My favourite place: Ronald Hutton
In the August 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine, Ronald Hutton selects Cyprus as his favourite historical destination. HistoryExtra caught up with him to find out more...
Q: Why do you love the location?
Cyprus is the most easterly island in the Mediterranean, one of the largest, and one of the richest in the remains of history and prehistory. It is also one of the most varied in its landscapes.
Q: What top 3 sights would you recommend people visit while they are there, and why?
My favourite sites are the massive and almost intact castle of the Knights of St John at Kolossi and the small nunnery of St Nikolaos on the most southerly cape. The latter is famous for its cats, nurtured there for centuries, supposedly to keep snakes off the surrounding fields. No visit to Cyprus is complete without a visit to Aphrodite's famous temple, which lies in sprawling ruin at Paphos (sometimes spelled Pafos) in the south-west.
Q: What do you recommend travellers take with them to Corfu?
Sun block in summer, warm wraps in winter (when the wind blows off the Turkish mountains); and both in spring and autumn
Q: What should visitors bring home with them?
The sweetmeat known everywhere but on Greek Cyprus as Turkish Delight, made with special succulence in what was a garden sacred to Aphrodite
Next month, Mark Stoyle visits Brittany in France. Share your tips for would-be travellers on Twitter (@HistoryExtra) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/HistoryExtra)
You can read Ronalds's feature on Cyprus in the August 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine – on sale from 16 July
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