The famous Kamares Aqueduct, also known as the Bekir Pasha Aqueduct, is located on the outskirts of Larnaca, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Cyprus. It was created when the settlement, then called Skala, was under Ottoman rule, on the initiative of the ruler Abu Bekir Pasha and with his own funds between 1746 and 1747.
The name "Kamares" (from Greek for "arches") suits him very well - the water pipeline is more than 10 kilometres long and consists of 75 high arches. A total of 3 "bridges" of 32, 12 and 31 arches were created to keep the water at the same level in places where the aqueduct had to be laid through ravines. Thanks to this, one of the main problems of the city related to water shortage was solved, before people had to bring water from a source located several kilometres away from the settlement. After the construction of the aqueduct, water from the Tremitos River was piped directly to Larnaca. The townspeople used this system until 1939, when a modern aqueduct was finally built.
Unfortunately, Kamares has only been partially preserved to this day - after the town began to actively develop, the aqueduct was severely damaged. This is why the Larnaca Municipality has set up a special committee, consisting of various specialists, to look after the preservation of this architectural and historical monument. In addition, active work is now underway to stop the construction of nearby Kamares and turn the area into a tourist pedestrian zone.
