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So it's now official - the work on the redevelopment
will last until May .....ish. |
The new
sea wall is taking shape. |
Rose
Corner doesn't look so rosy now. |
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All the
shops have lost their verandas... |
... and
behind the Porto Paphos Hotel there is a large excavation... |
... but
from a distance all looks pretty normal. |
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Most of
the hotels are closed and some, like the Alexander the Great, are
refurbishing their communal areas. |
Paphos
Municipal beach is all but deserted. |
Another week and the work continues relentlessly. |
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Over at Latsi (Latchi) the harbour is deserted ... |
... whichever way you look. |
The Bath of Aphrodite has been cleaned up and ... |
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... around it new gardens have been planted. |
It's a fine walk along the coastal path from Latsi to
Polis ... |
... and a similar path is planned for Paphos for
completion in 2010. |
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For the first time since the redevelopment began,
pedestrians have been allowed to wander on the site ... |
... but this is only because it is relatively safe
and being Sunday there is no work in progress. |
The following sequence of pictures shows how desolate
the place looks with the shops closed ... |
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... and the verandas missing. |
There is a lot of heavy machinery around ... |
... and some of the work gives no clue as to its
final purpose. |
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This is the row of restaurants opposite the old
public swimming place ... |
... including Chloes Chinese Restaurant. |
Across the road the old swimming place, formerly
"Τα Μπανiα"
restaurant is being rebuilt.... |
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... but I have no idea (yet) what this will be. |
One lonely trader braves the mess to sell newspapers
... |
... and the new Tea For Two restaurant will have a
prime location when the work is done. |
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This view shows the last row of shops opposite the
site of "Τα Μπανiα"
restaurant |
McDonald's remains in business on the other side of
the barricade... |
... but the owners of this shop must be weeping at
the loss of their expensively re-fitted forecourt. |
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Late afternoon and most of the people have wandered
off. |
Alongside the sea wall a temporary roadway has been
built into the sea to allow heavy lifting machines to place a new
breakwater along the shoreline. |
More views of the shops ... |
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... and again ... |
... and again. |
At the site of the former
Sodap winery, work continues, slowly,
on the massive new timeshare development. |
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Another week, and it appears that the new surface
will be tarmac ... |
... which suggests a giant car park ... |
...and I am curious to see how they will deal with
the shop fronts which now appear lower than the 'road'? |
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Is this another new building between the Porto Paphos
and Annabel Hotels? |
Part of the new sea wall by the Porto Paphos Hotel.
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This restaurant owner recently refurbished these
premises. Looks like he will be starting again? |
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A coastal walk from Paphos Airport to St. Georges is
to be developed to cater for tourist's penchant for walking. The
Chlorakas section is already complete, with this image marking the start
of the path at the northern end. |
The path passes local beauty spots ... |
... like this one near the Victoria Restaurant. |
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Sadly there are some blights along the way, but this
will hopefully be cleared when work has finished on the nearby hotel. |
This is the southern end of the path. |
Walking north you come across another location known
as St Georges where there is a boat shelter ... |
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... and a memorial to the EOKA patriots who fought
against the British and to attempt to unite Cyprus with Greece (the
consequences of which are still much in evidence in Cyprus) ... |
... as noted on this board. 'Caique' is a reference
to the fishing boat (below) ... |
... and Digenis was the nom de guerre of General
Georgios Grivas
who landed arms at this location ... |
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... from this boat, preserved at the small museum. |
Despite the cold winter this succulent plant is
already flowering at several locations along the path. |
Each local authority is responsible for its own
section of the coastal path. In Kato Paphos work has begun .... |
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... but there is still a long way to go. |
Paphos lighthouse |
There are lots of catacombs in Paphos. This is the
entrance to St. Solomon's (Agia Solomoni)
catacomb ... |
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...which is still in use ... |
... as a religious shrine. |
It is said that this pool has health giving
properties (though don't think of drinking it). The pool is in complete
darkness and the water is invisible in natural light ... |
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... and can only be seen if the surface is disturbed,
as I found to my cost on an earlier visit. |
Nearby is another catacomb to explore ... |
... with stairs ... |
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... and various openings in rocks ... |
... where plants cling to the bare surface. |
Closer to home builders prepare a soak away for the
plumbing for this new property, which will be connected to the mains
