Excavations to reconstruct the layout of ancient Paphos have been completed, the department of antiquities announced on Monday after a joint archaeological expedition by the University of Warsaw’s Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Jagiellonian University in Kraków wrapped up.

The two expeditions, were combined in September 2019, helping the research project ‘Maloutena and Agora in the Layout of Paphos: modelling the cityscape of the Hellenistic and Roman Capital of Cyprus (ΜΑ-Ρ)’ secure a grant from Poland’s National Science Centre.

Despite pandemic restrictions, the first excavations successfully took place between October and November 2020 with an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, geophysicists, architects and specialists in remote sensing research, procedural modelling and spatial analysis.

The goal was to reconstruct the layout of ancient Paphos and determine the use of its buildings, with emphasis on the Maloutena residential area and the Agora area at the centre of the ancient city.

Researchers will create 3D reconstructions of these areas, which can then be used to analyse the relationship between the city’s layout and its people by determining population flow, potential number of inhabitants etc. The same methodology has been used in only a few archaeological sites in the Mediterranean basin so far, such as Pompeii and Carnuntum.

The 2020 excavations focused on identifying key points in the road network and important communication routes of ancient Paphos.

Paphos cafes, restaurants and other recreational businesses said they would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday in protest over the recent police bookings of several hospitality businesses.

The Paphos branch of the association of owners of restaurants and entertainment establishments (Pasika), said their members in the town’s tourist area, the commercial centre and in the Ayios Antonios area would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday after several of their colleagues were booked by police in recent days as part of checks for the compliance of the measures against the spread of coronavirus.

“The reasons for making this serious decision are the disagreement as to how the protocol is interpreted by some members of the force,” Pasika said, since the bookings and the very high penalties make it impossible for businesses to operate.

The business group said they would arrange a meeting with the Paphos police chief, Nicos Pentaras, to discuss the matter.

They expressed hope that clarity would emerge from the meeting so that businesses could operate without issue.

Police said on Sunday that four bar owners would be taken in court in Paphos for a series of violations, while four more businesses, in the same district, (three bars and one restaurant) were booked for not following the measures against the spread of coronavirus.

On Monday morning, police said that in the 24 hours until 6am the same day, police booked eight business owners three in Nicosia and five in Paphos. No information was given as to why these businesses were booked. On Sunday police, said that in Nicosia, four restaurants were booked for serving customers in a covered outdoor area and three cafeterias for serving people inside.

All restaurants, cafes and bars must close at 10.45 pm at the latest while customers may be served in outdoor spaces only.

The health ministry defines an outdoor space as any space that has proper and sufficient air flow. Sufficient airflow exists in a space that if the available sides or a part of those (at least two) are open and in a way that does not resemble an enclosed area, it said.

Donated items are desperately needed at the charity shops which support the Archangel Michael Hospice in Paphos, as the coronavirus restrictions have meant donations have been severely slashed, according to volunteers.

“Our six shops in the Paphos district are running low on stock and some are very low. We would be really grateful in particular for donations of furniture, household goods and clothes,” one of the Saint Michael’s hospice charity directors, David Richards, told the Cyprus Mail.

The income from the shops pays for around 40 per cent of the total operational costs of the facility for a year, which is about €300,000 he said.

St Michael’s Hospice Charity is an independent organisation that was formed to help with raising funds for the completion of the Archangel Michael Hospice which opened in June 2015.

It now aims to raise funds towards the operation of Archangel Michael Hospice in order for them to provide palliative and respite care to those in need.

The charity has six shops operating in the Paphos district: Paphos Town, Geroskipou, Peyia, Kato Paphos, Agapinoros Street and Polemi. They also run special events and have a number of charity boxes in various locations around Paphos.

“St Michael’s Hospice Charity now has its own van, so we can collect donated furniture from around Paphos so people wanting to donate but unable to transport items to our shops can contact us and we will collect it for them,” Richards said.

Much of the donated furniture is sold on Facebook’s ‘marketplace,’ which is proving popular.

Good quality men and women’s clothes are also required and should be washed and preferably ironed before being donated, Richards added.

