island of love

Cyprus, Kypros, Alassia, my dear home that I've been waiting for a while to see… 

I've not had a proper holiday in 2 years, which I know I should still be grateful for, but when your body is forced away from its home for a long period of time you reach a state of overdrive that consumes your soul.

"Cypriots don’t like goodbyes unless they’re happy to see you go…"

From the moment we landed, I was in for a treat because I had been excited to see my cousin who recently moved over & now works in the airport itself. I’ve missed her so much so it was nice to run straight into a catch up session with someone I’m close to. She said she & some family members would be visiting Omodos, one of the Troodos mountain’s villages, for a religious festival the day after we landed & asked if we would like to go. How could we say no! 

One of Cyprus’ specialities is its religious & cultural festivals. The islanders’ lives revolve around these days of celebration. This particular religious event was the Holy Cross Festival which honours the cross Jesus was crucified on. Villages & towns across the island hold musical events, folk dancing, stalls for food, drink & other items such as clothes & toys. You’ll usually find the main square of the village full of tables with smoke dancing in the air from the barbecues feeding the populous, making your mouth salivate before you’ve even got started.

Omodos is very well known for holding festivals & I’d actually never visited the village before. We paid our respects at the local church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, where a priest was also educating visitors on what the festival was about & the history of the church. Omodos is a very old village & as much as you can see modern touches around you’ll always catch a glimpse of its history in every blink you make. Cypriot villages take pride in this trait, in preserving what is old, & it was nice to see the priest actively promote the village’s history & how these sorts of events are integrated into the community & promoted globally.

We met my cousin & co for some lunch at one of the busy restaurants. It was so nice to see familiar faces that I hadn’t seen for years! This is the one thing us people who live in a country that is not ethnically ours will understand; reunions & the warm feeling it spreads. After a good chat we had a walk around the village & stalls, bought a few items, in particular honey products & the most beautiful hand painted icons on marble. It was then time to say goodbye but these moments are never really a good bye, they’re more of a see you soon. Cypriots don’t like goodbyes unless they’re happy to see you go…

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Side note: Cyprus isn’t short of arts & crafts markets either. One evening we visited my mum at Blue Spice Restaurant’s arts & crafts market in Protaras. She’s heavily involved in these markets & you’ll usually find a lot of expats, even young people, who have decided to move to Cyprus & make a living there.

Another religious pilgrimage, if you like, is to visit random churches & monasteries around the island. One afternoon I searched up local monasteries that were still open (just remember they’re open at specific times only) & stumbled upon Saint Panteleimon, not far from Nicosia, so only a 20 minute drive from where we were. 

"One of the greatest things about Cyprus is that everything is around 30-40 minutes away."

When we arrived, let’s just say we were walking around for almost half an hour trying to find anybody who could let us inside the church itself. There was a ginger cat following me around who became my little buddy & it was like we were being forced to stop & wait. It reminded us of the need for patience & not everything has to be go, go, go. We realised this monastery 100% ran on an old school basis & we had to knock the wooden slats by the church door, which in Orthodox terms is our call to prayer. Within a few moments of knocking, we heard a door creak open & this tiny, cute, little nun who was hunched over hobbled along to open up for us.

She really was the sweetest lady with the brightest smile on her face & the look of pure bliss in her eyes. She radiated peace & godliness. She took us to different chapels around the monastery & gave us a bit of history about the saints. The ginger cat also followed her everywhere & I felt like I was looking at myself in the future. I’ve always said that when I get old & if I’m alone I’d retreat to a monastery & dedicate the rest of my life to God & looking after cats. This nun gave me a glimpse of that kind of life. 

This random visit to the monastery really did make me forget about all my worries in the world & that there actually was a whole world out there. I was purely focused at that moment.

One of the greatest things about Cyprus is that everything is around 30-40 minutes away. Even though I mainly stay in the capital which is landlocked, the beach is only a 30 minute drive MAX, so going to dinner by the beach is as easy as saying you’re popping to the corner shop. 

Zygi, not too far from Larnaca, has some of the best fish restaurants on the island. It’s an old fishing town which is still in use & the local restaurants get their stock early in the morning from the local fishermen & serve the produce that day.

"My husband is a thalassophile so we dedicated one of our days to beach hopping."

Another thing you could do with a free evening is a drive to Larnaca for some ice cream & an evening stroll. From McKenzie beach to Finikoudes, you’ll find an endless list of options for your sweet tooth & even if you don’t fancy sitting down you could do what we did - bearing in mind we actually got there near closing time but that doesn’t stop anybody in Cyprus - we got a couple scoops of ice cream each & then sat by one of the docks watching a fisherman & his son unload their catch of the day & feeding a trio of cats their dinner. 

I’ve still yet to fully explore a lot of the island. Protaras, Ayia Napa, these areas have never really been on my list but from the east heading north east, these areas have always been well-known for having the best beaches on the island. My husband is a thalassophile so we dedicated one of our days to beach hopping. 

