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The simplest and most delicious of Cypriot dishes, souvla is made with chunks of lamb, skewered and grilled over charcoal, then served with French fries and a salad of lettuce or cabbage, tomatoes, onions and pickled hot peppers.

Like souvla , only smaller, souvlaki is the native fast-food of the island. It’s the ideal snack to fend off hunger pangs when exploring on foot. There are simple, friendly grill-cafés in every town and village where you can pick up a handful of these skewer-grilled cubes of lamb in a pocket of pitta bread, with salad and pickled peppers, to eat on the move.

The seafood meze here is made with the freshest of ingredients and beautifully presented. A good choice of Cypriot wines too.

Children will love the hand-made dolls here, some of which are dressed in traditional costumes.

St Barnabas, with the Apostle Paul, brought Christianity to Cyprus in 45 AD.

The imposing monastery with its sturdy dome was built in 1756, but its main attraction for Orthodox pilgrims was a much older relic: the tomb of St Barnabas, who brought Christianity to Cyprus. Within the monastery is an archaeological museum housing delicate Bronze Age pottery.

One of the island’s most elegant resorts, the St George’s offers sports facilities ranging from squash courts, floodlit tennis courts, snooker tables and golf. Sharing these facilities is the St George’s Gardens apartment hotel, with its own bar and restaurant and an amphitheatre.

Built in the 11th century for the Lusignan kings and steeped in history, St Hilarion would be the perfect setting for a medieval romance, with its elaborate defences built around steep mountain crags. Legends, indeed, surround it, including tales of a hidden treasure-room, an enchanted garden, and stories of Byzantine treachery and medieval intrigue. It was last occupied in the 16th century by the Venetians.

Look for these foot-long mini-dragons scuttling around rocks on the beach or in fields.