Pilgrims visit Apostolos Andreas

ALMOST 1,800 Greek Cypriot pilgrims crossed to the occupied north yesterday for the twice-yearly pilgrimage to Apostolos Andreas Monastery.

Refugees, priests, children and some disabled people crossed early in the morning from the Ledra Palace checkpoint to make the three-hour journey to the remote Karpas peninsula on the northeast tip of the island.

They carried candles, containers for holy water and packed lunches.

Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Takis Christopoulos said that 93 overseas Cypriots and 63 children under 12 were part of the group.

The pilgrims were accompanied by UN peacekeepers on their journey to mark yesterday’s feast day of the Apostle Andreas, one of the most important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar.

Pilgrimages to the monastery are held twice a year, on November 30 and August 15, under a UN humanitarian programme for the exchange of visits to religious sites.

Turkish Cypriots cross to the republic several times a year to visit the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque by Larnaca salt lake.

In the past 12 months there have been complaints that the number of pilgrims crossing to the monastery is too large and that problems were created in the monastery’s tiny church.

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