Explore Cyprus with Our Interactive Map

Featured Articles

Explore our top stories and discover ideas worth your time.

View all articles
Pissouri Beach

Pissouri Beach

Pissouri Beach stretches 1.5 kilometers along the southern coast of Cyprus between Limassol and Paphos, roughly 30 kilometers from each city. The beach occupies Pissouri Bay, a natural cove protected by the white limestone cliffs of Cape Aspro on both sides. The beach features fine golden sand mixed with multicolored small pebbles, creating a distinctive shoreline texture not found at purely sandy beaches. The waters here earned Blue Flag certification, marking compliance with strict European standards for cleanliness, safety, and environmental management. Pissouri divides into two distinct zones: the old village perched on a hillside three kilometers inland and Pissouri Bay, the beach resort area that developed primarily for tourism. From Pine Resin to Tourist Haven The name Pissouri most likely derives from extensive pine resin extraction in the area, as the Greek word for tar is pissa, and resin production began during the Byzantine Empire and continued through the Middle Ages and Frankish era in Cyprus. Alternative theories link the name to the Cypriot dialect word for very dark nights, connected to legends about 300 Alamani saints who arrived at this coast during a pitch-dark night in the 7th century. The ancient geographer Strabo mentioned a city called Boosoura in this region, though exact connections remain unclear. Medieval records describe Pissouri as royal property where almonds, carobs, olives, fruit,…

Read more
Wild Thyme and Thymbra

Wild Thyme and Thymbra

Picture yourself hiking a dusty trail in Cyprus's sun-parched hills during the height of summer, where most vegetation has surrendered to the relentless heat. Yet amid the faded grasses, a resilient herb unfurls its tiny purple flowers, releasing a warm, peppery fragrance that speaks of timeless remedies and savory island feasts. This is thyme, a modest wild treasure that defies the drought, inviting us to explore its quiet role in Cypriot nature and culture. A Quiet Herb with Fragrant Cousins Thyme is a small, tough plant from the mint family, a big group of herbs known for their square stems and strong smells. It's the kind of everyday green that pops up in dry, sunny spots, offering a bit of flavor and freshness to anyone who finds it growing wild. Whispers from Long Ago Thyme's documented presence on Cyprus reaches back to the island's earliest people around 10,000 years ago, who picked it from the hills for simple meals and soothing teas. Across the sea, Egyptians used it in their rituals for the dead, Greeks burned it for bravery before battles, and Romans sprinkled it to freshen their homes – a little herb that traveled with wanderers, becoming a quiet friend in Mediterranean life as empires rose and fell. In Cyprus, ancient healers like those mentioned in old texts praised…

Read more
Jacaranda Plant In Cyprus

Jacaranda Plant In Cyprus

Drive through the avenues of Limassol or Nicosia in late April and you may feel you have stepped into a dream: entire streets and parks vanish beneath a shimmering canopy of lavender-blue. The source of this magic? The jacaranda – a South-American beauty whose clouds of trumpet-shaped flowers turn ordinary city corners into places of pure wonder every spring. The Trumpet-Tree Family Jacaranda belongs to the Bignoniaceae family the same group that gives us the African tulip tree and the catalpa. This family is famous for its showy, tubular flowers and woody pods. The genus Jacaranda contains about 49 species, nearly all native to tropical and subtropical South America. In Cyprus the star is Jacaranda mimosifolia, the blue jacaranda, sometimes still listed under the older name J. acutifolia. Locally it is known as Τζακαράντα (Tzakaránta), a direct adoption of the scientific name. The word comes from the Tupi-Guarani languages of Brazil and means “fragrant” (or, in some translations, “hard core”, referring to its durable heartwood). A Long Journey to the Mediterranean Native to the foothills of the Andes in north-western Argentina, southern Bolivia and parts of Brazil and Paraguay, jacaranda first travelled to Europe in the early 19th century as an ornamental curiosity. Like many warm-climate exotics, it reached the Mediterranean via botanical gardens and private collectors. In Cyprus it…

Read more