A capital picnic trip
For a lunch with a view, grab a picnic and head towards the monastery of Machairas
For those living in Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia, this is an easy day trip with not much driving involved. The same cannot be said for those doing the route from Paphos, especially those who detest motorway driving and vow only to use the back roads, for whom the round trip would be 300km.
No restaurants this time, take a good picnic and make use of one of the marvelous picnic sites en route, all of which are well equipped with wooden tables, chairs, barbeque areas and good toilet/washing facilities.
The route from central Nicosia is simple: travel out through the suburbs of Strovolos and aim for Kato Deftera. A short distance from the centre, take the turn to Tamassos, reckoned to be one of the oldest Cypriot settlements. The road is well signposted with the now-familiar brown signs. It’s worth taking the time to walk the half-acre site and explore the subterranean tombs then take a moment to wonder at what other treasures from the past must lie, as yet undiscovered, beneath your feet. Mind you, not everyone has been clued up on the need to preserve and conserve our unique heritage as demonstrated in 1836 when two farmers dug up a magnificent, life-size bronze statue of Apollo that they hacked to bits and sold for scrap.
Returning to the main road, carry on through the villages of Kampia, Kapedes and Lazanias – you are now well out of the flat zone of the sprawling suburbs of the capital into the calm, peace and quiet of the forest, which leads to the north slope of Mount Kionia, atop of which sits the quite magnificent Machairas Monastery. This is a truly stunning location with views right over to Nicosia and since 1148 has been a safe home for hermits and monks in addition to offering a welcome to thousands of visiting pilgrims.
Two bad fires – in 1530 and 1892 – resulted in a bleak, stone skeleton until the Leventis foundation stepped in and sensitively restored the building in 1998. The big draw is the icon of the virgin attributed to Luke the Evangelist, along with a small room dedicated to a photographic history of EOKA hero Grigorios Afxentiou. You can carry on 1km below the monastery to visit Afxentiou’s hideout – the Krysfiyeto tou Afxentiou – which is basically a bunker but also now a shrine to Afxentiou, who met his death on March 3, 1957 after a local farmer informed on him to the British army. Soldiers surrounded his bunker and the brave Afxentiou, despite being wounded, managed to hold off a platoon of 60 for 10 hours before being finally dispatched with a petrol bomb and explosives. It’s easy to spot even from the road as the statue erected in his honour is a massive sculpted figure of the man, standing arms akimbo and guarded by a huge eagle.
The road continues to be a bit twisty but with a good surface and it’s worth winding down the windows to sniff vigorously at the pine-scented air and keep an eye out for the clumps of wild flowers that seem to cling, limpet like, to the rock faces.
Make your way to Gourri and stop at the wooden sign at the village entrance pointing to the Textile Workshop. This was once the village school and is set on a side road a two-minute walk away. When inside, you will be welcomed by either Elli, Margarita or Androulla, three talented ladies from the village who have, with the assistance of the Community Council and the Ministry of Culture, managed to revive the almost lost art of the loom. The passion these ladies have for their work is obvious as they patiently explain the basics of weaving and will proudly show you samples of some of the best decorative pieces I have seen in a long time. These include everything from towels, curtains, tablecloths, rugs and cushion covers. They are also in great demand to make priests’ vestments (Olokentita) as well as weaving Maktras, the bright red cloth used for holy communion. It’s a lovely little place that is giving a bit of life back to this rather sleepy village and hopefully attracting more (quality) tourists.
Next stop is the hillside view looking down to the Apliki dam and the village of Palaichori nestling in the distance. Again, it’s the sheer quiet and calm of the area that makes you want to sit on one of the benches, pour a cup of coffee from your flask and take some time to reflect on the sheer beauty of the surroundings.
It’s now time for those traveling from Nicosia to turn back and follow clearly marked signs for the E903, leading them back to the capital.
Limassol and Paphos-based drivers will start the journey by taking the Agia Filaxis turnoff at Limassol then carry straight on through what is a lovely, leisurely drive climbing slowly till 35km later taking the turn off signed to Zoopigi. Another quiet, contemplative drive until taking the turn at the entrance to the village of Agios Theodoros, making sure you take the higher, right-hand road, which will take you onto the E903 which you travel on to Palaichori and basically from there work the trip in reverse. Returning you will find it quicker to get onto the motorway (take signs marked to Limassol), which will get you back to Paphos at around 4pm having left home at 9am. It’s a long but a very worthwhile trip, one you will certainly wish to take again as going off some of the roads we traveled, there’s a great many more places of interest waiting to be discovered.
