A Holiday Town among the Ruins and Tombs

My family love Indian cuisine and wherever we go on holiday we always have to search the town or resort until we find a suitable Indian restaurant.

On our second evening in Paphos last Christmas we were very lucky to come across the Bombay Brasserie one evening when taking a walk around the harbour and then back through the town.

The entrance of the restaurant is attractive but not too eccentric like some Indian restaurants can be. The facade is mostly made from dark wood and there are two large front windows with heavy decorated curtains in blue and maroon silks. The front door was wide open as we entered and you were able to see down the main thoroughfare of the restaurant. All tables were set for four with linen cloths and serviettes in place. Decor wise, the restaurant was a little bland and personally could have done with a bit more colour and a few knick knacks to brighten the place up a little.

It was quite early in the evening when we visited so the atmosphere in the restaurant was calm and very pleasant. Indian music was playing softly in the background which I like - it always makes me want to get up and do a little dance but this time I behaved myself.

We were immediately shown to our tables and asked if we would like to order any drinks which we did - 3 beers, ice cold and delicious. We were given the menu and left to decide on what culinary treats to order. Immediately I noticed the lack of hovering waiters so I felt at ease as this is something that really irritates me. Eventually all three of us had come to a decision and we politely beckoned the waiter over and he took our order.

First came the poppadoms which were a little greasy for my taste but my son managed to eat twice as many as me. To accompany these were two bowls of raita and a chilli dip which was fluorescent green in colour and very hot to taste.

For once we all chose a different main course so we could each have a taste of the other person's meal.

My son ordered a Bhindi curry which when it arrived looked an enormous helping. I had never seen so many okra in one dish. The base of the sauce was made from tomatoes, onions and chillies and was served with basmati rice and my son ordered a garlic nan which again was a ltlle too greasy but he didn't seem to mind. I hate to think what is cholesterol count will be when he gets older. I tasted his curry and although the okra were cooked to perfection and by this I mean not too soft they were quite salty. I could also taste a hint of turmeric, cumin and garam masala with a dash of lemon juice and some mustard seeds thrown in for extra taste. Overall the bhindi curry was very tasty and I would mark it 7/10.

My husband decided to stick with chicken and he ordered a chicken Kadhai. This is a dish that is cooked in a traditional Kadhai ( like a wok) on a sizzling heat. The diced boneles chicken was delicate in taste and so tender. The tomato sauce had an aromatic taste of ginger mixed with fresh herbs and spices including curry leaves and came to the table served in a brass dish with saffron rice. He was over the moon with his dish and said that the flavours of the spices had blended well and he manged to eat everything which is unusual as he usually feels full half way through the meal. Ten out of ten for the chicken Kadhai.

Finally, my turn. I chose Rogan Josh which is a very simple meal, I know, but when cooked properly is delicious. Was it cooked properly in this restaurant? Oh, yes, the lamb was tender and the sauce was thick and yoghurty. I could smell and taste a mixture of wonderful spices - cardomam, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander, and chilli and a touch of lemon juice, I think. This was probably the best Rogan Josh I have ever tasted.

All three meals were full of flavour - not too hot - all spices belnded well making three delicious meals.

Did we have any room for dessert? Yes, my son did. He chose to eat a cheesecake that was made by the owner of the restaurant. This was made from Mars Bars with a biscuit bottom. Far too sweet for my palette and by then I was full to the brim. I couldn't have eaten another morsel or drunk any more ale. The meal was very enjoyable and I would definitely visit the Bombay Brasserie again when next in Cyprus.

Fabrica Hill is a strange attraction to say the least. To me, it sounds like there should be a factory built on top of a hill as the word Fabrica in Portuguese means factory and a similar word in Polish, Fabrik, also means factory.

I don't know about a hill exactly but it is definitely a lumpy, verdant mound.

Beneath Fabrica Hill graves and underground chambers have been carved out and in the Middle ages they housed a cotton mill. The walls were painted and the roofs were vaulted. On the eastern flank a rock chapel has been carved out for lovers to go and worship. The Digenis Rock on the north side of the hill is the subject of a fascinating legend which goes like this.....

