Island Life Magazine Ltd April / May 2016 | Page 47

TRAVEL
and often to celebrate special events. I
recall in particular taking my late parents
to celebrate their Golden Wedding
Anniversary. My father was keen to
explore the famous Kykkos Monastery,
which is the richest and most important
Monastery on the Island founded in
1094. It was Emperor Alexis Comnenos
who provided the rich land grant and
an icon of the Virgin Mary which was
said to have been painted by St. Luke.
Historically the Monastery has survived
several fires but the icon is still now intact
and covered in gilded silver. Legend has
it that such icon has rain-making powers
which bring farmers to the Monastery to
pray in times of drought.
Thousands of visitors visit the
Monastery each year to observe its
splendour. Kykkos is also famous for
having had Archbishop Makarios
amongst its novices in the past. Whilst
visiting with my late father we were
advised at the entrance that it would not
be possible to visit simply wearing shorts
and that they would have to be covered.
In those days we were provided free of
charge with long blue cassocks to cover
our bodies. Ironically my fathers sandals
were the same colour as his cassock and
amusingly whilst walking around the
ramparts of the Monastery was mistaken
and widely photographed by German
tourists as a Monk with me as a Novice by
my father’s side!
There is a deep climb through the
mountain roads to Kykkos affording the
most stunning views across the Island
and if you visit Cyprus this is a most
worthwhile experience. At sea level and
along the coast rests the tourist towns
of Coral Bay, Pathos, Limassol and Ayia
Napa all offering excellent hotel and self

catering accommodation and a host of
local restaurants where the food is very
well prepared. Fast food outlet sell pita
bread stuffed with sheftalia (a kind of
sausage), Kebabs of fresh lamb or goat
plus salad and yoghurt dressing all to be
accompanied by excellently produced
local wine or beer.
North West of Pathos is the ancient
communities Necropolis known as Tomb
of the Kings, this is a fascinating place
for the tourist where you can observe
subterranean burial chambers built from
the Third Century BC and represent the
resting places of important officials of
the Island and known as the
“City of the Dead’’. It is
a real treat to cast
your eyes over the
most wonderful
mosaics and
all of which
have been
beautifully

restored. The Cypriots are quite rightly
so proud of this ancient site and it is well
worth booking an organised tour to learn
in depth the detailed history.
The Island’s capital Nicosia must not
be missed, but be prepared for hot
temperatures as it is always some 5
degrees hotter than the main coastline
with average temperatures regularly
between 30 – 40c degrees during July
and August.
Just prior to the Turkish invasion in
1570 the Venetians built the cities
imposing defensive wall, which held
out for just some seven weeks before
the Ottoman Turks broke in and
slaughtered 20,000 of its
citizens. An echo of
those brutal times
re-surfaced during
some of the
heaviest fighting
in 1974 when the
Turkish invasion
took place in this
vicinity. Nicosia
still remains
one of the few
divided cities in the
world with viewing
checkpoints and a buffer
zone dividing Northern and
Southern Cyprus, but these days the
north is considerably more accessible
than was previously the case.
For sure it is an Island that offers so
much and despite being geographically
placed within the “hot bed” of the Middle
East it continues to offer to all tourists
the warmest of welcomes, a wonderful
climate and moreover an overwhelming
history attached to it.
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