Cape Greco in itself is a place you can’t explore in one day because its natural landscape is so vast, but we did as much as we could by car; finding the rich yachting cape, large open fields with sea views full of people on large quads making doughnut shapes & beaches so full that we had to drive off to find another. We finally settled at Potami beach which wasn’t our first choice though. We were planning to go to Fig Tree Bay, which is one of the most known in that area, but there was no parking anywhere so we moved on. Either way, the water was still crystal clear & I actually preferred it to Fig Tree bay. Sometimes when a beach is so busy it’s hard to enjoy yourself.

After whetting our appetite with the sea water, we decided to take a drive west to KOT beach & have lunch at my favourite sea-side restaurant. This is one of my favourite beaches on the island, it’s just so ideal. It has a long stretch of shore to explore, without bumping into hotel territory, so I can collect plenty of shells, it’s not a rocky beach, the sunbeds are spaced very well & even when it’s full it’s not full, & the restaurant there cooks delicious food. It’s a no brainer for me!

One thing you must do in Cyprus is visit ancient sites. I don’t think people realise how rich in history the island is. This time round we visited Kourion, which is massive & archaeologists speculate they’ve only uncovered a fraction of it. It’s an ancient city basically, with a theatre, agora, homes, baths, everything you’d expect for an ancient city . It’s so rich in relics that it’s not hard to imagine what life would have been like. 

There’s also a small church just at the foot of the hill dedicated to Saint Ermogenis. This is another item to add to the list of things I love about Cyprus. You can discover these historically rich sites in the most random places. The church is located between Kourion & the entrance to Kourion beach & I thought it was just a small old church & wanted to visit out of curiosity, plus to pay my respects. It turns out the saint is actually buried there! What was meant to be a side quest turned into paying our respects to a saint’s body! Cyprus is full of surprises…

"Time stands still in my village. It’s very easy to forget the world & be in your own little bubble."

We then headed west towards one of my hometowns; Choletria, Paphos. I knew an auntie of mine who mainly lives in Greece was over & I wanted to surprise her. It literally became a habit that whenever I’d visit Greece, she would be in Cyprus & when I’d visit Cyprus I’d miss her by a week or two. Anyway, I finally caught her! I played a few tricks at first, confusing her with photos of her front door when she thought I was in London before I told her to open the door & I was standing there! Reunions like this always bring me deep happiness.

Her mother is my granddad’s sister & I can’t go to Paphos & not visit them if they’re home, or even just to check up on the house & make sure everything is ok. So we chilled there for a couple hours. Well, initially we planned just to have a drink, have a catch-up & continue on our adventures for the day but we ended up being there for almost 3 hours! Time stands still in my village. It’s very easy to forget the world & be in your own little bubble.

Our village is now split in two, you have the old & the new village. There was an earthquake in the 50’s that forced the villagers to relocate a bit higher up & a few years ago they were fixing the road that connects the two parts so last time I visited I never got to explore the old part. This year we got to experience it in all its glory; green hills for miles, beautiful skies, fresh, clean air, shepherds herding goats, orchards, the old church & meandering country lanes into the hills to take you to the next villages. Now that’s my home.

Another home for me is Nicosia which always has a special place in my heart. The Nicosia of today is nothing like what it used to be around 20 years ago but it’ll always be my home. My roots are there through my other granddad & I’ve grown up to all the stories of his youth there. This year I visited the Cyprus Museum for the first time which has filled me with extra pride for Nicosia, and Cyprus.

The collection held there is absolutely incredible & the way you are guided through the building & the history of Cyprus, from 30,000BC to earlier dates, was very impressive. The world knows about Greece & all the ancient relics held around the world, but Cyprus gets ignored. Even Crete & the Mycenaean Empire is well-known, but little Cyprus? The largest collection I’ve seen so far was in Cambridge Museum here in England but for a relatively small Museum in Cyprus, compared to others worldwide, I would highly recommend a visit if you’d like to learn about the true heritage of my little island.

 "It hits my heart in such a deep religious connection that even writing this is making me emotional"

One of our last visits on the island took us to Kykkos & Throni tis Panagia’s in the Troodos mountains. When planning our holiday I made it clear I wanted to visit the Throni. God walks there, that’s the only way I can explain it. Of all the churches & monasteries I’ve visited during my lifetime, no place has ever made me feel the way Throni tis Panagia's does. Translated, it’s the Virgin Mary’s Throne & you really can imagine that she’s sitting there, or walking around, watching over the island. It’s a small chapel on the peak of a mountain with nothing but green hills around & the Bay or Morphou in the distance. To be honest, I don’t actually feel comfortable going into too much detail about the church because it hits my heart in such a deep religious connection that even writing this is making me emotional. As an Orthodox person, I highly recommend it to any Christian to visit & respect.

Overall, the two weeks went far too quick - as always -  but I never look at leaving Cyprus as a goodbye. It’ll always be a see you soon sort of goodbye. I can cry on the plane or get depressed when I’m back in England, but I’ll always have it at the back of my mind that I’m working towards going home again. As I’ve got older I crave it even more & each year I go I’m keen to visit new places & experience all these new things. You should try it too & remember, Cyprus doesn't need filters!

Rhéa x