Digenis is a giant of amazing strength. He is a good natured giant but not blessed with intelligence. In many stories he fights against the Saracens, driving them off with boulders or else delivering a fatal blow. Once, when he stumbled to the ground, the imprint of his little finger created Five Finger Mountain. It is there where the clever and cunning Queen Rigena lived. The countryside around Paphos once belonged to Rigena and the Fabrica Hills were her palace. When the plain was afflicted by a terrible drought, she asked the giant Digenis to bring water from the mountains. He was happy to obey, hoping that by helping the beautiful Queen he could win her hand. But the Queen merely thanked him for his help and fled from his advances through an underground passage linking Fabrica with the sanctuary of Aphrodite. Beside himself with anger, Digenis attacked her palace with a stone, the Diginis Rock.

Fascinating stuff, don't you think. Well, at leats it adds a bit of romanticism to the place.

You can find Fabrica Hill at the end of Apostolou Avenue in paphos and from the top of the hill you will be able to see a breathtaking view of the dappled sea and bustling town below.

The castle and the harbour front are probably the most two dominant sights in Paphos town and are very close to each other so rather than write about each seperately I have chosen to stick both attractions together.

The castle which was built by the Turks in 1592, overlooks the fishing harbour. Nearby lies a heap of stones left over from the earlier fortifications which the Venetians destroyed in 1570 as they had too few soldiers to maintain a permanent guard. Although not the most beautiful castle I have ever visited, it is quite a dominating structure and is worth a stroll around the fortifications if just to get views of the harbour and the promenade which is always busy from morning to night.

The best times to visit the castle are early morning and just as the sun is going down in the early evening. The colours and shadows of the castle walls reflecting on to the boats and blue waters of the sea is a very picturesque sight.

(The castle is open Monday - Friday - 7.30 until 2.30pm, Thursday also 3-6pm, weekends 10am - 5pm)

To the northwest of the harbour lay the centre of the Roman town. In 1962 a farmer ploughing his field chanced upon an ancient mosaic. Since then archaelogists have ucovered further mosaics in this vicinity and these now rank among the most significant and finest sights of historic interest in Cyprus. Even if you do not find ancient ruins particularly appealing you ought not to overlook these fascinating scenes from ancient mythology. The tiny blocks of stone were probably made in Alexandria in the 3rd and 4th centuries and were shipped to Paphos before being assembled. They really are beautiful and so well preserved. UNESCO has acclaimed the mosaics as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

I am not going to describe every mosaic in detail as I know archaelogy isn't everyone's cup of tea. If you are interested then I suggest you take a look at the mosaics in;

1) The House of Dionysos ( the God of Wine) - mosaics here depict several liasions such as Zeus and Ganymede, as well as Narcissus and his mirror image.

2) House of Theseus - Pictures of the heroic victor slaying the minotaur

3) House of Orpheus - here you will see scenes of Orpheus charming the wild animals with his music and wrestling Hercules with a lion.

Harbour Front
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Like most harbour fronts the one in Paphos is no different - it is bustling, full of colour and excitement. There are several shops selling rather bizarre and kitch souvenirs ranging from traditional souvenirs like woven goods and Lefkra lace, clay pottery and engraved copper vessels or brass plates All these are very reasonably priced. Soujoukko which are strings of nuts dipped in grape juice, are popular with youngsters, as are glyko, fruit soaked in syrup, while commandaria, a sweet wine, which is often appreciated by older people. Shopping in Cyprus follows the European practice, so haggling over marked prices is not often acceptable.

Intermingled with shops are cafes and fish restaurants. Some restaurants you can actually go into the kitchen and choose your own fish. Although Cypriots are laid back they are however, tenacious when trying to get you to enter restaurants to eat. So be aware that you may feel hassled and sometimes I even find this tiring at times.

To the north east of the lighthouse you can stroll along the top of the old city wall and from the City Gate a ramp carved out of the rock leads down to the beach.

