Explore Cyprus with Our Interactive Map

Featured Articles

Explore our top stories and discover ideas worth your time.

View all articles
Wildflowers and Vineyards of Cyprus

Wildflowers and Vineyards of Cyprus

Cyprus is located at the crossroads of the three major flora zones of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This strategic position has produced remarkable botanical diversity, with approximately 1,950 species of flowering plants recorded on the island. About 8 percent of the indigenous plants, totaling 139 endemic species and subspecies, are found nowhere else on Earth. The island's great variety of habitats, attributed to varied microclimate and geology ranging from coastal sand dunes to mountains reaching 1,952 meters, creates the perfect conditions for this exceptional flora. Meanwhile, the wine industry thrives on terraced slopes where vines have grown for thousands of years, producing varieties like Commandaria that trace their origins back over 800 years. When Wildflowers Transform the Landscape The first orchids bloom in January in Cyprus, and by mid-February, the countryside is already alive with fresh green meadows and almond trees in bloom. Late February to the end of April are the optimum months for seeing Cyprus in full bloom. The flora is very much dependent on how much rain has fallen the previous winter, as the heat of the summer months from April onwards brings an end to wildflowers. You will find hardly any wild flora in May and June. Various woodland species emerge during winter months such as cyclamen, narcissi, crocus, and muscari. The endemic Cyclamen cyprium, unique…

Read more
Traditional Village Homes of Cyprus

Traditional Village Homes of Cyprus

Traditional Cyprus village homes centered on extended family units living together across multiple generations within shared compounds. These stone-built structures featured the dikhoro or double room arrangement as the main living space, surrounded by courtyards where families conducted agricultural work, food processing, and daily domestic tasks. The architecture reflected social organization where newly married couples built homes adjacent to parents' property, creating family clusters that expanded outward from original settlement cores. Children grew up surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who shared courtyard spaces and participated in collective economic activities including olive pressing, wine making, and textile production. The extended family functioned as an economic unit that pooled labor and resources while providing social security through mutual support. This traditional living arrangement persisted until the mid-20th century when urbanization, employment opportunities outside agriculture, and changing social values prompted nuclear family households to become dominant. The Dikhoro as the Heart of Domestic Life The dikhoro, meaning two areas, consisted of two parallel rooms separated by a graceful stone arch or arcade that allowed visual and physical connection while maintaining functional divisions. This arrangement provided the main living quarters where family members gathered for meals, conversation, sleeping, and household tasks. One room typically served as sleeping space for parents and young children, while the second room accommodated daytime activities including food…

Read more
The European Eel in Cyprus

The European Eel in Cyprus

Across the rivers, reservoirs, and quiet wetlands of Cyprus, a remarkable migratory fish still moves almost unseen. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is one of the island’s most mysterious freshwater inhabitants – a species whose life connects Cyprus not only to the Mediterranean, but to the distant Atlantic Ocean and the legendary Sargasso Sea. Its story is one of endurance, disruption, and surprising rediscovery. A Journey Across Oceans and Islands The European eel belongs to a group of fish known as catadromous species – animals that grow in freshwater but return to the sea to reproduce. After hatching in the Sargasso Sea, tiny transparent larvae drift for thousands of kilometres before reaching European and North African coasts. Cyprus sits at the very eastern edge of this distribution. For many years, it was assumed that eels were rare or even absent from the island’s inland waters, mainly due to the dry climate and heavily modified rivers. As a result, Cyprus was exempt from European eel conservation planning under EU regulation 1100/2007. But recent research has rewritten this assumption. Cyprus Waters: A Fragmented but Living Network Cyprus today is a land of contrasts for freshwater life. Many rivers are intermittent, flowing only in winter rains before drying in summer. At the same time, the island contains one of the highest densities of…

Read more