Larnaca Cityguide

It was a place that had been radiating peace and tranquillity for a thousand years, and Lazarus was not disappointed. His second life was one of profound inactivity. The action started after his death, when his grave was discovered in the year 890, and his bones carted all round the known world, from Constantinople to Marsilles. But Lazarus had started a fashion. With its palm trees and its golden sands, its rocky cliffs and azure waters, Larnaca is still offering peace and quiet to weary travellers.

In fact, it has become an extremely popular resort - but the memories of its ancient and venerable pars have not entirely disappeared under beach condos and sun umbrellas. Take the Saint Lazarus church, for example, whose tall white belltower proclaims the fame of its patron far and wide. And then there is the ancient site of Kition, just next door to Larnaca, which is still under excavation. Artifacts so far discovered testify to the sophistication of ancient Cypriot civilisation.

But the denizens of Larnaceaare less proud of this than of the fact that archaeological evidence demonstrates, loud and clear, that this was one of the earliest wine cultures in the world. Ancient wine goblets used by the ancients make you realise, as you sit on your hotel terrace sipping your Commandaria and nibbling delicious halloumi cheese, that nothing in the world is anything like as new as it seems.

But Cyprus isn't only renowned for the good life. It was also the birthplace of the philosopher Zeno, the founder of Stoicism. Zeno was born in 333 BC in Kition (Citium). His writings are lost, but his teachings remain. Man is essentially a fool. His ambitions should be health and wealth. His worst enemy is passion. Hardly surprising, perhaps, that hot-blooded youngsters adore making fun of him, dancing around his statue with bottles of wine held high.

And while we're on the subject of passion, let's not forget that Cyprus was also the birthplace of Aphoridite, goddess of love, and originator of the word aphrodisiac. There is a legend attached to the rock near her ocean birthplace: swim round the rock ten times, and you will make yourself ten years younger.

In late spring and early summer the whole of Larnaca goes mad. People who at other times of year are sober, upstanding burghers dress up in fancy costumes and throw themselves into the sea, splashing everyone they can with as much water as possible. The traditions of Greek orthodox Pentecost are inextricably bound up with the local cult of Aphrodite - though no one is quite clear what the symbolism means any more. Some say that the splashing is all to do with the birth of Aphrodite, who rose from the waves at Paphos, on the west coast of the island. Others maintain that it is intended  to signify her symbolic union with the beautiful Adonis, raised from the dead by Zeus and permitted to spend 6 months of the year with the love goddess. The two-day Flood Festival (in the Greek Orthodox tradition Pentecost is tied up with the story of Noah's survival in the Ark) is forty-eight hours of pure partying, a true season of midsummer madness and excess. Despite its popularity as a holiday destination, Larnaca has managed to hang on to its identity. Although it is now the main town of Greek Cypriot Cyprus, with a busy international airport, it still preserves something of a small town feel. It is also in ideal jumping-off point for an exploration of everything else that Cyprus has to offer.