“The pandemic has really affected the shops and our income as there is less footfall of both tourists and residents, not many people are moving house at the moment, so not much furniture is being donated, people also have less money than a year ago, and they are not really using charity shops,” Richards said.

The hospice in Mesa Chorio opened in June 2015 and has nine rooms used for palliative and respite care, including two for children. It costs around €300,000 a year to operate the facility, which has helped hundreds of patients since it opened.

According to the facility, currently Archangel Michael Hospice respite care is free for the first few days, after which a charge will be made due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Archangel Michael hospice is currently the only functioning hospice in the district following the closure of the Friends Hospice, which hopes to re-open at a new location.

To donate: (M) 96699777

April will see a limited number of flights landing at Paphos airport, according to Hermes airports communications director Maria Kouroupi, who said an increase in arrivals will only take place in May.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency on Friday, Kouroupi said five flights a week will land in Paphos throughout April, namely flights from Tel Aviv, Krakow, Moscow and Thessaloniki later in the month.

“We are expecting more flights in May, especially from the UK,” she said.

“However, we will have to wait for the announcements scheduled for April 5, when the British government will unveil its holiday roadmap to see whether Britons will be allowed to go on holiday abroad from May 17 onwards.”

Kouroupi added that many airlines have expressed their interest to include Paphos in their schedule, although at the moment demand is very low, as travellers are still reluctant to book flights fearing they will be cancelled.

Ryanair will be expanding its schedule of flights from Paphos this summer. From June, the airline will start flights twice a week to Treviso in Northern Italy, whereas from July, it will also add Bari, Bologna, Rhodes and Corfu to its schedule.

The Paphos Regional Board of Tourism (ETAP) on Friday welcomed Ryanair’s decision to increase its presence at Paphos airport.

“The additional flights are extremely important for our town, now as well as in the future,” ETAP executive director Nassos Hatzigeorgiou told the Cyprus News Agency.

“By investing in Paphos, Ryanair is making a tangible contribution to the restart of our economy.”

Kouroupi also said airlines that were flying to Paphos before the Covid-19 pandemic, such as EasyJet, Tui and other low-cost airlines from Scandinavia, have all expressed their interest in returning to Cyprus.

Additional plans concerning flights arriving from the Middle East, the UK and Germany are also being discussed.

Finally, Kouroupi said that a flight from Israel has already landed in Paphos on Wednesday and another one is expected to arrive on Sunday. Thursday also saw the arrival of a flight from Russia carrying around 140 passengers.

Regarding the observance of measures and the cooperation between Hermes Airport and health officials, Kouroupi said both Larnaca and Paphos airports have fully complied with every rule issued by the government and that procedures to disembark landing passengers have been improved to contain the risk of spreading the virus.

“We are optimist regarding the upcoming months,” she said. “However, until our epidemiological situation does not improve, unfortunately many flights risk being cancelled,” she concluded.

Paphos police on Wednesday arrested a 26-year-old man suspected of committing various offences including burglaries, a car theft and causing malicious damage.

Four residents of Paphos filed complaints to police about crimes committed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A 68-year-old man said his home was burgled and a mobile phone, some money and his car were stolen on Tuesday.

Another person reported a lawn mower was stolen from a storeroom in his yard.

A third told police about the burglary of a sewing factory, also located in Paphos, from where various electronic devices were taken.

Yet another man, the owner of a gun shop, said a man came to his house and demanded to be sold a shotgun on Wednesday morning. When he refused, the unknown perpetrator allegedly went to the shop which is next to the house and damaged the wooden door, trying to open it by force using tools.

According to the statement, the man left when he did not manage to enter the shop.

He returned a little later driving a pickup van, which he allegedly crashed into the display case of the building before leaving in an unknown direction.

A police investigation revealed the vehicle was the one stolen from the 68-year-old man the night before. The van was later found abandoned in an open area in Paphos.

Evidence pointed to the involvement of a 26-year-old resident of Paphos who was arrested under a warrant at his home on Wednesday afternoon.

A total of 94 development projects costing €123 million have been carried out in Paphos in the last eight years, with another 46 worth €217 million underway, Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis said on Thursday during a tour of the district.

Out of the 94 projects, 27 concerned municipalities and were worth €62 million, 57 projects costing €33 million concerned communities, with €28 million spent on ten public service projects.

