4 museums worth visiting in Cyprus
Cyprus is an island located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Consequently, it has been ruled by diverse civilizations. The Phoenicians, Assyrians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, and many more all left a cultural footprint on this unique island. As a result, the diverse array of cultural gems not only span centuries but also cultures. All of which can be explored and appreciated at Cyprus’s multitude of museums across the entire island. Keep on reading to jump into the local world of cultural exploration at our 4 museum picks you should visit this year when visiting the island.
Cyprus Museum in Nicosia
Also known as the Cyprus Archaeological Museum, is the largest and oldest archeological museum on the island. Founded in 1888, the museum’s extensive collection keeps on growing and offers a variety of artifacts discovered during the multiple excavations on the island of Cyprus.
Folklore Art Museum Amargeti in Paphos
Located west of the Amargeti village, this museum was built at the restored Turkish Cypriot School. With the aim of presenting a broad array of traditional tools that were used by people in various occupations such as barbers, shepherds, farmers and many others, the museum is a great place to gain a deeper insight into local life years ago.
Many of the exhibits present at the museum were given by local residents, whilst a significant proportion was provided by private collectors.
Agios Lazaros Byzantine Museum in Larnaca
An important part of the religious history of the island of Cyprus, Agios Lazaros Museum is located in the southern part of the Agios Lazaros Church – a remarkable icon of byzantine architecture in Cyprus.
The museum was first created through a local school initiative, which involved the collection of a dozen byzantine icons and items from that era. Eventually, all these items were given to the Department of Antiquities in 1974. Today the Byzantine Museum is made up of 5 rooms covering an area of 145m2.
Ancient Ruins of Kourion Archeological Site in Limassol
Even though this is not strictly a museum, we still decided to include it in our list as it’s an amazing piece of local history and culture that you can experience firsthand at the very place where this Roman city kingdom once existed and flourished.
The city-kingdom was built on the hills of the area and overlooked and controlled the fertile valley of the river Kouris. According to archaeological finds, evidence suggests that Kourion was associated with the Greek legend of Argos of Peloponnese, and that its inhabitants believed they were descendants of Argean immigrants. The once-flourishing kingdom was eventually destroyed in a severe earthquake in 365 AD.
The archaeological site includes an impressive and diverse range of finds from the Cyprus Roman period. The magnificent Greco-Roman theatre – the site’s centerpiece – was built in the 2nd century BC and extended in the 2nd century AD. East of the theatre is the remains of a prominent building, the ‘House of Eustolios’, which was originally a private villa that was turned into a public recreation centre during the Early Christian period. While the baths present at the site originally opened off the central room to the north and east, where there were cold baths (frigidarium). Before each is a shallow footbath; while on the west, the remains of the hypocausts – which heated the medium room (tepidarium), and the hot room (caldarium) – can all be seen when visiting.
A roof structure allows visitors to enjoy the site all year round and explore its remnants.