One of the good things about visiting the lovely island of Cyprus is eating home-cooked Cypriot food. You can go to Cyprus and eat steak and chips if you want to but I don't see the point as the choice of food in restaurants is extraordinarily wide, reflecting many different influences, Greek, Turkish and Lebanese dishes all feature on menus.

During my stay in Paphos in December 2007 I was very fortunate to be able to try lots of different restaurants as we ate out every night due to the very basic facilities of the apartment we were staying in near Coral Bay. One of the busiest and most atmospheric restaurants we ate in was the Palm Grove restaurant which is situated in the Intercoral Shopping Centre on the corner of Hippopotamus.

This is quite a large restaurant with very large windows which is great if you choose a table next to the window where you can sit and watch the world go by. My first impression was one of manicness as there seemed to be quite a lot of waiters/waitresses buzzing around and being very attentive.

The restaurant is frequented mainly by ex-pats and UK visitors from what I could make out by listening to various conversations and the first night we tried the restaurant it was very busy with large groups of ex-pats but then it was the week leading up to New Year.

The decor is very attractive in a Greek Taverna sort of way - a little bit rustic with Greek handicrafts adorning the walls and lots of urns and terra cotta pots strategically placed. Tables have the white paper tablecloths over linen cloths which are screwed up into a ball and thrown away when you have finished eating and a clean one replaced for the next customer. A great idea I think.

We were shown a table near to the window - a table for three as our son joined us that evening. I was a little concerned over the menu because at the time he was a vegetarian and I was worried in case the only thing he would be able to eat was salad but surprisingly there was a good choice and he was easily pleased when he saw grilled halloumi cheese with water melon. This is a strong, salty ewe's cheese that came in quite large squares which had been grilled to form a golden crust and when cut with a knife, squeaked. The slabs of cheese were dressed with wedges of water melon, a sprinkle of lemon juice, some chopped chives and a sprinkiling of rock salt. You know, I had a taste and it was delicious.

To follow the cheese my son chose Dolmades or sometimes known as gemista. These are stuffed vine leaves and can be stuffed with minced pork and rice or with rice, onions, mushrooms and mint. When this dish arrived at the table we were surprised to see the size of the serving - it was huge. I know it only consisted of vegetables but the plate was piled high. On a bed of slightly fried aubergine, baby marrow and tomatoes that had been cooked in olive oil, was a small mound of fried onions and then on top of the onions lay 6 stuffed vine leaves. The dish looked stunning and very colourful and my son polished the whole lot of so they must have tasted delicious.

I am afraid I was very boring that evening and chose to eat moussaka . This came in a lovely earthenware dish and again another huge helping. I have to say that it was the best moussaka I have ever tasted. the minced lamb was so tender and not chewy at all. The mixture of tomatoes, red wine, garlic and onions was just the correct balance and I remember tasting cinnamon and a dash of allspice. The top of the moussaka was golden and tasted of kefalotyri cheese and then underneath the crispness of the cheese was a delicious soft, creamy bechamel sauce. I managed to finish the dish and even scraped the earthenware pot clean.

My husband chose Stifado which was also served in a classic earthenware dish. This is very similar to a beef goulash with onions seasoned with cinnamon. My husband said that the sauce was thick and delicious, tasting slightly sweet from the baby shallot onions which had been used for the sauce. He ate this with several chunks of fresh bread and thoroughly enjoyed his meal.

To wash these wonderful meals down my son had a Coaca Cola and my husband and I shared a bottle of red wine. Now, after we had ordered the wine the waiter brought it to us wrapped in a white linen serviette for us to take a sip to see if we liked it. Yes, the taste was mellow and just fine. He then poured a little into each of our glasses and placed the bottle inside a holder at the side of the table. Now this is where the fun began. Every time our glasses looked empty he came back to put a litle more wine in the glasses. We all found this somewhat irritating as we were trying to talk amongst ourselves but the waiter was circling our table like a shark waiting for us to drink upo so he could pour some more wine. As soon as he was called to another table I hid the bottle behind my bag at the side of the table so he couldn't see it. But blow me, he did find it and continued with this scenario. This did annoy me because I couldn't relax so if there is anything to complain about then it is the over officious waiters.

