Vouni Palace 4K Lefke, Northern Cyprus

Vouni is an ancient palace and settlement in Cyprus. It is dated to around 500 BC.

The palace was built to keep the city of Soli, about 6 km away, under Persian rule, at a time when there were uprisings against Persian rule in Cyprus. The construction of the palace was completed in four years and it had 137 rooms. It was built on a hill with an altitude of 267 meters and is surrounded by walls.

The building has three main parts, these are the Temple of Athena at the top, the palace and other temples just below the temple, and the houses below them. These three sections were built on three different terraces sloping from the hill towards the sea. After the Athenian General Cimon seized the area where the palace was located in 449 BC, it underwent an architectural change in the period up to 440 BC, in which Greek architectural features were observed. When the Kingdom of Soli, which made an agreement with the Persians around 390 BC, regained its political power, it entered Vouni, which was under Greek domination and constantly threatened itself, in 380 BC and burned the city. The city was completely destroyed and never rebuilt.

There were baths in the palace where the water coming from the wells was heated with the hot water system. In the center of the palace was a courtyard surrounded by columns, around which the living rooms were located. A road called the "King's road" starting from the palace went down the city.

Vouni was excavated by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition team between 1927-1931.

Location: