[4] Lapithos is usually referred in archaeological literature as a Laconian colony built after the Trojan War, by Praxandros, its first king.

However, findings from excavations i.e. pots and pottery wheels date back its existence as early as 3000 BC.

[4] Peisistratos, king of Lapithos, with his flotilla, together with Nicocreon of Salamis and Stasanor of Curion, came to the aid of Alexander the Great, helping him to capture Tyre in Phoenicia.

[4] During the proto-Christian period (25 BC – 250 AD) Lapethos experienced a great commercial drive because of the plethora of its produce, but also because of its port and its shipyard.

[4] During the first years of Christianity the apostles Paul, Barnabas and Mark passed by Lapethos coming from Tarsus.

In late antiquity, Lapethos enjoyed great prosperity in commerce as well as in riches, art and development.

[4] Upon the Byzantine recovery of Cyprus from the Arabs in 965, Lapithos's refugees returned to their town to rebuild it in a new location, but chose to stay away from the sea, relocating it to the foot of mountain Pentadactylos.

3000 troops were stationed at Lapithos under the command of Zanetto Dandolo in the years preceding the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571.

[4] Lapithos became a municipality soon after the transfer of power to the British rule, with Andreas Koumides becoming the first mayor.

Some of these sites were at Lapithos and the excavations here resulted in a multitude of ceramics and weapons made of copper and bronze.

They also found delicate proboscis jugs with elongated necks (beak spouted) and shiny red paint, which are similar to contemporary ceramics from Anatolia.

[5][6] The oldest settlement, dating from the Neolithic or Chalcolithic period, is located to the west of the village of Lapithos and is called Alonia ton Plakon.

[5] The eastern settlement’s preservation was deteriorated because of winter floods and Roman, Byzantine, and modern cultivation.

Therefore, only a few remains of houses were found, such as some stone foundation walls, hearths and three bothroi cut into the rock.

After the site was abandoned, it was disturbed in the Geometric period when the place was used as a necropolis, therefore the archaeologists found tombs cut into the rock.

The site consists of a white limestone rock, sloping towards the sea, and have been affected by repeated flooding from the mountain streams, therefore there’s not many traces left of the necropolis today.

[5] After the excavation at Vrysi tou Barba the Swedish Cyprus Expedition continued with the Iron age necropolis of Kastros from November 1927 until the end of April 1928.

Tourism, agriculture, small-scale industry and fishing are also important sources of income, practised by the rest of the population.

[9] The Municipality of Lapithos (Lapta) that de facto administers the town was founded on 19 November 1974 by the cabinet of the Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration.

[13] These include: The mosques are as follows: The town annually hosts the Lapta Tourism Festival in the first week of June.

Numerous cultural and sporting activities, folk dance shows by groups from various countries and concerts take place during the festival.

They played in Süper Lig, the top-level division of Turkish Cypriot football in the 2014–15 season, but were relegated as they attained the last place.