These projects will enable the economy to start a slow recovery out of this very difficult period, Kadis said.

The minister visited the Paphos desalination unit in Kouklia, where he was briefed about the progress of the project, which is nearly ready and awaiting the arrival of experts from Italy so that it can be handed over, epidemiological conditions allowing.

The specific project is the culmination of efforts from the agriculture ministry’s water development department to enhance water supply from non-conventional sources to the whole of Cyprus, he said.

Kadis added that the desalination unit, which is part of an islandwide initiative to upgrade development infrastructure, is an important step in tackling water scarcity in the Paphos district.

In combination with the other units, it will cover up to 80 per cent of the drinking water needs of large urban and tourist areas of Cyprus, satisfying to a very significant degree their increased domestic, business, tourist and agricultural needs, he said.

As a new addition to the Paphos district’s water supply sources, the plant will ensure the uninterrupted supply of water in the city, suburbs and communities of the district, Kadis added, explaining that the unit is estimated to supply more than five million cubic metres of drinking water annually.

The project is privately financed and will cover its construction within 18 months, and its operation and maintenance for 25 years. The plant has a maximum capacity of 15,000 cubic metres per day and can be on standby in periods of heavy rain, or operate in intermediate stages, depending on the available quantities of water at the Asprokremmos dam.

This project, he continued, is only one of multiple similar projects that have either been implemented or are being implemented in Paphos, which “create a very fertile urban, rural, fishing, tourist and business environment that will certainly contribute not only to the exit from the crisis, but also in shaping conditions for sustainable development and prosperity,” he said.

Today, plans for 46 projects with a total cost of €217 million are underway in Paphos municipalities and communities.

These include major improvement works to the road network of both urban and more remote areas, as well as a number of infrastructure projects, like a dialysis unit worth €4 million which is due to be finished by the summer.

Among the 24 projects underway, Kadis said, are a plan for the sustainable management of the Akamas National Forest Park, improved management for archaeological sites in Kato Paphos, the construction of the Geroskipou Health Centre and more roadworks.

The 94 projects costing €123 million that have already been completed, have changed the face of the city and province of Paphos, Kadis said, noting that along with changing its tourist character, they offer many prospects for further improvement and development.

He also assured that the aesthetic and functional improvement in the city will continue, further strengthening the local economy and the wellbeing of local residents.

Kadis said that several of the ministry’s projects are aimed towards helping farmers, reminding that in the past year €20 million was set aside to help the agriculture industry in light of the pandemic.

He then met with farmer representatives from several Paphos communities to discuss two further measures for their support, the first being the “Green Harvest” initiative, which will use €1.7 million to help vineyard growers, and the second €400,000 to support growers of deciduous trees in lower altitudes.

Events in Paphos for the weekends to come will see musicians pick up their guitars and perform at bars and cafés once again. Coming up this Sunday, a musical duet will entertain guests at Searays Café-Bar in Peyia with their cover songs from the 60s to today.

The New Rules Duo features award-winning singer Celia Stavri and established guitarist of the island Dominic the Storyteller. They come together for a three-hour musical adventure through all the hits with a guitar twist. Their non-stop live performance this Sunday is set to offer some lively lunchtime entertainment starting at 1pm. “New Rules,” say the organisers “is the outcome of when two amazing talents come together and make something special. If you have the venue, they will bring the party!”

Next weekend, Bonamare Beach Bar in Timi has something entirely different planned for Saturday 17. A taste of the British musician Rag’n’Bone Man is coming to Paphos to bring some of the singer’s most popular songs. Perhaps the most well-known one is Human, which was released in 2016 yet is still playing on the radio today. Leo Romero, a Norwegian musician based in Cyprus, has created The Rag’n’Bone Man tribute show which he will present at Bonamare Beach bar next week.

A singer and entertainer dabbling with radio DJing and karaoke hosting, Romero has also produced his own album and is currently working on his second with original material. For next Saturday’s evening performance however, it will be all about the sounds of Rag’n’Bone Man.

