Notes:
01. 1500 years old Terebinth Tree, Apesia, Limassol District. (The Oldest tree in Cyprus)
In 2014 a painting by Degas worth an estimated £4.7M was stolen from a private collectors home in Apesia.
Although the word απαίσια in Greek, when the emphasis is on the middle syllable means ugly, the name of the village is pronounced in a different way, Απαισιά and the emphasis goes on the third syllable.
The name Apesia is said to relate to the Apeso of Asia Minor. It is believed that the first inhabitants of the village came from Apeso.
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13. Chapel of Apostle Philip, Omodos.
A branch from a 1100 year old Bay Tree (Laurel) on the dashboard of a 1994 Mitsubishi L200. The chapel is a remnant of an ancient monastery.
The perennial laurel tree that stands by the chapel is a plant that in ancient times was linked to the worship of Apollo, which implies that the area’s religious references go back many years.
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31. Red Lake (Kokkinopezoula), Mitsero, Niccosia District.
The village of Mitsero is well know for its mines. They began operating during the 1950’s, under British colonialism, giving work to the residents in the area. However, at the same time the miners were literally paying for their work with their lives as the harsh working conditions caused the lung disease silicosis.
The mine not only caused problems for the workers, but nature was also affected. As the mine was later abandoned, a large crater was left. The large crater fills with water during the winter months creating a red lake. The water in the lake became red due to the high acid, and it did not allow any living organisms to develop.
The Mitsero murders were a series of killings committed by Nikos Metaxas, a military officer in the Cypriot National Guard, between September 2016 and August 2018. Five of his seven victims were female immigrants he had met on the online dating site Badoo. The remaining two victims were young children and were the daughters of two of his adult victims.
The victims’ remains were found over a period of three months in 2019. Unusually heavy floods in April led to the discovery of the first victim, Mary Rose Tiburcio, at a mine shaft near the village of Mitsero. Another body was soon discovered at a firing range by Orounta. Three other victims were stuffed into suitcases and disposed of near Mitsero village in the Red Lake.
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33. Tochni, Larnaca District. Turkish-Cypriot Cemetery.
Prior to 1974, Tochni had a mixed Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot population. On 14th August 1974 Greek Cypriots together with Greek soldiers arrested more than 80 Turkish Cypriot men from the village of Tochni (including a 12 year old boy) and having kept them for a night in the Greek school, transported them in two buses to Limassol.
According to the sole survivor of Tochni, the 19 year old Suat Hussein, the Turkish Cypriots on one bus were driven to a location near to the village of Palodia where they were executed with bursts of automatic weapons, whilst the Greek Cypriots fascists subsequently shot in the head anyone who was still alive. That night, Suat saw with his own eyes all his beloved ones fall dead beside him in the dirt.
34. Lefkosia (Nicosia) The Green Line
A UN-controlled buffer zone - also called the Green Line - extends approximately 180 km across the island and divides the capitol city with a militarised border and checkpoints. On 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta and the Cypriot National Guard backed a Greek Cypriot military coup d’etat in Cyprus.
This right-wing action, including extreme inter-communal violence, then led to the invasion of the Island by Turkey. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognised only by Turkey. 36% of the island is occupied by Turkey and a further almost 3% is occupied by British bases.
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44. Kato Paphos, My Paternal Grandmothers (Yiayia Giga) house.
My Grandparents were made refugees in Cyprus in 1974, internally displaced with no right to return to their home. My Grandfather, a police officer, was forced to fight during the Turkish invasion and the preceding Coup.
My father, who returns to Cyprus regularly, has not visited the occupied northern part of the island since 1974.
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47. Kyrenia Castle, Kyrenia / Girne
My Grandfather was imprisoned in this castle after his role in resisting the Coup in 1974. With the help of the men he was imprisoned with, he managed to escape during the Turkish invasion.
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51. Hala Sultan Tekke, Dromolaxia, Larnaca
A mosque and takya on the west bank of Larnaca Salt Lake. Umm Haram, known as Hala Sultan in Turkish tradition, was the wife of Ubada bin al-Samit, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and foster sister of Muhammad’s mother, Amina.
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53. Cypress Tree ‘The Cypress of Nissou’, Nissou, Nicosia District
Many years ago, the village resembled a small island since it was surrounded by the Yialia River. The river would come from the mountains of Machera and would split at the Nisou area into two parts which would join again towards the East (in the Dali area). That is how it got its name Nisos or Nisou.
The Cypress of Nissou (sometimes ‘The Frank Cypress’ as it has been there since Frankish rule) is one of the tallest trees in Cyprus with a height of 28 metres and a girth of around 4.5 metres, it is estimated to be more than 500 years old.
