Details
The language of the meeting will be ENGLISH. There will be no translation services available.
conference centre
Venue
The conference will be held in the 5-star Coral Beach Hotel and Resort (http://www.coral.com.cy/Coral.aspx )in the area of Coral Bay in the town of Paphos, Cyprus.
Accommodation
Most delegates will be accommodated in the same hotel as the conference. Accommodation needs to be booked seperately. Please visit the Accommodation page for more information and booking form. Accommodation information here
view of hotel
Travelling to Paphos
Everything you need to know about travelling to Paphos and the hotel is available on the Travel webpage here.
Social Program
Four dinners are included in your registration fee all in different locations. Get to know your colleagues from around the world. Find out more about the Social program of the conference here.
Accompanying Persons
You may like to bring a partner, family member(s) or friend with you. We welcome accompanying persons, however in order for them to be able to attend the four dinners, the excursion and get the group transportation, an accompanying persons' package must be taken out at the time of registration. See the Accompanying persons webpage here.
About Paphos
Location
The west coast town of Paphos focuses around an attractive little harbor whose picturesque open air fish restaurants line a quayside of bright fishing boats and pleasure craft. With a population of just 28,000 Paphos nestles in the lee of the Western Troodos Mountains which add another dimension to this area of scenic beauty.
Paphos has an air of holiday charm combined with history, and olden-day elegance is lent to the town by its classical style buildings in the upper part of town which leads to the shopping area. The lower part of the town - known as Kato Paphos - has a life of its own, down near the sea, home of the harbor, the fish taverns, shops and several beautiful hotels with important archaeological sites around them. Paphos is entwined with Greek mythology and the legendary birth of Aphrodite. In fact the whole area abounds in historical and archaeological treasures.
Brief History
Nea Paphos is the ancient city of Paphos, which was founded in the late 4th century BC. Palea Paphos (Old Paphos) was in fact Kouklia, southeast of today's Paphos, and the site of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite. At the time of Nea Paphos, Cyprus was part of the kingdom of the Ptolemies, the Graeco-Macedonian rulers of Egypt whose capital was Alexandria. The city became an important strategic outpost for the Ptolemies, and the settlement grew considerably over the next seven centuries.
The city was originally encircled by massive walls and occupied an area of about 950,000 sq m, reaching several hundred metres east of today's Leoforos Apostolou Pavlou. The streets were laid out in a rectangular grid pattern. Archaeological excavations have shown evidence of commercial and cultural activity over the life of the city. Nea Pafos was ceded to the Romans in 58 BC but remained the centre of all political and administrative life in Cyprus, reaching its zenith during the 2nd or 3rd century. It was during this time that the city's most opulent public buildings were constructed, including those that house the famous Paphos mosaics listed on UNESCO's World Heritage listing.
Two kilometres north of Kato Paphos is a site containing a set of well-preserved underground tombs and chambers used by residents of Nea Paphos from 3 BC to AD 3, during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Despite the name, the tombs were not actually used by royalty. Instead, they earned the title 'Tombs of the Kings' for their grand appearance and the Doric pillars that help support the structures. Members of the higher social classes were buried here.
Nea Paphos went into decline following an earthquake in the 4th century that badly damaged the city, as well as many other cities on the island. Subsequently, Salamis in the east became the new capital of Cyprus, and Nea Paphos was relegated to the status of a mere bishopric. It was at this time that the fine Hrysopolitissa Basilica was built. Arab raids in the 7th century set the seal on the city's demise and neither Lusignan settlement (1192-1489) nor Venetian and Ottoman colonisation revived Nea Paphos' fortunes.
Most of the treasure in the region's tombs has long since been spirited away by grave robbers - notably the late-19th-century American consul of Larnaka, Luigi Palma de Cesnola.
Akamas Peninsula
The Akamas Peninsula just above Paphos has remained relatively untouched and is the last remaining region on Cyprus with large extent and complete pattern of low land vegetation, most of it in good natural state. The Lara -Toxeftra area is protected as a Marine Reserve and is of international importance. The beaches of the area are some of the few known nesting areas of the remaining populations of the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta).