Paphos

Paphos looks out from the western tip of Cyprus, at the spot where legend has Aphrodite rising from the foam: the rock of Petra tou Romiou marks it, on a pebble beach with the waves breaking over it. The town was a Roman capital, and the Archaeological Site of Nea Paphos still holds whole floors of mosaic, their gods and hunting scenes as sharp as the day they were laid. Close by, the Tombs of the Kings are cut straight into the rock above the sea, courtyards, columns and all. North of town the coast turns wild: the Akamas Peninsula has barely a surfaced road left on it, Avakas Gorge closes to thirty-metre walls, and turtles come ashore to nest on the sand of Lara Beach. Wine has been made on these hills for four thousand years, and the inland villages still press it. On the table: grilled halloumi, octopus, and meze without end.