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In 2006 when we visited Cyprus, Paphos was a disappointment. The Lonely Planet guide described the town very favourably, raising our expectations. Little remained of Cypriot culture. Even the food in the restaurants was English, perhaps reflecting the effects of British rule from 1878 to 1960. Almost all of the old buildings in the town have been replaced with the mediocre architecture of the 1950's and 1960's. The town was quite spread out, making it necessary to use a car, but parking was hard to find, and there was no beache until we finally found a nice municipal one in a nearby town. Based on the Lonely Planet guide's recommendation, we had reserved a hotel for four days, and could hardly wait to leave. Paphos is well worth a brief visit, however, in order to see the wonderful mosaics at Roman Paphos. They are by far the most impressive we have ever seen. Perhaps they will be surpassed by those at Ravenna which we haven't yet seen.
At the cathedral at Monreale in Sicily, photographed in 2000, the mosaics you will see are truly outstanding.
My mother and I had a holiday in England in 1984. Driving north of Chichester on a minor road in the countryside , we saw a sign post for a Roman villa. Intrigued, we stopped to see it and were amazed at the quality of the beautiful mosaic floors. As this was the first time I saw ruins from the ancient world, the day remains fresh in my memory some 25 years later. The floors are part of a Roman villa that dates from the 3rd Century AD.
In 2006 when we visited Cyprus, Paphos was a disappointment. The Lonely Planet guide described the town very favourably, raising our expectations. Little remained of Cypriot culture. Even the food in the restaurants was English, perhaps reflecting the effects of British rule from 1878 to 1960. Almost all of the old buildings in the town have been replaced with the mediocre architecture of the 1950's and 1960's. The town was quite spread out, making it necessary to use a car, but parking was hard to find, and there was no beache until we finally found a nice municipal one in a nearby town. Based on the Lonely Planet guide's recommendation, we had reserved a hotel for four days, and could hardly wait to leave. Paphos is well worth a brief visit, however, in order to see the wonderful mosaics at Roman Paphos. They are by far the most impressive we have ever seen. Perhaps they will be surpassed by those at Ravenna which we haven't yet seen.
