Pafos Castle

A warm day, some lovely sunny spells, but clouds passing over, the odd shower too.  Fairly breezy tonight. 

A late night out on the main strip last night, it was quiet, I still needed the extra rest this morning.  After breakfast, a relaxed morning at the pool.  With a cloudy afternoon, we headed down to the harbour for a walk, some souvenir shopping and coffee.  Lovely meal in the hotel this evening.  Looking thundery outside, so a quiet night at the bar.

A fine walk down to the harbour, where the old Pafos Castle stands.  The castle stands on the ancient mole on the west side of the harbour and included in the coastal defensive system of Cyprus.  Built during the Frankish period, probably at the end of the 14th century.  During the war between the Genoese and the kingdom of Cyprus in 1373 the Genoese increased the height of the fortifications and dug a moat. The fortifications were in use during the first decades of the Venetian Period until 1546 when the towers must have collapsed. During the Ottoman period the west tower was restored in 1592 Beylerbey (governor) Ahmed Pasha. During this period, the castle was used as prison. When the island passed on the hands of the British, the castle was used as a salt store, until 1935 when under the Antiquities Law, it was declared an Ancient Monument. Pafos Castle, Paphos, Cyprus.