Archaeological Site of Palaepaphos — Attraction in Kouklia

The Sanctuary of Aphrodite is located at Kouklia village, 14 km east of Pafos, off the Limassol (Lemesos) - Pafos road. Palaipafos, which means Old Pafos, was one of the most celebrated pilgrimage centres of the ancient Greek world, and once a city-kingdom of Cyprus. Here stood the famous Sanctuary of Aphrodite, the most ancient remains of which date back to the 12th century BC. The glorious days of the sanctuary lasted till the 3rd - ­4th century. The museum, housed in the Lusignan Manor, contains many interesting finds from the area and excavations are continuing on the site of the sanctuary, the city and the necropolis. Thoroughly interesting. This site has the advantage of small plaques dotted around to inform you of what you are currently looking at. There is also a small museum situated in the restored medieval manor house with many artefacts from various digs. Underfoot is a little rocky so wear good footwear. There's also a cobbled ramp in the courtyard that leads... I was just facinated with this place. Some day I'll be back here again Entrance...

A holy site. The Sanctuary of the Goddess Aphrodite herself. This is the home of the black conal rock of the temple itself is kept.

There are some wonderful exhibits here.

From a mosaic here and a broken piece of building there. It's mysterious and a wonderful place to explore. Everything you see is just one piece of the puzzle.

A wonderful place of imagination.

However there are some issues that need to be addressed: Some of the displays have faded because of constant exposure to the sun and the heat, these need to be renewed. Some exhibits have been scattered carelessly! There is even a piece of an ancient column with ancient Cypriot syllabic text engraved on it that has been left outside the TV room making it vulnerable to damage. It needs to be kept indoors and studied, not left outside abandoned like this. There is no label on it or any translation of what it says.

Overall, an essential visit for anyone who loves history and mythology....

The sanctuary is serene and the views from there are gorgeous, very befitting for Aphrodite. The area is dotted with trees and benches to sit around and take in the beauty of the place. I thought it had lovely energy, very relaxing. The sanctuary itself isn't documented well, there are small write up near the ruins but doesn't do the site much justice. To one side you have the excavations lined up in a row 'display' with no information about them which was a little disappointing, hence the 4 star. There is a musuem onsite which is good and quite informative. It is spread over 2 levels and you can get to the first floor via a cobbled ramp- could be tricky if you have mobility issues. They might have an alternate route, good to check with them. There is a TV room as well where they were playing excerpts from a documentary which I quite liked. All in all it was a great experience, I'd highly...