Recommended, 2024

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Radiant island beauty in the Mediterranean: Cyprus

Photo: A Jaye, Fotolia

Travel tip

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was born on the southwest coast of the island of Cyprus from the sea. With Adonis, one of her lovers, she spent pleasurable hours in a green spring pond on the Akamás peninsula (1) . The Cypriots attribute miraculous powers to this Adonis bath today. Women should rejuvenate it, men help to strong hair growth. The water is refreshing after a dusty jeep tour through the wild and rugged natural paradise.

Unlimited bathing fun The third largest Mediterranean island is Cyprus. It has a turbulent past for millennia. The Phoenicians, the ancient Egyptians, after the Romans the crusaders, later the Venetians and Turks, finally British colonial rulers fought for the fertile island. In 1960 the island of Cyprus became an independent state, since 1974 it has been divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The border runs across the capital Nicosia (2) . Since 2004, the Greek south belongs to the EU, the north is under Turkish sovereignty. Tourists love both parts of the country, the lively holiday towns such as Agia Nápa (3) and secluded coves in the south. In the north, fans of the island of Cyprus are raving about the idyllic harbor town of Kyrénia (4), which is called Turkish Girne, with its chic Acapulco Beach, but also of the endless beaches on the Karpasia peninsula. Almost everywhere on the island of Cyprus, it is family-friendly flat in the sea . Particularly popular is the golden sands of Cape Greco at the lively Agia Nápa and further west on the sprawling Nissi Beach. In between, always bays for romantics.

Photo: Fotolia / Henrie

White rocks in the golden sand In the port city of Larnaca (5) with its palm-fringed promenade and the fashionable marina, most of the holiday planes land. Between Larnaca and the modern city of Limassol (6), the ever-changing Governor's Beach features long sandy beaches and secluded spots on the wild cliffs with white, smooth-cut rocks. Further to the southwest are the most beautiful bathing areas: Lady's Mile Beach and bustling Coral Bay just behind Paphos (7) . In the pretty harbor town you will meet at every step of the turbulent island history. Worth seeing are the ornate mosaics in the Roman ruins, the amphitheater, the Egyptian-Greek royal tombs and the mighty Turkish fort of 1592 at the harbor. On the north coast of the aforementioned Akamas peninsula is the Fontana Amorosa, a small sandy beach (no hotels, no tavernas - pure tranquility!), The best with the excursion boat from Paphos.

Fruity wines and precious icons A tour into the green heart of Cyprus should definitely be on the program. Attention, left-hand traffic! The narrow winding roads wind their way up the forested Troodos Mountains, past countless wine terraces, quiet villages and important monasteries with icons and frescoes, which UNESCO has designated as a World Heritage Site. "The Island of the Gods" is what the Cypriots call their homeland. How could the highest peak (1, 951 meters) be called differently than Olympus? At the top of the "seat of the gods", modernity has long since taken hold with television transmitters and antenna masts. But it is still divine, the view of this incredibly beautiful holiday pearl in the Mediterranean.

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