sewerage within two years. |
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This is what the hole looked like before it was
covered with a concrete cap. |
At Kato Paphos work forges ahead on the
redevelopment... |
... so the peace and tranquillity of out of season
Curium is a welcome change. |
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Only at this time of year is this popular beach
deserted ... |
... here viewed from the headland above the beach. |
Another week and vast quantities of cobble stones ... |
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... have been delivered. The pallets are numbered and
there are over 900 of them each containing 600 ... |
... in two shades of grey and beige ... |
... which will be laid by a team of Chinese
craftsmen. |
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Coral Bay looks quiet at this time of year ... |
... and there are no booze cruise ships to disturb
the tranquillity. |
Spring is still a while away, but that has not
stopped these caterpillars from making an appearance ... |
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... nor these of a different species. |
A couple of weeks have passed since the last of the
redevelopment photos ... |
... and work is under way on the massive task of
laying the granite blocks. |
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Work began at the harbour end ... |
... and if you think those workmen don't look very
Chinese, you would be right. |
Because of 'visa difficulties' the work is being
carried out by Bulgarian workmen instead. |
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Whoever it is that has to lay them ... |
... the blocks keep on arriving. |
A week into the block laying and progress seems a
little slow ... |
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... but there are lots of men set to the task. |
And could this be Paphos Pier
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The outlines for the pedestrian areas ... |
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... are taking shape ... |
... but is this going to be ready ... |
... in only two months time? |
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If not, the Porto Paphos Hotel ... |
... which remains closed for the moment ... |
... is going to suffer more than most. |
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Seven more weeks to the projected completion date and
the paving is progressing well ... |
... having already reached more than half way. |
A driver's eye view of the new roadway |
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The block work is now complete at the harbour end of
the development |
The purpose of the strange structure on the new kiosk
appears to be to hold up the new verandas. |
The tiled shop fronts are now almost complete and
work is progressing fast on the granite blocks. |
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Saturday 12th April and this is the first day the new
fountain has been in operation... |
... and quite pretty it looks, though those outside
the tourist areas, who have no water today, may not feel so
enthusiastic. |
The kiosk veranda frames have been bolted into place. |
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The end is nigh ... |
...and still the newsagent holds out. |
Good Friday and true to his word the Mayor of Paphos
has the promenade open to pedestrians. |
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A close-up of the patterned block work |
A new swimming pool? ... but let's hope they remove
the dangerous underwater projecting steel bars. |
Another look at the promenade. |
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The end of May and Kouris Dam looks very dry... |
... but up in the mountains there is still water
running in the streams. |
A selection of pictures ... |
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... from the delightful ... |
... Caledonian trail ... |
... between Troodos ... |
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... and Platres. The path leads to the Caledonian
Falls, but for the full journey you need rather better footwear ... |
... than I was wearing, so that will have to wait for
another day. |
Is it me or does this tree stump look like a
sheepdog? |
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Part of the radar installation at the summit of
Olympus .... |
... doesn't really mar the magnificent views ... |
... though photography from here is frowned upon. |
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The delightful Venetian Kelefos (Tzielefou) Bridge
... |
... from the top of the bridge, the view does not
convey how steep the path is ... |
... and it looks just as pretty from the other side
of the stream. |
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Footpath for pensioners? |
It is certainly an easy walk. |
Late June and the wild dog rose is in bloom ... |
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... near the summit of Olympus, its delicate scent
competing with the smell of pine. |
My car nestles in a favourite cool spot between the
trees |
Between Troodos and Platres there are several view
points. This one shows the Akrotiri salt lake in the distance and the
much depleted Kouris reservoir. |
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Back in Kato Paphos it is the festival of Kataklysmos
... |
...and many travelling market traders are selling
their wares ... |
... aided by the fact that traffic is not being
allowed to enter the new promenade area ... let's hope it remains so. |
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Another picture that fails to do justice to the
fabulous countryside - here above the village of Dora |
Approaching Dora from the mountains |
Leaving the village of Archimandrita |
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Goats in the road near Archimandrita |
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