FORT DE PAPHOS
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On the old port. Built by the Lusignan family in the late century, then remodeled. Quick tour, but great views from the top of the walls.
This medieval fort (Κάστρο της Πάφου/Kastro tis Pafou, Paphos Castle) dominates the western part of the old port of Kato Paphos. It is a rectangular tower (40 × 20 m) that once guarded the entrance to a larger fortress. The present building was erected in the late 14th century by the Lusignans on the site of a Byzantine fort damaged by an earthquake in 1222. The fort was subsequently remodeled by the Genoese, the Venetians and then by the Ottoman governor Hadım Hafız Ahmed Paşa in 1592. It was later used as a prison, then as a salt warehouse by the British until 1935. Access is via a footbridge spanning a seawater reservoir. The visit is fairly quick, but it does reveal some beautiful vaulted passageways and the small square inner courtyard. Above all, the views from the top of the walls are breathtaking. The ruins of another medieval tower can be seen at the end of the pier. This was a second fort of the same type, linked to the present one by a wall during the Frankish period. The entrance to the footbridge is guarded by the Sol Alter monument ("other sun" in Latin): a bronze statue of a woman lying on a rock. This work by artist Yiota Ioannidou was created in 2016. It represents a young woman watching over the legacy of the goddess Aphrodite. The fort also marks the start of a well-developed 3.4 km coastal path that runs alongside the archaeological park and leads to the site of the Tombs of the Kings.
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