Ian Griffin leaves Cyprus’s nightclubs and sun-kissed beaches behind as he explores the island’s fascinating history.

Many people associate Cyprus with great beaches, hot sun and a lively nightlife. However, Cyprus offers much more than nightclubs and a guaranteed suntan.

Being the wrong side of 35 and with my party days behind me, I was looking forward to finding out more about the cultural side of the island.

The country is brimming with history, having been occupied by a number of civilisations during the past 3,000 years.

A legacy of its time as a British colony means motorists drive on the left, making renting a car and exploring the island easier for UK tourists.

This is something I have enjoyed doing in the past, but this time I was a guest of airline Monarch and Love Cyprus – the country’s tourism organisation.

From our base at the Amathus Beach Hotel, in Paphos, we explored much of the region, taking in both the

fascinating history and beautiful scenery – the things you tend to miss when you’re partying hard until the early hours.

Paphos has lots of things to do if you’re looking for an alternative to the beach. One of the most interesting is exploring the huge amount of relics from ancient Roman and Greek times.

The region has an array of well-preserved Roman mosaics. We visited Kato Pafos near the harbour, the site of a restored Roman villa which contains a number of fantastic mosaics.

Another attraction worth a visit is The Tombs of the King, which lies just over a mile from the harbour.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the tombs date back more than 2,000 years. The site was used to bury aristocrats and important officials up until the third century. It provides an eerie, but fascinating few hours’ distraction, with the cavernous tombs providing

welcome shelter from the hot sun.

Like many countries in sunny climes, Cyprus is full of vineyards. It is no surprise then that the country fancies itself as a wine exporter.

We dropped in on the Vouni Panayia Winery in the mountain village of Panayia, where we sampled their

labours. One of the daughters of the founders of the winery did her training in Leicester.

On holiday you often end up doing things you have not done for a long time.

The last time I rode a donkey was 25 years ago during a family holiday in Spain. That is why I was slightly nervous about visiting the donkey farm in the village of Kelokedara, where we took part in a donkey trek across the countryside. It was surprisingly enjoyable.

Following our trek we enjoyed an evening of traditional music and dancing.

Many people visit Cyprus to enjoy more modern types of music and dancing. But my few days on this beautiful island showed it offers much more than that.

Info

Ian Griffin travelled courtesy of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and Monarch.

He stayed at the five-star Amathus Beach Hotel, Paphos, which starts at from £97 per room per night on bed and breakfast basis www.amathus-hotels.com/paphos

Monarch operates regular flights to Paphos from Birmingham, London Gatwick and Manchester airports, costing from £121.99 return.

charming: Paphos castle and, below, the Amatheus Beach Hotel, Paphos