Recently enriched with a sculpture composition of supernatural size shells, Cyprus’ first Snorkelling Park in the Municipal Baths area of Paphos has certainly upgraded the district’s tourism product.

The composition, created by Yiota Ioannidou, brought to fruition a project launched a year ago by Paphos Regional Board of Tourism, its members and partners, Phileleftheros said on Wednesday.

The project consists of three sculptural compositions of supernatural size shells in relatively close proximity to each other.

A smaller composition of sea urchin shells has been placed outside the water in the surrounding rocks, predisposing the visitor to the surprise that follows in the sea.

The shells/sculptures are made of environmentally friendly concrete in accordance with the guidelines of the relevant Protocol of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution.

The shells are a tribute to the glorious past of the goddess Aphrodite so inextricably linked to Cyprus.

Overall, the connection of the shells with Aphrodite, where they both rise from the sea, is obvious and is interpreted as a correlation of the goddess emerging from the sea on a shell.

The Municipal Baths is a protected area and the first official Snorkelling Park in Cyprus serves as a reference point for freediving with rich marine life, archaeological treasures and contemporary work of art.

The whole initiative is part of a larger project of the Paphos Regional Board of Tourism that also includes the recording and monitoring of biodiversity and measures to promote sustainable and more responsible tourism.