New Rules Duo

Live performance by Celia Stavri and Dominik the Storyteller covering hit songs. April 11. Searays Café-Bar, Peyia, Paphos. 1pm. Free. Booking is essential. Tel: 99-617415

RAG‘n’BONE Man by Leo Romero

Tribute show by Norwegian musician based in Cyprus. April 17. Bonamare Beach Bar in Timi, Paphos. 7.30pm. €14 including a set menu. Tel: 96-818066

Paphos environmentalists are pushing for the creation of green spots to serve village communities, as illegal dumping is way out of hand.

“Making green spots where people can take their rubbish is the only way to solve the problems of illegal dumping in the Cyprus countryside,” Andreas Evlavis of the Paphos Green party told the Cyprus Mail on Tuesday.

“Otherwise it will remain for generations to come,” he said.

The issue has been brought to the fore after dozens of members of the public contacted the Greens to complain about the creation of an ‘illegal landfill’ in Filousa, close to the Evretou dam in the Paphos district.

Evlavis visited the area on Monday and said it is crammed with all sorts of garbage.

“Following complaints, I visited the area of the Evretou dam. At a distance of about half a kilometre from the community of Filousa, I found a terrible sight. Garbage, garden waste, bottles full of burnt oils and other rubbish all go to make a disgusting image,” he said.

He also noted that the dump is close to a newly built house.

“Surely no one would want to live next to a rubbish tip with all that entails,” he said.

People dump with impunity, a lack of environmental education, and no conscience whatsoever in such matters, he said.

“The responsibility of the public is enormous and there is no excuse.”

The Greens are pushing hard to establish green spots that would serve five to ten different villages in certain areas, and say that they are the only solution to fixing the ongoing blight of illegal dumping, he said.

“It is obvious that the creation of regional green points will finally solve the problem that plagues the countryside. Such projects will give the local residents the right to the quality of life, and these should not just be pre-election promises.”

Evlavis has informed the Paphos District Officer of the dump, and she has assured that she will contact the local community leader to remove the rubbish, he added.

“We call on those in charge to take immediate measures to restore the countryside. I hope that the local community council and department of environment work together to solve this issue immediately,” he said.

Labour minister Zeta Emilianidou will visit the newly completed multi-purpose social welfare centre of Paphos municipality on Thursday.

“During the visit to Paphos, the minister will meet Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos and visit the new social welfare centre of the municipality and also a listed building on Athinas Street, which is owned by the social welfare,” said an announcement from the municipality.

The minister will meet the mayor at the town hall at 10 am and then at 10.30 am, the multipurpose centre, followed by the listed building in Athinas Street at 11a,.

“This is the first visit of the minister to the centre which started its operation on March 15. It has modern equipment and programmes that fully meet European standards.”

The centre cost a total of € 3.8 million, and was co-financed by the European Social Fund and is the first of its kind project implemented in the municipality of Paphos, with the aim of housing and merging social care units and social programmes according to the needs of the local community, and in particular, young families and working women.

The nursery department and the preschool/kindergarten department are already operational, while the afternoon hours will be operational soon.

From the end of the school year until it resumes, there will also be a summer programme for primary school children.

Focus is on both well-known and lesser-known attractions

Paphos’ rich collection of antiquities and other lesser-known site of interests are undergoing an extensive upgrade and promotion boost to improve the visitor experience.

The upgrade includes infrastructure and digital tools, implemented by the Paphos tourism board and the antiquities department.

All of the fencing at the archaeological sites of Nea Paphos (the Kato Paphos archaeological park) and the Tombs of the Kings has been replaced. Maintenance and restoration work on sites on Fabrica hill have been completed while that near Dionysos house and other areas in Nea Paphos will be completed soon, the board announced.

“The Paphos regional board of tourism welcomes the efforts of the antiquities department and thanks it very much for the actions to protect and upgrade the presentation of Paphos’ invaluable archaeological wealth,” it announced this week.

Maintenance work at the visitors’ centre in Kato Paphos is being carried out and the renovation is expected to be finished within the year.

The visitor experience will be enhanced as part of the tourism board’s plan to install touch screens, video and digital application for smart devices and audiovisual tour services.

In addition, the tourism board will undertake further upgrades in the Kouklia area, where smart QR Code signs will be operated.

