AROUND ALMYRA HOTEL - A WALK THROUGH GEROSKIPOU

Just three kilometres from the centre of Pafos sits the town of Geroskipou, where you can become quickly immersed in the arts and crafts of Cyprus. A good first stop is the Folk Art Museum. Housed in an eighteenth-century dwelling, the museum will introduce you to beautiful specimens of pottery and woven goods like kilims and scarves. Next head to the central Geroskipou Square and its adjoining shops. Several are devoted to the production of loukoumia—commonly known in English as Cyprus Delight. See how this and other Cypriot sweets are made as you pass from shop to shop. You’ll also find handmade crafts (colourful baskets, clay pots) for purchase from their artisans. Look for Avgoustinos Pottery, where proprietor Avgoustinos Michael offers pottery classes as well as a selection of his own wares—it is just across the street from the Myth and Sculpture Park. Geroskipou has a history that stretches back to antiquity—its very name is a corruption of the ancient Greek for ‘sacred garden’, as a forest dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite was sited here. The ancient geographer Strabo described the annual procession to the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Palaipafos passing through its grounds. More recently, the Byzantines built the Agia Paraskevi church in the ninth century on what is now the central square. Icons, frescoes, and other objects of veneration feature in the nearby Ecclesiastical Museum. A morning walk through Geroskipou is recommended, as the museums and shops have irregular afternoon hours.