The renovated building complex near the Pafos historic centre, between Vasilissis Olgas, Konstantinos Kanaris and Pavlos Chrysanthous streets, today forms a very popular meeting place for locals and visitors to the city, a visible structure of significant cultural value.
The original core of the complex that we see today was built around 1860 to function as an early form of lodge, offering accommodation to travellers arriving on horseback, cart or foot from province to province. It was known as “Hani of Ibrahim” or Hani of Braimi, one of the three Hanias (lodges) operating in Pafos at the time. According to written and oral testimony, its first owner was Dimitris Hatziseimenis and was then passed on to Ottoman Mustafa Ahmet Rasit, who rented out the accommodation to Kiamili, also a member of the Turkish community.
It was an imposing, two-storey building with an inner courtyard, around which the rooms were developed. Stables were set up for the travellers’ animals on the ground floor, with accommodation on the upper floor. The Hania (lodges) included a grocery store, a coffee shop, kitchen and a workshop for shoeing animals.
The Hani operated through to the mid 20th century and in the 1950s its premises were converted into workshops. The 1963-64 bloody intercommunal strife brought about the demise of the facilities, which were abandoned during this period and never re-opened. The demise of the Hani also led to the gradual degradation of the surrounding area, which today forms Pano Pafos.
In 2019, Ibrahim’s Hani was brought back to life, following extensive renovation, with the co-financing of the European Regional Development Fund.
Facilities are divided into three areas, communicating with an inner courtyard and serving different uses. They include event spaces, commercial activities, hostels and exhibition halls, where the Municipal Art Gallery is also housed. A wooden platform in the courtyard has been installed for outdoor performances.
Address: 40 Konstantinou Kanari, Pafos 8010, Cyprus
