Author: cconstantinou

Agios Nikolaos ton Gaton Convent – St. Nicholas of the Cats Convent

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Located on Cape Gata, 15km west of Lemesos (Limassol) and south-east of Akrotiri Salt Lake, the monastery of Agios Nikolaos ton Gaton (St. Nicholas of the Cats) is possibly the oldest monastery in Cyprus. The monastery chapel dates back to the 14th century and was abandoned in the 16th century. It was reinstated by Orthodox nuns in 1983.

According to tradition, the monastery was founded by St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who left a piece of wood from the Holy Cross at the site. During that period, Cyprus experienced a severe drought, forcing many people to flee the cape and the area became infested by snakes.

Constantine the Great sent a commander called Kalokeros to Cyprus to release thousands of cats in order to rid the area of the snakes, and thus the cape was saved and came to be known as Cape Gata (Cape Cat).

Whilst the monastery has just a handful of nuns now, there are many cats, which are said to be the descendants of those who rid the area of snakes.

Region: Lemesos
Address: Cape Gata, 15km west of Lemesos.
GPS coordinates: Lat: 34.599653 Lon: 32.987017
Contact No: Tel: +357 25 952 621
Operating Hours*: Daily: 07:00 – 12:00 / 14:00 – 17:00
Operating Period: All year round.
Entrance Fee: Free
  Opening and closing times as well as entrance fees, are subject to alterations without notice. Visitors are advised to check before visiting.

* The monastery’s church is termporaily closed due to technical issues.  The rest of the monastery is open for visiting.

The Old Carob Mill

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The Old Carob Mill was built in 1900, at a time when carobs were a major export of the island, and were used to make a wide variety of products such as photographic film plates, medicines, sweets and chocolates.

Divided into a complex of two distinct areas, the first area consists of the restored Carob Mill – where the machinery used in processing the carobs is preserved and displayed – and the second area houses the Evagoras Lanitis Centre – an arts and exhibition area.

Region: Lemesos (Limassol)
Address: Vasilissis Street, (behind Lemesos Medieval Castle)
Contact No: Tel: +357 25 342 123
Operating Period: All year round.
Closed on Public Holidays.
Entrance Fee: Free
  Opening and closing times as well as entrance fees, are subject to alterations without notice. Visitors are advised to check before visiting.
 

Laïki Geitonia (Traditional Neighbourhood)

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Laïki Geitonia is a traditional pedestrian neighbourhood inside the walled city of Lefkosia (Nicosia), with buildings that date back to the 18th century and serve as typical examples of traditional Cypriot urban architecture. The buildings are now used as residences, shops, tavernas and craft centres, having been restored and preserved. The popular neighbourhood area is located 200 metres east of Plateia Eleftherias and is ideal for exploring on foot.

GPS coordinates: Lat: 35.1699 Lon: 33.362285

Chrysaliniotissa Crafts Centre

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This complex of eight workshops is situated near Panagia Chrysaliniotissa Church (Our Lady of the Golden Flax) – the oldest Byzantine church in Lefkosia (Nicosia). The workshops nestle around a central courtyard in the manner of a traditional inn, and consist of various units engaged in contemporary applications of traditional crafts, along with a coffee shop. The Crafts Centre is part of an ongoing project to restore and regenerate the old part of Lefkosia within the walls.

 

Region: Lefkosia
Address: Dimonaktos, 2 (corner Ipponaktos & Dimonaktos Streets)
GPS coordinates: Lat: 35.175833 Lon: 33.370179
Contact No: Tel: +357 99 556 250 / +357 22 347 465
Operating Hours: Monday – Friday: 10:00 – 17:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 13:00
Closed on Sunday.
Please call prior to visit.
Operating Period: All year round.
Closed on Public Holidays.
Entrance Fee: Free
  Opening and closing times as well as entrance fees, are subject to alterations without notice. Visitors are advised to check before visiting.
 

Panagia Chrysaliniotissa Church

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Dedicated to Panagia Chrysaliniotissa (Our Lady of the Golden Flax), this church is believed to be the oldest Byzantine church in Lefkosia (Nicosia), and thought to have been first built in 1450 by Queen Helena Palaeologina. The church is renowned for its rich collection of old and rare icons, and the street it is located on, within the walled city of Lefkosia, was named in its honour (Chrysaliniotissa Street).

Agios Panteleimon Convent

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The 18th century convent of Agios Panteleimon, with its gabled roof, is located in the Achera Valley, northwest of the Lefkosia (Nicosia) district at the village of Agrokipia.

The original old monastery complex consisted of the main church and buildings standing in the northern and eastern side, while the ground floor of the northern part of the church was divided into storage rooms, a laundry room, rooms with gyles and ovens, as well as a room where sweets were produced. There are no remains of the old church, or the original buildings of the monastery.

