DK Travel : Cyprus : History & Culture

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Kakopetria

The name of this village translates as “evil rocks” and it’s not hard to see why, when one glances over the harsh surrounding landscape. Despite this inauspicious introduction, however, Kakopetria is a pretty and prosperous village and a favourite getaway spot for Nicosian city-dwellers (see Kakopetria). It is also a good base for exploring many of the remarkable Troodos painted churches nearby.
Kalavassos

A Neolithic roundhouse, beehive huts and a protective wall have been excavated here (see Kalavassos).
Kaledonia Falls

Tumbling into a wooded ravine, this beautiful 11-m (36-ft) waterfall, surrounded by forest, is at its most spectacular in spring, when the Troodos streams are fed by melting winter snow from the mountain peaks. It is most popular in summer, when it offers a cool and shady retreat from the powerful midday sun. Its name originally derives from the swallows (chelidonia ) which chase flying insects above its pool on summer evenings (see Caledonia Waterfall).
Kantara Castle

Commanding the western end of the Kyrenia range, Kantara’s walls ascend from a formidable barbican gate to a ring of inner battlements and towers. When Richard the Lionheart conquered the island this was the last refuge of the Byzantine prince of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenos.
Karpas Peninsula

This long, rocky spit is the least developed part of the island, with sandy beaches on its north and south coast and a scattering of historic Christian churches, including the monastery of Apostolos Andreas, which is being restored with UN and EU funding. Within is a holy well famed for its mystic healing properties.
Kition

The best preserved ancient Phoenician settlement in Cyprus has a shrine of Astarte, the Asiatic fertility goddess (see Kition).
Kolossi Castle

Kolossi is no fairy-tale fantasy castle, but a solid, forbidding fortress which bears testimony to the military skills of its medieval builders. For a while, it was a stronghold of the piratical Knights of the Order of St John, and was surrounded by the vineyards from which they made the celebrated sweet wine, Commandaria, which was named after their “commandarie”. Sacked by Genoese marauders in the 15th century, it retains many of its original features from that period, thanks to a careful restoration in the 1930s, including a private apartment and a coat of arms of one of the commanders. There are great views of the coast from the castle turrets.
Kourion

This clifftop city is at least 3,300 years old, but the site may have been occupied even earlier (see Kourion).
Kourion

Tier after tier of stone benches, able to seat up to 3,500 spectators, rise above the circular floor of Kourion’s amphitheatre, where gladiators and wild beasts are depicted on a well-preserved mosaic. These days, the restored theatre is the summer venue for more humane cultural events, including Cyprus’s annual theatre, jazz and classical music festivals (see Shakespeare Festival, Kourion). Kourion’s builders must have had an eye for landscape, too, for the theatre has fantastic views over the coast, vineyards and wheat fields of the Akrotiri Peninsula from its position 80 m (260 ft) above sea level (see Kourion).
Kyrenia

Beneath the jagged sierra of the Kyrenia range, this city is home to a pleasant collection of shops, restaurants and hotels around and above a superb natural harbour. It is dominated by the battlements of a massive Venetian sea-fort that withstood every assault for centuries until, in 1570, its defenders surrendered to the Ottomans. The North’s best hotels arefound either side of the city (see Northern Cyprus Resorts; also see Northern Cyprus Hotels).