While some turn to the Internet for love, one can still turn to Aphrodite when in Cyprus. (Toronto Sun/Pam Davies)

LEFKOSIA, Cyprus -- "BUT LAUGHTER LOVING APHRODITE WENT TO CYPRUS AND TO PAPHOS, WHERE IS HER PRECINCT AND FRAGRANT ALTARS." -- HOMER, THE ODYSSEY

In the modern world, people search for love on the Internet, but in the Old World -- in Cyprus -- they say it's possible to find everlasting love by performing simple rituals connected, appropriately, to the cult of Aphrodite.

In the hills of the Akamas area between Polis and Cape Arnaouti is a legendary grotto where the goddess of love and beauty used to bathe, and where, according to mythology, she met her lover Adonis. A short walk on a stone path, past eucalyptus and olive trees, and tall grasses leads to a small pond.

"If you put the water on your face from this cave where Aphrodite used to swim, the legend says you will stay young and be in love your whole life," maintains our guide Christina Mita. Sounds good to me.

"Hey it's better than bar-hopping or spending hours on internet dating sites," quips one member of our group, now applying the cool water to her cheeks.

If, by some chance, this ritual doesn't work for you, there's yet another option -- but it requires a full moon and the ability to swim! This time the destination is Aphrodite's birthplace at Petra tou Romiou, one of the most beautiful coastlines in Cyprus. A few large rocks near shore mark the place where the love goddess swirled out of the sea.

It's believed that if you swim around Aphrodite's rock you will have everlasting love. Some legends say you should perform the ritual under a full moon, others say you must swim around the rock with your partner, if you have one. Whether you try this or not, at least stop for a view of the birthplace, which is visible from a winding cliffside road high above the sea.

The Greek name Petra tou Romiou (the Rock of the Greek) is associated with the Byzantine hero Digenis Akritas, who according to legend, kept the marauding Saracen Arabs at bay with his amazing strength. With one hand he grabbed hold of the Kyreneia mountain range and with the other hand he tossed a huge rock into the sea at the Saracens who were attempting to land. The rock still remains and now gives the region its name.

Aphrodite's birthplace at Petra tou Romiou, as well as the baths, are among about a half-dozen attractions on the Aphrodite Cultural Route, which also covers museums, archeological sites and even a candy store. Most of sites are in western Cyprus, including the ruins of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Palaipafos (Kouklia). One of the most celebrated pilgrimage centres of the classical Greek world, the sanctuary remained a place of worship until the 4th century AD.

Nearby, the Palaipafos Museum, housed in a Lusignan manor, portrays how the cult of the goddess of fertility developed into the cult of Aphrodite.

Excavations are continuing at the sanctuary as well as in and around the ruins of the town and the necropolis.

To see the famous 1st century AD Roman statuette of Aphrodite of Soli, make your way to the Cyprus Museum in Lefkosia (Nicosia), which houses the best collection of archeological artifacts on the island.

Driving through the country, you won't have to look hard to find signs of Aphrodite. The goddess' likeness appears on everything from wine bottles to stamps, while her name has been incorporated into countless businesses from the Aphrodite Gift Shop to the InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort Hotel.

Aphrodite Delights, a famous candy shop that's been in the same family for four generations, is one place you shouldn't miss. Located in the town of Geroskipou which once served as a resting place for devotees of the goddess en route to the temple of Palaipafos, it's now famed for its the ultrasweet loukoumi. The chewy candy with a dusting of icing sugar comes in 14 different flavours including rose, lemon, orange, and mint.

George Gabriel now runs the shop first opened by his globe-trotting great-grandfather in 1895. The sweets are made in the same premises and still follow the original recipe. Gabriel proudly boasts that his Aphrodite Delights are the only Cypriot product registered with a "protective geographical indication," which recognizes the product's origin and prevents imitators.

Cypriots have been known to travel for kilometres to taste the sweets that have made Geroskipou synonymous with "loukoumia" or "Cyprus delights." Even visitors, like us, agree it's a sweet ending on the route of love.