The village is built in the area of Palaepaphos, the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, which became the centre for her worship in the ancient world

“Kouklia will see the first of these applications and then they will be introduced in fifteen other locations as well,” a spokesman for the Paphos regional tourism board told the Sunday Mail.

In a number of other areas of interest, the tourism board is completing a Myth of Aphrodite app. The app will utilise AR (augmented reality) and audio guidance. Included in the app will be the Sacred Gardens in Yeroskipou, Kouklia, the Baths of Aphrodite and Fontana Amorosa.

“Hopefully this will be completed and launched in two months’ time,” he said.

The tourism board is also encouraging Cyprus residents to visit Paphos’ sites, and a digital campaign to inform them of the new technology and tools available will get underway soon.

The tourism board is also currently in talks with the department of antiquities and local authorities so that such initiatives can be further expanded.

“A step-by-step plan will see upgrades at more sites and the strategic aim is to highlight the heritage and rich history of the Paphos region, which are unique selling points.”

But the push is not just for the better-known sites.

The board is also actively promoting less well-known areas in the Paphos district including Yialia’s Holy Mother Georgian Monastery, known as “Panayia Crysogialiotissa by Cypriots, which was founded between 970 and 979 by David Kuropalates, King of Tao Klarjeti, in what was then southwest Georgia, now an area of northwest Turkey.

Georgian kings took special care of the monastery, which also became a significant centre for Georgian culture in Cyprus. Books were transcribed and translated at the monastery and are now found collections all over the world.

The monastery was destroyed several times by earthquakes and became deserted in the late 16th century after Cyprus was seized by the Ottomans in 1571.

The ruins of the monastery were overgrown until 1981 until an archaeological expedition in 2010 excavated and studied the ruins.

Another lesser known area being promoted is the village of Pomos and the monastery of Panagia Chrysopateritissa which was built in1520 near what is now the Pomos dam.

Another site is the Dragons’ Cave, situated a few kilometres from Pomos fishing port. It is a natural rocky cave with an opening to the sea. It is deep and fresh water still runs there.

Also being promoted is the Kremmioti river in Kritou Terra which is renowned for its unique landscape and flora and fauna. Two watermills by waterfalls were built there to help the locals grind wheat and barley. Since 2016 the community has highlighted the natural beauty of the region, such as the abundant and varied birdlife.

The ongoing campaign to highlight Paphos’ special sites of interest will target social media.

Smart signs and a user transferred platform with language choices and video and audio guides, will be introduced in some areas in the future.

Paphos police caught two people driving under the influence of drugs, one on Tuesday evening and the other one later at night.

The first, a 23-year-old man, was stopped by officers on patrol shortly after 7pm. He tested positive for drugs and a small amount of crystal meth was found in his possession.

At around 1am, police stopped a car in Chlorakas in which a 40-year-old man was travelling who was accompanied by a 38-year-old co-driver.

The driver also tested positive for drugs. Both men were booked for violating the overnight curfew.

The two cars were confiscated.

Cyprus’ best known and most photographed bird, ‘Kokos’ the pelican, has died at the ripe old age of 25.

Found at the Pelican restaurant in Kato Paphos alongside his friend, a ten-year pelican also called Kokos, he died on Tuesday in his sleep, the venue’s general manager informed the Cyprus Mail.

“Kokos lived a good and long life and he was old. His death was expected as his sight was going, he just went to sleep. We are very sad and the younger Kokos is too, so we are keeping his spirits up by feeding him, keeping him company and looking after him,” said George Theodorou.

Kokos, (Coco to locals) arrived in Cyprus in 2004 and entertained thousands of visitors from Cyprus and abroad over the years. He enjoyed fame all over the world as the most photographed bird in Cyprus, Theodorou said.

Kokos also appeared on TV in many countries including on the BBC, German TV, channels in France, Denmark and even Brazil.

Kokos featured on numerous postcards, and hundreds of photos and videos of the pelican have also been shared online.

During the pandemic he was isolated in special facilities at the home of Andros Papiris, the restaurant owner, that were created to ensure that he would be comfortable. The pelican was often spotted taking baths in Papiris’ swimming pool.

The Pelican restaurant is due to open its outdoor areas on Friday for the first time since closing during last year’s lockdown, but without its most popular mascot.

