Historic Day Tour in Cyprus: Pottery, Turkish Delights and Byzantine Frescoes
4.7
74 Ratings
Koloni
Experience the rich history and culture of Cyprus on this historic day tour. Visit a pottery workshop, see the ancient church of St Paraskevi, learn how Turkish delights are made, explore a traditional house, and marvel at Byzantine frescoes in a monastery.
Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
What's Included
  • Licensed guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off from Paphos city center hotels
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Includes late Cypriot breakfast
  • Professional driver
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

We’ll kick off our journey with a visit to a pottery workshop in Yeroskipou village to witness the long-standing tradition of pottery making. We’ll also get to explore the unique 5-domed St Paraskevi church which was constructed in the 9th century on the very location where the ancient temple of Aphrodite used to be. On top of that, we’ll observe the making of ‘loukoumia’ (Turkish delight). Our journey will then take us to Letymbou and Sophia’s traditional house that maintains its original furniture and traditional costumes. We’ll witness the process of village bread preparation in a clay oven and the making of other local delicacies like the traditional halloumi cheese. A brunch prepared by Sophia is included in the visit. Our next stop will be the Saint Neophytos monastery and the “Enkleistra”, a mountain-carved enclosure from the 12th century by hermit Neophytos, known for its exquisite Byzantine frescoes. The monastery’s main church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was erected about 200 years post the demise of St Neophytos.

  • Approximate excursion duration not including pick-ups 6 hours
  • You will receive a message through Viator with the exact pick up piont and time.If not please call us to advise you at least a day before.Hotel name information is needed.
Location
Savvas Pottery
Makarios III Avenue 129
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(74 Ratings)
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Gerry2412
Mar 13, 2024
Historic religious sites and sweets! - Places visited were excellent. Especially the monastery. Guide gave detailed explanations at the church and monastery which greatly helped to understand the religious significance. Would highly recommend this tour. Journey times are short which leaves more time for visits.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dawn_e
Feb 21, 2024
Unique and a memorable experience into a Cypriot way of life days gone by - Sofia house Welcoming original and they made us all welcome into their way of life. Amazing hospitality and food was beautiful.
Review provided by Viator
Richard_r
Feb 19, 2024
Cultural wintertime tour - The bus ride over to Sofia's House - nice to see pretty rural area. This is an excellent tour for independent travelers using public transportation. A day tour in the Winter that was not cancelled!
Review provided by Viator
Clare_d
Jan 31, 2024
Brilliant tour… - The whole tour was brilliant. The guide Sophia was also excellent. Will be booking again. I think the pottery and Sophie’s house were the favourite. Shame it rained.
Review provided by Viator
Fiona_n
Nov 8, 2023
A genuine authentic experience. - Sophia's breadmaking and cheese. The whole setup was lovely and a beautiful location. Nice to experience authentic Cyprus.
Review provided by Viator
Samantha
Oct 18, 2023
Great value for money - The trip was well paced and flexible. Our guide (Sofia) and driver (Adamson) were accommodating, knowledgable and punctual. The visits were varied and extremely interesting. Shame we had no extra time for additional trips
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ian_a
Aug 29, 2023
Sofia's bread MMmmmm - My partner and myself and wonderful day yesterday our guide Sophia kept the whole party well informed and we didn't feel rushed around to much the Cypriot brunch at Sofia's house was well prepared and tasted lovely her small museum was nice too excellent day out and our other party members quite friendly too
Review provided by Viator
Sarah_k
Jun 15, 2023
Good value tour - A really lovely day seeing the more authentic side of Cyprus and meeting locals who live here. The highlight was Sophia's house. She and her husband provided homemade bread and halloumi cheese for us and Cyprus coffee. Beautiful location and welcoming, friendly people. A good value tour and thd guide was friendly and knowledgeable. I woukd definitely recommend this tour so you can find out some history and culture of the island.
Review provided by Viator
Fertdt1961
Jun 22, 2023
Enjoyable day out - Quite a large group. Enjoyed the visit to the pottery. We then visited the oldest church in Cyprus. When we were in there was a newborn baby being blessed by the priest. Across the road we visited a traditional Cyprus delight/sweet factory. The owner was lovely and explained to us how it was made and there was lots of samples as well as a chance to buy. We then went to Sophia's house. Her and her husband served us freshly baked bread, donut like cakes, cheese and coffee. There was a few rooms we could look in with traditional costumes, furniture, bedding, lace as well as lots of antiques. Our last stop was St Neophytis. Our guide was Sophia who was very knowledgeable. There was a group on the bus talking loudly when she was talking to us. She did ask them to speak a but quieter which I don't think they were happy about. Positives: it gave us a chance to see and experience things that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see eg Sophia's house and the sweet factory Negatives: the bus was very dirty. There were windows so filthy you couldn't see out of. The seats were very thick with dust This trip is good for either singles or couples but I don't think for families with small children
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elainecohenbb
Aug 11, 2023
Bad - We didn't do this trip as the operator cancelled. It was the only trip we booked during our short stay in Paphos. The afternoon before our scheduled tour, i received a cancellation by email. No other communication - just email. Good job I checked my emails by chance, which I don't always do on vacation. There was no time to book anything else. Very poor service, cancelling at the last minute and not even confirming with us that we had seen the cancellation notice.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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1 Adult
May 2024
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