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Published: April 17th 2024
Petra tou Romiou/Aphrodite's Beach
Petra tou Romiou is also referred to as Aphrodite's Beach since the site often is connected with the goddess Aphrodite.What's with Cyprus and all the cats?
One thing I noticed in Cyprus was that there are a lot of cats everywhere. I noticed it already the first day when I arrived
in Larnaca. As soon as I got off the airport bus I saw cats basking in the sun. It was not only in Larnaca there were lots of cats. No matter where I went in Cyprus, such as in
Agios Neophytos Monastery, there were often a cat or two hanging around. I have no explanation why there are lots of cats in Cyprus, I can only point out that there are. By the way, further down there is a story about another monastery where there are cats. Don't miss that one. It's the highlight of this blog entry.
In the
previous blog entry I wrote about Paphos. In this blog I will write about what I did later that day and in the four following days.
Petra tou Romiou/Aphrodite's Beach Petra tou Romiou is a rock on a beach on the south coast of Cyprus. The place is also referred to as Aphrodite's Beach since the site often is connected with the goddess Aphrodite. I guess
Old Church of Saint Nicholas
When the Kouris Dam was built they had to tear down a church in its north end because when the water levels of the dam were high the church would get submerged. that if you want to lie on a beach and have the occasional swim in the water it is a place as good as any other. If you are not interested in any of those activities then this is just a large rock on a beach and nothing more.
Old Church of Saint Nicholas In the south of Cyprus there is a dam named
Kouris Dam. When the dam was built they had to tear down
a church in its north end because when the water levels of the dam were high the church would get submerged. The ruins that were left are quite picturesque and I felt that I had to make a quick visit there now that I was in the neighbourhood. It was worth it because the setting was spectacular.
Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats In the very far south of Cyprus, almost as far south as it is possible to get, there is a monastery called
Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats. When they built the monastery they had a problem with all the snakes there. To get rid of the snakes they brought in cats. I am not really sure if
Old Church of Saint Nicholas
The ruins that were left are quite picturesque the cats really killed the snakes. It could be that the plan was for the cats to kill rats and mice so that the snakes had nothing to eat.
The nuns who lived in the monastery kept the cats even after they managed to get rid of the snakes. The monastery was built around 1,700 years ago and they still today have lots of cats there.
I came there early in the morning and the parking lot was empty when I arrived. I parked, killed the engine, opened the door and found three cats looking at me. Within a minute more cats arrived and the boldest ones started to climb into the car. For a while I had six or seven cats inside the car and three of them were climbing on me. I really like cats so I was of course more than happy about there being cats all over me.
I actually didn't see much of the monastery. Even though it was supposed to be open for visitors all the doors were locked and all I could see was the exterior. And I could see the cats of course.
Car full of cats
Within a minute after I arrived cats started to climb into the car. Strictly it was them I came to see so I was not bothered by not seeing much else.
Kolossi Castle Only about 15 minutes by car from the cat monastery I found another site worth visiting -
Kolossi Castle. It was built in the 15th century and looks mighty and strong from the outside. It was only the outside that was spectacular. The inside of it was completely barren. No furniture, paintings or any kind of decoration. Just big halls with plain walls.
Khirokitia Neolithic village/ Tenta Neolithic village In southern Cyprys archaeologists have excavated two villages that were inhabited around 6,000 years ago. These sites are today known as
Khirokitia and Tenta. The remains are mainly foundations for houses. I noticed that the houses must have stood very tight together. There can't have been much space to walk around in the village. A possible reason for the village to be very concentrated is that it used to have a protective wall around it. The smaller the village is in size the shorter you have to build the wall.
Khirokitia is one of three UNESCO world heritage sites in Cyprus.
Cats all over the car
I really like cats so I was of course more than happy about there being cats all over the car. Panagia tis Angeloktistis Panagia tis Angeloktistis is a church in the village Kiti. It has been suggested to be included in UNESCO's world heritage site but has in the time of writing not yet been accepted.
Painted Churches in the Troodos Region To date a total of ten churches in central Cyprus have been listed as a world heritage sites under the name
Painted Churches in the Troodos Region. The oldest of the churches was built in the 11th century and the youngest in the 16th century. All the churches have preserved frescoes on their walls and ceilings. I visited two of these churches,
Church of Panagia tou Arakos and
Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take any photos inside the churches so I can't show any of the frescoes.
Church of Saints Barnabas and Hilarion In Peristerona there is an unusual five domed church. Since I had a car and was not very far from there I decided to have a look at it. When I arrived the church was closed. But at a café across the square in front of the church a group of older men sat drinking tea, reading newspapers and playing board games. One
Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats
In the very far south of Cyprus, almost as far south as it is possible to get, there is a monastery called Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats. of the men told me to sit down with them while they phoned the caretaker of the church so he could come and open it for me. After 15 minutes or so the caretaker came and I got to see the inside of the church as well.
Fikardou Fikardou is a mountain village which today feels more like an open air museum than a place where people live. I made a quick visit there, walked around the village and looked at the various stalls where they were selling stuff. I had soon seen enough and was done with my sightseeing. I wanted to have lunch there but the restaurants were too crowded. So I left and drove back to Larnaca Airport and returned my rental car. As usual it was a relief to return the car undamaged. This time a little more than at other times because of the driving on the left-hand side of the road.
Nicosia The last whole day I was in Cyprus I went to the nation's capital,
Nicosia.
The border between North and South Cyprus runs through Nicosia. Since travel between the north and
The cat was very cuddly
When they built the monastery they had a problem with all the snakes there. To get rid of the snakes they brought in cats. south is restricted to one border crossing you might say that Nicosia essentially is two cities.
Before I arrived I had big hopes that the city centre, within the city walls, was going to be interesting. I expected narrow cobbled streets, stone buildings from the 16th century, tiny squares squeezed in here and there, ancient monuments and so on. It wasn't quite like that though. It felt quite modern and was not at all what I had pictured it. So instead of gawking at wonderful old buildings I mainly spent my time checking out the sites I had listed as potentially interesting.
=>
Famagusta Gate - a 16th century gate in the city wall.
=> Holy Cross Catholic Church - this would have been just another church had it not been for its unusual location. It sits right on the border to the north. In fact, the back end of the church lies in the occupied North Cyprus. They have a special agreement that they may have the church open for visitors as long as they keep the doors in the back locked at all times.
=>
Shacolas Tower - Shacolas Tower is a high building
Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats
A cat in the front and the gate to the monastery in the back within the city wall. I had heard that it from the tower was possible to look into the north. I was hoping that I could get a bird's-eye view of the forbidden zone that runs along the border between the north and the south. But I wasn't lucky on that one. In fact, I found the view from the top floor to be quite uninteresting.
Of course I had to cross the border and visit North Cyprus for a while now that I was there. I have
visited North Cyprus before, in 2006 to be precise, so I did not feel any pressing need to see a lot of sights. But it was good fun to stroll around in North Nicosia for a while now that I had the chance. The only place I visited worth mentioning here is
Kyrenia Gate - another 16th century gate. I didn't see any city wall anywhere near this gate though. I guess there once was one, one which in that case has been torn down.
After an hour or so in North Nicosia I returned to the south again and took the bus back to Larnaca. By that I finish
Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats
The monastery is dedicated to St Nicholas my story from my week in Cyprus. Hope you enjoyed reading it. I am pretty sure that we will return soon with more stories from around the world. But until then it is over and out from us. (I so wish I had one of those cuddly cats from Cyprus here with me right now...)
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