Age to the time of the Diadochi , Paphos was a minor kingdom. The last ruler, Nicocles , took himself and his entire family in 310 BC. Chr. Life after being in conflict with Ptolemy I was advised.

In 1980 the ruins of Paphos were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .

Archaeological Park

In the archaeological park you can visit the villas from Roman times (2nd / 3rd century AD) with their valuable floor mosaics.

Fort

The most important landmark is the medieval fort directly at the harbor, which the Ottomans rebuilt in 1592 after it had previously been abandoned and partially destroyed by the Venetians .

Ruins with Paulus column and Agia Kyriaki

On the area around the late Byzantine cross-domed church of Agia Kyriaki, which is freely accessible during the day, there is a stump of a column on which, according to legend, the Apostle Paul was tied up and scourged. Further remains of a Franciscan church from the late Middle Ages and a basilica from early Christian times have been preserved.

Panagia Theoskepasti

The Panagia Theoskepasti church rises freely on a rock in the lower town over the foundation walls of an older Byzantine church.

Museums

District Archaeological Museum

The Paphos Archaeological District Museum ("Pafos District Museum") exhibits gold jewelry from the 15th century BC to the third century AD, Roman glass and a number of clay-made Roman hot water bottles .

Byzantine Museum

In addition to liturgical implements and vestments , icons from the 12th to 18th centuries can be seen in this museum .

Folklore Museum

In a villa from 1894, the private museum shows everyday objects from Cyprus from the past centuries.

Paphos in Mythology, Literature and Art

According to legend, Aphrodite went ashore in Cyprus after she was born. The older Palaia Paphos , about 15 km southeast of Paphos, was an important center of their worship. Aphrodite was therefore also nicknamed "Paphia". Palaia Paphos had a famous temple of Aphrodite Urania .

In the sequel to Mozart's “ Magic Flute ”, the “Second Part of the Magic Flute, The Labyrinth” by Emanuel Schikaneder and Peter von Winter , Vienna 1798, a King of Paphos appears , to whom the Queen of the Night shakes hands of her daughter Pamina in the fight against Sarastro promises.

In the Bible , Paphos is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles ( Acts 13.6-12 EU ). Here the apostles Barnabas and Paul meet the governor Sergius Paullus , who wants to hear the word of God from them. The magician Bar-Jesus , who is in the service of the governor, is blinded by God because he tries to intrigue against the two apostles . Overwhelmed by this sign, Sergius Paulus converted to the Christian faith.

literature

Klaus Bötig Cyprus. With map atlas in the book and extra removable map: Néa Páphos, Girne, Karpass Peninsula. Travel House Media, Munich 2011. ISBN 978-3-8342-1022-7
Alfred Janssen: Cyprus: Travel with insider tips. 6th edition. Mairs Geographischer Verlag , Ostfildern 1996. ISBN 3-89525-427-4
Franz Georg Maier: Paphos. In: Eric M. Myers u. a. (Ed.): The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archeology in the Ancient Near East 4. New York, Oxford 1997, pp. 245-246.

Web links

Commons : Paphos - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Paphos Travel Guide

Christian Scheib, Roman Tschiedl: Aphrodite's Child - Explorations in contemporary Cyprus ( radio feature ), Radio Ö1 , April 15, 2019

Individual evidence

^ AHS Megaw, Byzantine architecture and decoration in Cyprus: Metropolitan or provincial? . In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers 28, 1974, p. 71.

[1] AHS Megaw, Byzantine architecture and decoration in Cyprus: Metropolitan or provincial? . In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers 28, 1974, p. 71.