Each year in June the flood festival, known as Kataklysmos*, is taking place in each coastal town of Cyprus, which is celebrated 50 days after Orthodox Easter on the day of the Holly Spirit.
It is an open-air fair with the stalls set up alongside the seashore selling crafts, toys, hygiene items, traditional food and sweets.
The most popular custom of the day of Kataklysmos is the throwing of water to one another. A custom we really enjoyed when we were younger.
*Cataclysm comes from the Greek word Kataklysmos which means “a deluge or flood.”
This post is part of the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge:Order
The last time we visited Kakopetria – our favorite village as you know by now – we walked for the first time in the nature trail ‘Monopati tis Vateris’. It is located alongside the old town of Kakopetria and the river Klarios.
If you ever find yourself in this charming place, I highly recommend to walk the trail. It’s just a kilometer long with a breathtaking scenery. You can sit on the wooden benches that are placed in various locations, take in the wonderful surroundings and let your imagination run wild. Walking by the stream you can hear the sound of the running water, the tweeting of the birds and the loud song of the cicadas.
We really enjoyed our walk and the calming effect it had on us. Looking forward to going back soon.
Last Sunday the weather was really nice so we decided to walk along the coastline to our medieval castle by the picturesque small harbour.
“Sol Alter”, bronze sculpture, Pafos, Cyprus | photo by karafc
“Sol Alter”, bronze sculpture, Pafos, Cyprus | photo by karafc
“Sol Alter”, bronze sculpture, Pafos, Cyprus | photo by karafc
Next to the castle we saw this bronze sculpture leaning on the rock, which is part of Pafos2017. Pafos, my city, is chosen to be this year’s European Capital of Culture – Pafos2017 and throughout the year a lot of events and activities will take place.
This artwork named “Sol Alter” was created by the artist Yiota Ioannidou and pays homage to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The sculpture represents a young woman who looks after the place where Aphrodite lived and wants to be like her. It is one of the twelve artworks of the project “Signs in Time and Space”, which were placed in different venues in the city, thus creating an open air art museum.
“Sol Alter”, bronze sculpture, Pafos, Cyprus | photo by karafc
We had a nice time, enjoyed the nice weather and the spectacular view. I had the opportunity to take several photos and I will be returning soon to resume our tour in the open air art museum.
28&29 January 2017: Opening Ceremony of Pafos2017 – European Capital of Culture
As I mentioned in other posts Kakopetria village is a place we love visiting.
The architecture of the village is wonderful, especially the old Kakopetria. It is a picturesque village built between two rivers and it is a magnet to every form of artists. Walking through the narrow stone-paved alleys of the old quarter of the village you can find a lot of things to capture.
Most of the old houses have been restored. Their characteristic feature is that the majority of the houses have two floors, sloped and tiled roofs with beautiful wooden balconies.
The main reason that the old quarter of the village preserved its traditional architecture, is the fact, that it has been proclaimed as a protected area from the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus.
This post is part of the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge:Resilient
One of the places that we love and visit often is Kakopetria, a picturesque village in the mountains of Cyprus. Every time we are there, I always find something interesting to shoot and this time the thing that got my attention was a telephone booth.
Telephone booth, Kakopetria, Cyprus | by karafc
Public pay phones have been slowly disappearing due to technological evolution, mobile phones, internet, and free wifi available everywhere. This is making public pay phones obsolete. Seeing telephone booths here and there is nice; it is a reminder of simpler times!
Yes you read right! Everyone who visited or lives in Cyprus knows that we don’t have railways or we won’t have in the future. So the only thing left is the past!
And yes indeed, we did have railways in the past, a part of our history, that even most Cypriots don’t know, especially young people.
When we visited Kakopetria village, a place that we really like and visit often, we decided to explore the villages close to Kokopetria, in case they had something interesting to see. On our way to Evrychou village, a sign about Evrychou Railway Station, caught our attention.
So we followed the road signs and we arrived at the Cyprus Railways Museum.
What we learned in our visit:
The Cyprus Government Railway (C.G.R.), as it was officially known, ran from 1905 until 1951 when it closed down due to financial constraints.
The first section heading from Ammochostos to Lefkosia (Nicosia -the capital city of Cyprus) was 57km long, and officially opened for public transport on October 1905. By December 1907, a further 38km had been added, from Lefkosia to Morfou. And by June 1915 a third, 23km long extension from Morfou to Evrychou had been added. With this section the line of C.G.R. was completed.
A hand pump track and a freight wagon are exhibited in the yard
The Cyprus Government Railway was used in a number of ways and served both the colonial authorities and the local population.
The railway was an important conveyor of mail to and from Ammochostos harbour and carried mail overseas. It was also used for the distribution of mail throughout the island.
During World War II and post war years, the Cyprus Railways played a significant role as a prime mover of troops, stores and ammunitions from Ammochostos harbour to the Royal Air Force airfield in Lefkosia.
With time, road transport developed at the expense of the railway. So the British Government announced the closure of the C.G.R. on December 1951.
An extension of the railway which was built to serve the Cyprus Mines Corporation operated until 1974.
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It would be very nice if we still had railways in Cyprus!
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