Four kilometers east of the town of Paphos, in the village where the Ieros Kipos (Holy Garden) of Goddess Aphrodite was in Geroskipou, you will find the most ancient five-domed Church out of the two that exist on the island.
It is a 9th century construction that has been greatly modified in the end of the 18th or the beginning of the 19th century. It is a triple-aisled Basilica, following the Byzantine style and has 5 domes. Three of them are found in the central aisle and the other two are placed on the two sides. All five of them form a concentric cross.
In terms of architecture it looks like the five-domed Church of the Saints Varnavas and Ilarionas found in Peristerona, Nicosia, except that this one is much more impressive.
On the inside, it has been frescoed over the centuries, with a religious content and that is dated from its first years of its existence, until the 15th century.
It is dedicated to Agia Paraskevi and it was built in the place of a paleochristian church. A Church that has been built on the ruins of a worship area dedicated to Goddess Aphrodite, found in Geroskipou and was part of the street joining the gardens of Aprhodite with the great Temple of the Goddess in Palepaphos, at the point where the Church of Panagia Katholiki stands today.
The Church is in the jurisdiction of the Department of Antiquities and yet the entrance is free of charge. Visits are allowed at office hours.