According to an inscription located at the west entrance of the church, it was renovated in 1770, three years after Archbishop Chrysanthos was enthroned. The iconostasis was gilded, whilst icons of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, Agios Panteleimon and Agios Nicolaos were painted at the same time by the painters Michalis Thetallos or Thesalonikeas.

The monastery played an important humanitarian role for the island during the National Liberation Struggle and the Turkish invasion of 1974. It was restored shortly after 1960, and in 1989 another annex was added to the southern part of the building. Today the monastery functions as a convent. 

Region: Lefkosia
Address: Valley of Achera, between Agrokipia and Mitsero
GPS coordinates: Lat: 35.053901 Lon: 33.139694
Contact No: Tel: +357 22 632 345
Operating Hours: Winter, daily: 06:00 – 17:00
Summer, daily: 06:00 – 19:00
Operating Period: All year round.
Closed on Public Holidays.
Entrance Fee: Free
Disabled Access: Available at the monastery but not at the church.
  Opening and closing times as well as entrance fees, are subject to alterations without notice. Visitors are advised to check before visiting.
 

Church of Agios Varnavas and Ilarionas (Saints Barnabas and Hilarion)

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Located in the village of Peristerona, on the west bank of Serrahis tributary river, the church dedicated to Saints Barnabas and Hilarion is thought to have been built in the 9th or 10th century. The five-domed building serves as an outstanding example of Cypriot Byzantine architecture, with part of the original church’s north wall still surviving and incorporated in the western part of the wall of the existing church. The oldest wall-painting samples belong to the 15th and 16th centuries.

Next to the church lies the Turkish mosque of Peristerona, and the image of the two side-by-side has appeared on past currency and stamps as a symbol of peaceful coexistence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots prior to the 1974 Turkish invasion.

Region: Lefkosia (Nicosia)
Address: Peristerona village, Lefkosia – Troodos Road
Contact No: Tel: +357 99 620 753
Operating Hours: Enquire at the coffee shop next door.
Operating Period: All year round.
Closed on Public Holidays.
Entrance Fee: Free
Website: www.mcw.gov.cy/da
  Opening and closing times as well as entrance fees, are subject to alterations without notice. Visitors are advised to check before visiting.

 

Agios Irakleidios Convent

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Irakleidios, the son of a pagan priest, was ordained Bishop of Tamasos by Saints Paul and Barnabas. He was martyred at the age of 60 and buried in the cave where he had lived, and from where he preached the Gospel. In 400 AD a church was built over his grave.

The monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Today’s buildings date back to 1773 when Archbishop Chrysanthos restored the church and convent cells. The saint’s relics are kept inside the church. Today the monastery functions as a convent.

Region: Lefkosia (Nicosia)
Address: Politiko village, 21km southwest of Lefkosia
GPS coordinates: Lat: 35.025445 Lon: 33.24353
Contact No: Tel: +357 22 623 950, Fax: +357 22 624 176
Operating Hours: Monday – Friday: 08:00 – 12:30 / 15:30 – 18:00
Weekends: 06:00 – 18:00
Operating Period: All year round.
Closed on Public Holidays.
Entrance Fee: Free
  Opening and closing times as well as entrance fees, are subject to alterations without notice. Visitors are advised to check before visiting.
 

St. Paul’s Anglican Church

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The church of St. Paul was built in 1893 when Cyprus was a protectorate of the British Empire. The influence of politics on architecture is evident by the structural elements of the building, which is reminiscent of an English parish church. The Christian church today is part of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf.

Region: Lefkosia (Nicosia)
Address: Leoforos Vyronos
GPS coordinates: Lat: 35.169675 Lon: 33.354655
Contact No: Tel: +357 22 677 897, Tel/Fax: +357 22 445 221 (office)
Website: www.st-pauls-nicosia.com
  Opening and closing times as well as entrance fees, are subject to alterations without notice. Visitors are advised to check before visiting.
 

Archangelos Michael Trypiotis Church

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Built by Archbishop Germanos II in 1695, the Church of Archangelos Michael Trypiotis in old Lefkosia (Nicosia) is an excellent example of Franco-Byzantine style architecture, with three naves and a dome that almost has the aspect of a square.

Built with attractive, smoothed calcarenite stone that holds a rich interior, the church contains an outstanding icon influenced by an Italian painting of the 15th century, and other silver icons from the period of Ottoman Rule, as well as possessing an unusually wide iconostasis.

According to an inscription to the east of the south entrance, the church was built at the expense of the Priest Iakovos and Christian parishioners in 1695 during Ottoman Rule.