To finish off the meal completely we had a small Greek coffee which was very strong and black with plenty of grounds served in a very small cup. As a welcome drink the waiter brought each of us a small glass of zivania which isn't for the faint hearted. A very strong spirit, indeed.

All in all, a terrific meal in a pleasant restaurant with very, very attentive waiters. Prices were roughly the same as in other restaurants in the area - a little expensive I thought. 3 meals, 1 bottle of wine, 1 soft drink and a bottle of water, 2 coffees = 50 Cypriot pounds which is approximately £75.

Highly Recommended.

Tourism didn't arrive in the small town of Paphos until the 1980's and I didn't arrive until December 2006. It was Christmas and I wanted to see my son who was based in Athens at the time. As I didn't really fancy spending Xmas in a bustling, over-crowded and polluted city like Athens, I chose to visit Cyprus and meet up with him there. I remember walking to the coach which was waiting outside the airport to take us on to Pathos and thinking this place looks a bit run down. I could see the sea in the background so I felt a little more cheerful but part of me kept thinking - perhaps I should have gone to Athens after all.

As the coach trundled down the cronky, pot-holed roads and came into the town I suddenly became more engaged with the environment around me. It was early evening and the sun was just about to set, painting the sea a rusty red and orange colour which was silhouetted on the windows of the coach. Our final destination was Coral Bay and the road leading to the holiday complex was a steep climb and seemed to take forever as the coach stopped every ten mintes to drop another holiday maker off at their hotel. The views from the coach windows were interesting if not the most beautiful. A mixture of flat top roofs filled the skyline with television aerials standing upright, like soldiers on a military parade. Palm trees, banana trees, scruffy streets and rubbish heaps immediately caught my eye - but then this is normal for eastern Mediterranean countries and it didn't bother me too much.

I think initially I expected Paphos to be more beautiful than it actually is but after being there for a week or so I realised that it has its own quirky charm and is a splendid place to visit for a holiday. The town is a strange patchwork - a holiday destination among ruins and tombs. The lower town of Kato Paphos lies in the heart of one of Cyprus's most interesting archaeological sites. There are ancient and medieval ruins within this small area and every excavated trench yields new discoveries. Whilst on the artificial irrigated coastal plain row after row of droopy leafed banana trees thrive.

Among the sights of historical interest, hotels, souvenir shops and bars, there is still enough room for the local people's simple homes, even the occasional piece of uncultivated land. Despite the renovation of the old custom houses, which is a bone of contention amongst the local people but I think looks rather splendid, the harbour quarter remains an important attraction and I would say is the most dominant feature of the town. Away from the promenade through a few narrow lanes, the town's bustling nightlife continues well into the night. Most of the hotels are grouped together and and occupy a good position overlooking the promenade.

Paphos town is clearly divided into two, with the upper town of Ktima situated 3 kilometres from the sea. Its simple tavernas and basic shops evoke a sense of rural charm. The classical style complex of school, library and town hall near the municipal car park dates from the era of colonial rule.

There is one drawback and I feel I should point this out. Within the urban confines of Paphos and its stony coastline, there are no natural sandy beaches. If you wish to stretch out on the sand and sunbathe you will have to go to Yeroskipou beach at the end of the promenade. Other sandy and pebble beaches on the west coast are accessible by bus.

Well, I think that covers Paphos. Although I was a bit sceptical at first I have to say that I really had a great week here in Paphos. The weather for December was warm enough to just walk around in a T shirt. It's suitably placed for trips out into the mountains. It's a bit touristy but at the same time the town manages to keep its own quaint charm. Some areas are a bit scruffy but after a few days I didn't notice and compared with some other places I have been to it isn't that bad. I'm glad I've been - it's laid back, pretty, and has a lot of eastern Mediterranean charm

The only thing I regret and could kick myself now is that I never took the boat trip to Alexandriia and didn't catch the plane to Beirut. Never mind - next time perhaps