Paphos, Cyprus - Ethnographic Museum

I took the car back today and booked it for 2 weeks in March. When I told the woman at the car hire I was going to walk to Upper Paphos to find the Ethnographic Museum her response was "you could take a bus". It didn't look far on the map but she did have me a little concerned. The main difficulty with finding your way in Paphos, or anywhere in Cyprus actually, is that there are very few street name signs. Driving its not too bad as roads are numbered (ie A6, B6, B709 etc) and the place they go is also indicated, but rarely do you see the name of a street given. I was able to find my way by heading uphill and recognizing the shape of intersections on the map.

Passing some cliffs there was a parkette and carved out areas

with the mandatory icon and candle,

Cyclamen,

Chapel,

and not a sign in sight.

The same with this, between 2 roads.

Its been excavated, protected, fenced and covered but not signed. I wonder what it is. I think there is so much history here they just can't keep up with it.

I felt in need of some sustenance before continuing my museum search. Coconut lime cheesecake and a half decaf flat white (He had never had an order like that before so said he would have to work out what to charge me for it)

The Municipal Gallery is closed for renovations. The Paphos Archaeological Museum is closed for renovations and I gather that it hasn't been open for about a year. The Byzantine Museum has been moved out of town. So the Ethnographic Museum is it.

Inside I was greeted by Mrs Eliades. George Eliades, was an archaeologist and collector. She charged me 5Euro admission and recommended I buy the book her husband wrote on the collection for another 5. I didn't.

The house has been in the family for generations and was opened as a private museum in 1958.

The courtyard garden is offered as a wedding venue and has this old water fountain,

and some ancient burial tombs carved out of the rock.

The lower level  houses the collection of farm implements,

archaeological finds,

pottery,

spinning and weaving tools,

lace making and traditional clothing,

and just random

stuff.

Upstairs a library and a dining room are open to be viewed from the doorway.

An amazing collection of flints and arrowheads, coins, paintings and maps are displayed in the halls.

No idea what these are (no signage again) but I love them.

It was a strange little museum. A lot of it you couldn't get close to and what signage there was was photocopies of articles and I needed my glasses on. Still fun anyway.

Heading towards the bus station I found

a war memorial.

While taking this picture a passerby told me I could get a better view from the other side and I asked if it is ever open. He said no and it never would be as it is Turkish. He said "this is the old Turkish neighbourhood, that's why the buildings are derelict. The owners now live in the Turkish occupied area in Northern Cyprus"

He was right it was easier to get a good shot from this side.

Still some Turkish influence here.

While waiting for the bus. A man selling suit jackets and sports coats from the trunk of his car? A Mercedes!