“It would be a great day for Coco himself, as he was a surprisingly social bird. He understood and enjoyed the interest of customers and visitors to the port and posed for photos,” Theodorou said.

Kokos also hit the headlines in a 2016 scandal, after a female model from Russia was seen taking nude photos with the bird at the harbour.

In March 2020, just a few days before the pandemic took hold, a German TV station arrived in Kato Paphos to film a documentary about the pelican of Kato Paphos, said Papiris.

It was to be his last ‘show’, he added.

Now the spotlight will fall on the younger Kokos to continue the long tradition of a pelican at Paphos port.

Papiris is hoping to bring a second pelican to keep the remaining bird company, but it will be challenging due to the pandemic restrictions, said Theodorou.

“Pelicans come from Africa and even in usual circumstances, it requires a lot of paperwork and costs – between eight to ten thousand euros – to bring one here,” he said.

They are also costly creatures to keep as each eats around a kilo of red mullet a day.

The restaurant has been in the same family since 1957 and the ‘first Kokos’ made an appearance in 1969, the general manager said. The original bird arrived exhausted and ‘Grandpa Coco,” was nursed back to health, he never left. He was killed in 1972 when he was hit by a bus.

“I’m not sure how many pelicans there have been in the years since, but it is a tradition that will continue,” he said.

The British-based Justice Abroad team is now representing a British mother, Kaela Charalampous, who was arrested in front of her young child after describing the community leader of Mandria village as ‘useless’ in a Facebook post comment over works being carried out in the village.

The group said that the arrest and charging of Charalampous, (a singer who uses the stage name Kaela Santosh) is an obvious breach of her rights under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for freedom of expression and is, “particularly protected when it comes to the protection of criticisms of elected politicians,” it said on its website on Monday.

Following the Paphos resident’s arrest, she was taken to the police station and then to the community leader Kypros Michaelides’ office where he threatened that proceedings would continue against her unless she posted a public apology, one of which he drafted himself and made her post on Facebook.

“Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak has written to Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis and the Attorney General of Cyprus George Savvides for them to immediately confirm that the charges against Ms Charalampous will be dropped, that she will be given a public apology for the unlawful action, and that she will not be subject to any repercussions from the authorities for her lawful actions.”

Polak said: “It is very worrying that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Ms Charalampous for expression which clearly falls within her Article 10 right to criticise an elected representative.”

He added that an urgent investigation at the highest level needs to be undertaken to determine how this occurred especially given that this involves an individual holding public office.

Justice Abroad, (www.justiceabroad.co.uk), has been set up to help those trying to find their way through foreign justice systems.

The entity is run by international lawyer Polak and a team of investigators, lawyers and other staff provide support, advice and guidance anywhere in the world.

“We call on Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis and the Attorney General of Cyprus George Savvides to clarify that criminal proceedings will be discontinued immediately, there will be an inquiry into what has happened in this case and how a warrant was ever issued, and for a public apology to be given to Mrs Charalampous for the fear and distress she has suffered,” the group said.

Paphos Municipality on Thursday signed a €916,300 contract for a ‘smart’ system to manage parking areas in what mayor Phedonas Phedonos hailed as another substantial step in the town’s transition to becoming a ‘Smart City’.

Paphos is the first local authority in Cyprus to adopt a comprehensive application to manage parking areas and spaces, he said.

The contract with the company INNTENET Ltd is for the provision, installation and maintenance of a parking management system. The project will be implemented in seven months and the contract covers its operation and maintenance for eight years. It is being carried out in coordination with the deputy ministry of research, innovation and digital policy and has been selected for financing by EU funds.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Phedonos said the contract was the first big step in converting Paphos into a Smart City substantially benefitting the daily lives of residents.

It among at least another 20 projects, some of which are already under implementation. He called on residents and the business community to embrace the municipality’s initiative, noting that this would benefit both them and society as a whole.

Phedonos noted that after concerted efforts and without any prior experience, Paphos Municipality had managed to bring the project to maturity and prepare tender documents which other municipalities can now also use.

