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alexandraratiu · 7 years ago

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Discovering Larnaca's surroundings

If you want to get to know the most important sights of Larnaca, you can choose the touristic bus or Love Buses, like it’s called in Cyprus and you won’t regret it. This “hop-on”/“hop-off” bus offers a trip to the sights of Larnaca in a short period of time, about 3 hours. I think it’s a great choice because if you want to go by yourself to these sights and you don’t want to rent a car (please note that in Cyprus they drive on the left part of the road because Cyprus was under British administration), you have to take public transportation (for which the hours of arrival and departure are not really the ones from the timetable, they are very flexible), or you will have to walk some kilometers to a specific sight.

You can find the bus very easy, on the Athens Avenue, next to Finikoudes Beach, you can find the yellow-red bus, and the tour starts opposite the Town Hall (KFC). You don’t need to pre-book, you pay directly to the driver and the price is 15 euros for adults and 10 euros for children. Each seat on the bus has a pair of headphones and you can choose the language from several languages (Greek, Italian, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish).

Below you can find the sights from the tour.

The first 3 sights can be admired from the bus only and don’t include a stop, but don’t worry, I’m pretty sure you can’t miss them when you visit Larnaca by foot (there will be a next post about this).

PALM PROMENADE

The promenade of Athens Avenue is one of the most beautiful seafront areas of Cyprus, full with palm trees which were planted in 1920’s. Back in those days, the locals used to name this avenue, Finikoudes, which means “small palm trees”. The name remained until now and even if the palm trees are now big, this promenade is still known as Finikoudes.

On this avenue you can find some of the best hotels, cafes, pubs and restaurants in town, all of them with an incredible view of the sandy beach and the sea.

LARNACA CASTLE

At the end of Athens Avenue you can’t miss the Larnaca Castle. The castle was founded during the Byzantine era to defend the southern coast of Cyprus and the harbor town of Larnaca.

Later, the castle was used as an artillery station, prison and as a museum. After the Cypriot independence, the castle was turned, into a museum and the castle courtyard was turned into an open-air theater that can accommodate 200 people.

CHURCH OF AGIOS LAZAROS, LARNACA

Built in the 9th century, the Church of Agios Lazarus hosts the tomb of Lazarus, the man that was raised from dead by Jesus. The church was reconstructed in the 17th century and is the most impressive sight in Larnaca.

According to Orthodox tradition, after was raised from dead, Lazarus went in Cyprus and was appointed as the first Bishop of Larnaca (Kition). He lived 30 more years in Cyprus and after his dead he was buried in this church.

ANGELOKTISI

For this sight you leave Larnaca and you go in the Kiti village, about 11 kilometers from Larnaca to discover the Church with the most unusual and finest mosaics in the world. For this sight there is a 20 minutes stop to see the Church that was built in the 11th Century.

The most famous mosaics inside the Church are the ones of Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus on a jeweled pedestal. Aggeloktisti in Greek means “built by the Angels” and according to the legend, the Church was not built by human hand, but God guided the Angels to built it.

Next stop is a combined one, first the bus takes you along the Larnaca Salt Lake and stops at his end to see the lake and after that you go by foot to see the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, this stop is about 30 minutes.

LARNACA SALT LAKE

Larnaca Salt Lake is a natural habitat of sea life traced to million years BC. As excavations showed, the lake is perhaps one of the first natural ports of Cyprus. Now it is well known for the migration of birds (flamingos, ducks, swans) in the winter that attracts many tourists.

HALA SULTAN TEKKE MOSQUE

This impressive mosque is located 3 kilometers from Larnaca and lies in a serene setting, on the shores of Larnaca Salt Lake. This mosque is considered to be the forth most important religious site for Muslims from all over the world and the first most important that allows non-Muslim women to visit it.

Hala Sultan Tekke complex is composed of a mosque, mausoleum, minaret, cemetery and living quarters for men and women. According to the legend, after the Arab armies landed in Larnaca, the aunt of Mohamed, Umm Haram died here as a result of an accident, and the Great Khalif who was taking part of the expedition ordered the construction of a mosque at the spot and this is how this amazing mosque appeared.

The next 2 sights will be seen from the bus, because the street is very small without any parking places.

PANAGIA FANEROMENI

The small Church is located on the busy Faneromeni Avenue and dates from the 20th century. It is devoted to the Virgin Mary and replaces a Medieval church on the same spot. Today, a larger, modern church sits beside the older one and was constructed to serve the expanding community.

The small church is credited with various magical properties; those who suffer from headaches or other diseases walk three times around the church and leave a piece of clothing in the belief that they will be healed. The church is also visited by women whose partners are overseas, with the belief that prayers given for their safety will ensure it.

AGIOS GEORGIOS MAKRIS CHAPEL

This chapel of the late Byzantine architecture dates from the 12th century. It is located on a hill along the Faneromeni Avenue and it was the church of the medieval village Agrinou. The village and the church were destroyed by Egyptians in 15th Century, but was soon repaired.

The last stop of the tour is at the Kamares aqueduct.

KAMARES AQUEDUCT

The old aqueduct of Larnaca is located at the exit from Larnaca towards the Limassol highway. The aqueduct was built on the 18th Century and it’s 16 kilometers long. Kamares, the old Aqueduct of Larnaca channeled the water of river Tremithos to Larnaca until 1950. The aqueduct existed since Roman times and was reconstructed in 1745 by Ottoman Bekir Pashia.

These are all the amazing sights that you can see in the bus tour. I totally recommend taking this tour. This is all for this post. I hope you liked it.

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