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61 - Dhekelia, Larnaca District
When Cyprus gained its independence from Britain in 1960, (under UK dominion since 1878) the former imperial power retained two significant parts of the island. The soverign base areas of Akrotiri and dhekelia. Sovereign Base Areas, or SBAs, cover 98 square miles, or 3%, of the land area of Cyprus. This is 23 times larger than Gibraltar, another British overseas territory in southern Spain.
There is a silent border where you will find nothing that would indicate you were crossing from the Mediterranean island’s sovereign territory to another country’s land (UK).
The Dhekelia base is used by GCHQ and NSA for surveillance. Curently the SBAs on Cyprus are directly involved in breaches of humanitarian law in the middle east.
62 - 63. Panagias Theoskepastis, Marathasa, Kalopanagiotis, Troodos.
The chapel was built in the 12th century and is almost enveloped by the branches of a 700 year old Oak Tree where the church bell sits. Legend has it that during an attack by an invading army the tree swooped down to hide the villagers with its branches and protect them. The word ‘skepastis’ comes from the Greek word for ‘covered’.
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67. Khirokitia archaeological site, Larnaca District.
Khirokitia is an archaeological site from the Neolithic age. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1998.
The Neolithic village was built by settlers who through a period of insular isolation developed into a unique civilisation, known as the Cypriot Recent Aceramic Neolithic. The site is known for its circular buildings, anthropomorphic figurines and burial site
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69. Archelogists, My Parents House, Dromolaxia.
Over the last few years, a few weeks year, a team of Archeologists from Belgium have been staying at my pareants house. The team are working on excavations at Dromolaxia-Vyzakia (Hala Sultan Tekke)
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44. Kato Paphos, My Paternal Grandmothers (Yiayia Giga) house.
My Grandparents were made refugees in Cyprus in 1974, internally displaced with no right to return to their home. My Grandfather, a police officer, was forced to fight during the Turkish invasion and the preceding Coup.
My father, who returns to Cyprus regularly, has not visited the occupied northern part of the island since 1974.
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47. Kyrenia Castle, Kyrenia / Girne
My Grandfather was imprisoned in this castle after his role in resisting the Coup in 1974. With the help of the men he was imprisoned with, he managed to escape during the Turkish invasion.
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51. Hala Sultan Tekke, Dromolaxia, Larnaca
A mosque and takya on the west bank of Larnaca Salt Lake. Umm Haram, known as Hala Sultan in Turkish tradition, was the wife of Ubada bin al-Samit, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and foster sister of Muhammad’s mother, Amina.
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53. Cypress Tree ‘The Cypress of Nissou’, Nissou, Nicosia District
Many years ago, the village resembled a small island since it was surrounded by the Yialia River. The river would come from the mountains of Machera and would split at the Nisou area into two parts which would join again towards the East (in the Dali area). That is how it got its name Nisos or Nisou.
The Cypress of Nissou (sometimes ‘The Frank Cypress’ as it has been there since Frankish rule) is one of the tallest trees in Cyprus with a height of 28 metres and a girth of around 4.5 metres, it is estimated to be more than 500 years old.
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61 - Dhekelia, Larnaca District
When Cyprus gained its independence from Britain in 1960, (under UK dominion since 1878) the former imperial power retained two significant parts of the island. The soverign base areas of Akrotiri and dhekelia. Sovereign Base Areas, or SBAs, cover 98 square miles, or 3%, of the land area of Cyprus. This is 23 times larger than Gibraltar, another British overseas territory in southern Spain.
There is a silent border where you will find nothing that would indicate you were crossing from the Mediterranean island’s sovereign territory to another country’s land (UK).
The Dhekelia base is used by GCHQ and NSA for surveillance. Curently the SBAs on Cyprus are directly involved in breaches of humanitarian law in the middle east.
62 - 63. Panagias Theoskepastis, Marathasa, Kalopanagiotis, Troodos.
The chapel was built in the 12th century and is almost enveloped by the branches of a 700 year old Oak Tree where the church bell sits. Legend has it that during an attack by an invading army the tree swooped down to hide the villagers with its branches and protect them. The word ‘skepastis’ comes from the Greek word for ‘covered’.
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67. Khirokitia archaeological site, Larnaca District.
Khirokitia is an archaeological site from the Neolithic age. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1998.
The Neolithic village was built by settlers who through a period of insular isolation developed into a unique civilisation, known as the Cypriot Recent Aceramic Neolithic. The site is known for its circular buildings, anthropomorphic figurines and burial site
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69. Archelogists, My Parents House, Dromolaxia.
Over the last few years, a few weeks year, a team of Archeologists from Belgium have been staying at my pareants house. The team are working on excavations at Dromolaxia-Vyzakia (Hala Sultan Tekke)
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