Capital of the west and positively teaming with history is Paphos. The first settlement here dates from the 4th century BC and Paphos played an important role in early Cypriot history. It was on Paphos shoreline that the mythological Goddess Aphrodite was born - a legend that spawned a massive wave of cult worship from neighboring countries that lasted several centuries.

Famagusta is one great city that is believed to have been founded in the 11^th century BC and after the influences of the many conquering nations notably the Romans the city was finally abandoned in 648 AD, following the combined catastrophe of earthquake and raids by pirates when the population moved to Famagusta.

The town was known as Arsinoe (after Arsinoe of Egypt) in antiquity, then Ammochostos (meaning “hidden in sand”) that is how it is today referred to in Greek. The same name developed into Famagusta, used in Western European languages and the Turkish name of Ammochostos (Gazi is a Turkish prefix meaning glorified).