The project entails management of 3300 parking spaces in organised lots and lanes with the use of sensors for each space. There will be an app for mobile telephones that the public can use to find out where spaces are available and to pay the parking fees. Private parking lots will be able to join the digital platform, once they are converted into smart parking facilities with the installation of sensors, thereby creating the added benefit of a shared economy, he said.

The app will reduce unnecessary driving in search for a parking space, facilitate residents and visitors in the city, ensure payment for the exact time the parking spot is used and reduce emissions, the mayor added.

Also present at the signing ceremony were deputy mayor Christos Makariou, the president of the Paphos Chamber of Commerce Yiorgos Mais, the chamber’s director Marinos Stylianou, the president of Povek Paphos Andreas Evripidou and other officials from Paphos municipality.

Paphos communities and municipalities said on Monday they are getting ready to welcome beachgoers following the lifting of the lockdown.

Crews have started cleaning public beaches such as Pachyammos, Sodap, Vrysouthkia, Pharos and Paleokastra, Paphos municipality beach inspector Yiannis Stavrinos told the Cyprus News Agency.

He added that once cleaning is done, beaches will open according to 2020 protocols on providing adequate services to beachgoers such as disabled access, something that is of “utmost importance” to the municipality.

In addition, Polis Chrysochous municipality will be installing recycling bins and showers at the local public beach where large rocks will also be removed, according to mayor Yiotis Papachristophi.

Yeroskipou mayor Michalis Pavlides and Peyia mayor Marinos Lambrou also said their municipalities are contributing to the cleaning efforts to be able to offer proper services at Yeroskipou beach and Coral Bay.

At the same time, Kissonerga community council is making efforts to properly space out sunbeds and umbrellas at Potima beach and disinfect them in keeping with coronavirus protocols, while also cleaning up the beachside promenade which has been getting more visits recently, community leader George Stylianou said.

The local council is expecting that Potima beach and the Kissonerga promenade will once more receive many visitors, and become reference points for the whole of Paphos, he concluded.

After the lockdown ended on Monday people are able to visit the beach not just for swimming and do not need to have a SafePass to do so.

Smart signs that are part of a wider plan to upgrade the visitor experience in Paphos have been installed at various locations in the district, the tourism board said on Tuesday.

“The first 12 of the new smart signs have been placed at various points of interest across the district as the Paphos regional board of tourism continues its efforts to upgrade the tourism experience and implement actions that contribute to the transformation of Paphos into a smart destination,” it announced.

The head of the tourism board of Paphos, Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, pointed out that the signs, with a QR code, are made of environmentally friendly materials, discreet in size and will be connected, via the internet, to innovative, rich, smart and interactive information.

After first scanning the QR code, the visitor will be able to choose the language of their choice from their own smart device. They will be offered a wide range of information options including a simple description, rich photographic material, audio tour, a video, 360º tour and so on.

The first signs have been placed in Kritou Terra, Arodes, Neo Chorio, Lysos, Gialia-Agia Marina and Pomos.

If in the coming months the results of using these signs are encouraging then the initiative can be extended into other communities, areas and points of interest, Hadjigeorgiou said.

The transport minister visited a number of sites in Paphos on Thursday where upgrading work is currently underway.

Paphos mayor, Phedonas Phedonos, briefed the minister Yiannis Karousos and the ministry’s director general Stavros Michael, on progress of the works under construction.

He visited the port area where new bus stops and the wider upgrade of the coastal front are in progress, the municipality said.

The works are part of the large project with a cost of 7.6 million euros for the creation of a modern network of public transport infrastructure and public sanitation in the municipalities of Paphos and Geroskipou.

Later, the mayor and the minister visited the upgrading of the archaeological sites in Kato Paphos, which has a total cost € 2.4 million.

The contractor, Miltiadis Neophytou, informed the party of the progress of the works. He said that the project, which started in February 2021, is proceeding as expected and should be completed within the stipulated timetables.

The minister and the mayor also visited the construction site at Tombs of the Kings Road where the new bus station is being constructed.

An unspecified number of trees are being felled along one of the main roads in Paphos, which have lined the avenue since 1998, the municipality announced on Friday.

It said its Green Service and the Forestry Department had inspected the poplar trees, genus Populus Alba, on Europe avenue which were planted in 1998.

