One Road- Ariann Mieka

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 th...

The topic of which is the best Monastery to visit was on discussion early morning in our hotel lobby.  Verse and I were checking out of our hotel in Lemesos and going to stay in another town, but before we left we were asking the lovely older couple that own the hotel, which one of the many Monasteries was their top choice. The wife told us her favorite and asked her husband his opinion. He very strongly chose another one. “Kykkos Monastery is the one to visit,” he said, “It is the most impressive.” We were only going to be visiting one Monastery during our trip so we set off for his choice, which was located in the Troodos region. Kykkos monastery , which is set among picturesque hills, is the most opulent on the island and I guess by impressive that’s what the hotel owner meant. At the entrance purple robes are available for those visitors who aren’t dressed conservatively enough to put on while walking around. As we strolled through the property, we saw brig...

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...