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Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery

Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery

Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery is a historic monastic complex located in the Paphos district of Cyprus, near the village of Pano Panagia. It sits at an altitude of approximately 820 meters on the southern slopes of the Troodos foothills, overlooking forested valleys that lead toward the Paphos region. The site is named Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa, a title that translates as “Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate.” The name reflects symbolic themes found in Byzantine and post-Byzantine religious art and cultural traditions, where the pomegranate often appears as a motif associated with prosperity and abundance. Historical Background The origins of the monastery are traditionally placed in the 12th century, around 1152. According to later narratives, an icon associated with Byzantine artistic tradition was discovered in the region of Moullia. Such stories reflect broader medieval Cypriot traditions in which natural phenomena and symbolic interpretations were often incorporated into the founding histories of monastic settlements. The 8th and 9th centuries in the Byzantine world were marked by a period in which religious imagery was contested and many icons were removed or destroyed in parts of the empire. Cyprus, like other peripheral regions, preserved its own monastic and artistic traditions during this broader historical context, which influenced later interpretations of its religious sites. The Present Monastery Structure and Treasures The current visible structures of the monastery largely…

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Cyprus Volcanic Rocks

Cyprus Volcanic Rocks

Cyprus holds a unique position in geological science. The island contains Earth's best preserved ophiolite complex, a rare slice of ancient oceanic crust and upper mantle thrust upward onto land. This exceptional geological heritage shaped both the island's dramatic landscapes and its human history, particularly through copper deposits that gave Cyprus its very name. The Troodos Massif formed 90 million years ago during the Upper Cretaceous period at the bottom of the ancient Tethys Ocean. The rocks visible today once existed 8,000 meters below sea level at a mid-ocean ridge spreading center, where new oceanic crust continuously forms as tectonic plates pull apart. Geologists call this complete sequence an ophiolite complex. Troodos was not metamorphosed during uplift, allowing scientists to study pristine oceanic rocks without submarines. This makes Cyprus an on-land analogue for modern mid-ocean ridges. The collision of African and Eurasian tectonic plates pushed the oceanic lithosphere upward rather than downward into a trench. Troodos first rose above sea level about 20 million years ago, with uplift centered around Mount Olympus at 1,952 meters. Erosion exposed deeper layers, allowing visitors to walk from rocks that once existed in Earth's mantle to rocks that formed at the ancient seafloor. Complete Rock Sequence from Mantle to Seafloor The ophiolite exposes a perfect vertical sequence. At the deepest level lie mantle rocks…

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Leventis Municipal Museum

Leventis Municipal Museum

The Leventis Municipal Museum tells the story of Europe's last divided capital through over 10,000 objects collected across five thousand years. Within two years of opening in 1989, it won the European Museum of the Year Award for bringing modern museum standards to Cyprus. The museum occupies a complex of three historic buildings on Ippokratous Street in the Laiki Geitonia neighborhood within the Venetian walls of Nicosia. The main building at number 17 once served as the clinic of Dr. Themistocles Dervis, who was mayor of Nicosia for 27 years between 1929 and 1959. The building at number 15 operated as the Victoria Hotel. The third structure at 18 Solonos Street is a small traditional house from the late 18th century, where Nikolaos Tsikkinis, one of the city's best-known teachers, was born and lived. Historical Background In the early 1980s, the Dervis family mansion stood in ruins and faced demolition. Lellos Demetriades, who served as mayor of Nicosia from 1971 to 2001, saw an opportunity. He wanted to create a civic history museum as part of his broader effort to revitalize the old city within the walls. Although demolition work had already begun, the Municipality of Nicosia managed to purchase the building. Demetriades approached the A.G. Leventis Foundation with his vision. Constantine Leventis, the first chairman of the foundation, embraced…

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