“The evaluation found that the trees showed extensive drying and rot in more than 80 per cent of each tree, which was due to infection by pathogens that cause extensive necrosis and, therefore, it was necessary to cut them,” it announced.

Last year, a heated war of words broke out between Paphos municipality and environmentalists over the felling of a number of trees on the same street, and a protest against the action took place outside the town hall.

“This seems to be the policy of Paphos council, they have no sensitivity to the established green areas in the town. We have to protect the trees and not cut everything in case it ‘may one day be dangerous’,” Andreas Evlavis of the Paphos Greens told the Cyprus Mail on Friday.

However, the municipality categorically rejected what it termed unfounded accusations sometimes launched by some populists in an attempt to create impressions under the guise of “environmentalists”. It is normal in a town with over 60,000 trees that some of them will finish their life cycle and be replaced with new ones, it said.

“It is our duty to plant more trees, but it makes no sense, for example, to cut five big trees and say it doesn’t matter because we are replacing them with even a hundred smaller ones,” Evlavis countered. “We have to protect the old trees and appreciate their benefits.”

The municipality stressed that its Green Service and the Forestry Department had not gone ahead with cutting the trees during the winter months, instead waiting for spring when the new leaves appear in order to determine beyond any doubt the condition of the trees, before deciding to cut them down.

“The decision years ago to plant this type of poplar in this area was inappropriate, as these trees need high altitude, particularly moist soils and low temperatures to have healthy growth, which is confirmed by the Forestry Department,” the municipality noted.

The municipality said it regretted the development, but said it was necessary.

And it said that it has planted 160 new pine, cypress, olive, carob and mulberry trees along the green areas of Europe Avenue.

More than 4,000 new trees have been planted, as well as many thousands of shrubs and flowers, which the municipality said was indicative of its concern for the environment and the enrichment of greenery in the town.

A larger number of trees will be planted in the major urban parks that are being created, such as the Colour Park and the two linear parks around the city, it added.

“The effort of enrichment and maintenance of the green continues every day in all the open spaces of Paphos, while more than 20 parks and 40 green spaces have been upgraded. All members of the public can see the results with a simple walk around the city.”

People in the Paphos city centre and Kato Paphos can now use the municipality’s fully electric minibus on two routes free of charge.

The upgrade to the town’s public transport service is part of an initiative carried out by the municipality of Paphos aimed at increasing sustainable urban development and the protection of the environment.

People can obtain real-time information, including arrival and departure times of the minibus, on the Explore Paphos app, available on the App Store and on Google Play.

The electric minibus is the first of its kind in Cyprus and was purchased by the Paphos municipality within the framework of the ECORouTs project, which was partly funded by the EU and aims at reducing the environmental footprint of public transport in urban areas with significant air pollution.

At present, such vehicles are charged by hooking up to EAC charging stations, but the aim is for Paphos to be the first municipality to acquire a photo-voltaic charging station, so that “not a single litre of fuel is burned to move it, meaning that ‘bus traffic’ can aim to be totally green”.

The bus will run on special ‘green routes’ chosen to highlight the town’s cultural and historical monuments. It will be free to the public, locals and tourists and will pass through the main streets and attractions of Paphos old town, as well as the archaeological sites of Kato Paphos.

For android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=explore.pafos.app

For iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/explore-pafos/id1483589927?l=el&ls=1

The health ministry decided to move the location of a rapid test site in Paphos from a multipurpose room at the Ayios Theodoros gymnasium to the parking lot near the port in Kato Paphos.

The decision follows a protest carried out by the students at the gymnasium, who, on Monday morning did not go to class for two hours, with the backing of the parents’ association.

The health ministry, in response to the protests, decided to move the location of the rapid test site so that classes at the gymnasium can resume without issues.

The president of the parents’ association George Georgiou expressed his satisfaction to the Cyprus News Agency on Tuesday and thanked the government for listening to their and the students’ concerns.

Georgiou on Monday also complained about the size of the classrooms. He said that the Ayios Theodoros school currently counts around 600 students, which should be divided into 25 individual classes.

“The school was built with a provision for 16 classes, which translates to about 400 students. In September 2020, the education ministry promised us they would look into the situation. We are nearing the end of the school year and nothing has been done yet,” Georgiou said.