Historical Larnaca

The first thing you should know about Larnaca is that it is one of the oldest inhabited parts of Cyprus. Right in the middle of the bustling city of present day Larnaca, you will find the ruins of Kition, the ancient city-kingdom which dates all the way back to the 13th Century BC; excavations have even led to the findings of huge walls made of gigantic blocks of stone as well as five temples. In fact, seeing as though Larnaca is the site of the present day main international airport, it seems fitting that the town has always been vital in the area of commerce and trading, which should come as no surprise seeing that an ancient port was discovered in Kition making it an important commercial center even from ancient times.

If you really want to get an idea of how old Cyprus really is, then you should stop by the Pierides Foundation Archaeological Museum which is actually the oldest private museum in the country. The building itself was built in 1815 in the colonial style and was originally the ancestral home of the Pierides family. But once you go inside you should be more than impressed with its collection of medieval, Byzantine, Frankish and even Roman collections. You’ll even see costumes, ancient weapons and ceramics.

For something a little less formal and perhaps a bit more interactive, check out the Fatsa Wax Museum which is rather good as it tries to show Cyprus’ history through its wax collections. Start off with scenes from the Ottoman Empire, then go to Cyprus as a colony, followed by scenes from the struggle for independence and then the Turkish invasion. The collection shows important people as well as scenes, starting from the 1500’s onwards.

The Larnaca Municipality, to their great credit, turned five old warehouses from colonial times, which were part of the Customs’ houses into the Larnaca Municipal Cultural Center. It’s really worth having a look at the worthwhile work that has been put into the Municipal Galleries, the Pierides-Tornarites Palaeontology Museum and the Municipal Historical Archives Museum.

Take a walk on the truly pre-historic side at the Palaeontology Museum, where you’ll be amazed by its collection of 500 million years worth of fossil life, but even more amazing are the bones of the pygmy elephants and hippopotami, which were last seen on the island around 1000BC.

And if you happen to be walking around the city center and see a marble bust of a man called Zenon, you’d be forgiven for being slightly in awe. Born in the ancient city-kingdom of Kition, Zenon, who was a widely renowned philosopher, founded the famous Stoic School of Thought in the 4th Century BC in Athens.