Agios Georgios

-
During our last day in Cyprus we stumbled across this charming area called Agios Georgios. The weather was overcast, which ruled out a day at the beach, so instead we were driving around the western city of Pafos. Our exploration took us down to a small fishing harbour where we wandered about enjoying the ocean breeze. From the harbour we saw a church perched on a hillside and ventured up that way. As we parked the car at the church we were greeted by an amazing view of the coast and a rocky island nearby called Geronisos. We went into the large modern Agios Georgios church, then into a small dark old chapel that was nearby. We took a trail that led down onto the cliffs that showcased some eerie tombs carved into the rocky cliffs and then walked through a small archeological site. (At this point Verse had already had his fill of archeological sites but the security guard was so persistent and it seemed like he hadn’t had many visitors that day so we felt obliged to go see the very small site.) Agios Georgios is a wonderful spot for visitors to check out, as there are different features to explore, views to enjoy and interesting areas to wander through on a cloudy day! 


Boats in the Harbour
Walking around the Harbour
Views of the Harbour and the island Geronisos
One of the Tombs carved into the rocky cliff

Agios Georgios Church
The small, old chapel
Inside the Chapel
Archeological site
Mosaics on the floor of the ruins
Wildflowers growing in abundance 
A wonderful time exploring Agios Georgios









Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 24, 2013 at 9:12 PM

    Do most people in this area survive on fishing? It seems to rocky for farming - How big was this town - it looked abandoned. - M

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Visit to an Orisha Yard

-
Image
The drumming, singing, and dancing were captivating. As I looked on I was totally engrossed in what I was witnessing and I felt like I was on a tour in another country when I was in fact only a stone’s throw away from Port of Spain! We were in Laventille to learn more about the Orisha religion for a project on East Port of Spain and the camera crew was dutifully filming three ladies who belong to the faith.   Several shrines of different colours were laid out in a row in one section within an open yard. They went to each shrine and told us about the deity they were built for, what offerings were usually given and a short sample of what songs might be sung in various ceremonies throughout the year. The singing was mesmerizing as their voices and the Yoruba derived lyrics they belted out pulsated a rhythmic vibration through the air. The ladies explain different aspects of the faith and answer questions The Yard with some of the shrines to the various Deities A tour of t
Read more

Heading to Cyprus

-
Image
My thirtieth birthday was approaching quickly and I knew I wanted to celebrate in a big way. We were already in Europe so I had many exciting destinations to choose from for my weeklong celebration. Greece and Santorini were high on the list until we saw their projected temperatures for our week of travel.  With the days being 16°C/ 60°F, my vision of lying at the beach, baking in the sun while enjoying my birthday cake vanished. Verse, thinking quickly, did a Google search for “The hottest place in Europe” and many sites about Cyprus came up. As we began to do more research, my sun kissed vision returned as this destination's temperature was much warmer than our previous choices. The island, which is divided into the two-thirds Greek territory in the south and the one-third Turkish territory in the north sounded like the best option. We booked our flights, packed our bags and got ready for an unforgettable birthday adventure in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus! 
Read more

The massive cross on the hill

-
Image
The massive cross sits high on a hill and is visible from miles away. Verse and I were driving in the Troodos region , heading to the Kykkos monastery when we spotted the 25-metre cross looming above us. Intrigued, we had to veer off route and drive up the hill to find out more. Stavros Fithkias is a small modern chapel with amazing wall paintings. As is common in the majority of their churches these frescos were intricate, bright and tell the stories of the gospels. This chapel was built in the 80’s and is a common stop for pilgrims heading to the Kykkos monastery. Prior to our trip to Cyprus I had no idea what a huge role religion had in their culture and history. (I guess that’s because I knew very little about Cyprus at all, save for the fact that it was the hottest location in Europe at the time I wanted to travel). A whopping ten of their churches (found on the Greek side) are Unesco’s World Heritage sites making this island a must visit for all those interested
Read more