How it used to be
Today’s flower lined promenade has come a long way since young men and women would parade along it as their only way of meeting each other
In 1946 the three children of Olvia Euriviadou inherited a seafront property at the strip we now call Phinikoudes Promenade. That summer the three children, Andreas, Reno and Corina, opened the area’s first periptero/patisserie offering the novel delights of toasted sandwiches, ice cream and milk shakes. The ice cream and cakes were made at home with their mother. The huge success of their new family venture that summer spurred them on to opening two other larger basement rooms in the building to the public in 1947, which was the first place in Larnaca to serve filtered French coffee and fine cuisine. It became a much loved venue. It went on to become the first place in Larnaca to hold dinner dances and musical mornings on Sundays.
These would begin with classical music from eleven till midday and music chosen by their diners till one. This was the birth of the Four Lanterns Hotel, which was later built above and became the most famous venue in Larnaca. Between 1950 and 1972 the hotel was the only local establishment to be awarded Class A status. Dignitaries from around the world stayed there and it became the venue for many famous Greek and international singers to perform. The Four Lanterns Hotel paved the way for Larnaca to become a tourist destination.
“We used to go to the Four Lanterns Hotel to dances which were held every so often,” local Antonis Kalopedis, aged 74, said. “People would sit at the caf?s to have their drink with meze, and Turkish boys would roam and sell us jasmine flowers layered on palm leaves for us to buy for a penny and give to girls we liked.”
Today, the Phinikoudes strip is awash with tourists day and night and a popular place for locals. Antonis remembers how it used to be: “There were very few cars, mostly bicycles. It was a place for people to go for a stroll and for the girls to walk up and down and for us to admire them. Next to the Sun Hall Hotel there was a place which had shows for families and cabarets too. There were three piers and one was used for loading the salt which the donkeys had collected from the Salt Lake. Fishermen would wedge bamboo sticks into the ground in a cross shape and they would lay their nets on them to dry. Large boats would anchor in the bay ready to be loaded up with their cargo.
“When we were high school age at 6pm we had to leave the seafront because the paedonomo – like a caretaker who was in charge of high school children – would roam the area and if you were caught there after that time he wrote your name down and you had to report to the office on Monday morning. In the summer when the days were longer, we were allowed to stay out till 7pm.”
The Larnaca of today is dramatically different. Until 1946, the floors of the caf?s along the strip were mere dirt, and the waiters had to sprinkle them daily with water from the sea to the keep the dust down. The seafront, along Athenon Avenue, was once scattered with fishing boats drawn onto the shore, small open air coffee shops, and it was a bustling sea port. Traditional patisseries have been replaced with places like Haagen-Dazs, The Bailey, and Neon Cafe. The swaying palms are still there though and even taller. When the palm trees were originally planted in 1922 they had to be replanted again as the salty sea water, which came further inland, made them dry out. A small wall was built to protect them.
Once the palm trees were established, hanging baskets of flowers and greenery were installed by the local council with steps leading to the pier. Andreas Evriviades remembers in his book, Larnaca Much-Loved: “This made the seafront stroll much more pleasant and interesting. With time it became known as ‘the lovers’ walk’. With the restrictions governing the sexes and the way of thinking in those days, a stroll along Phinikoudes was the only outlet for the sexes to see each other and the only place girls and boys could meet, even if at a distance. This gave them the opportunity to exchange fleeting romantic and fiery glances, and to reveal quietly with these, their love for each other.”
Antonis’ wife, Elli, aged 73, added: “Now people don’t walk up and down so much as we used to in those days, they sit at the caf?s”.
“After church on Sundays, I used to go to the cinema with my friends and sister, and then we would go to Phinikoudes. We were allowed out until 4pm. But, it was very strict in those days. We used to sit at Evangelou’s Patisserie for cakes,” remembers Athena Anastasiou, aged 76, born in Larnaca.
At Kataklysmos, or the Festival of the Flood, which is still celebrated annually in early summer with a series of cultural events, Antonis said people would gather from all the surrounding villages and competitions and challenges were held in the water. A mast of a boat was laid across the seawater. It was smothered with fat and very slippery. Young boys competed to see who could walk along it to reach the flag at the end.
At the turn of the century Larnaca’s pier was in constant use for loading and unloading tobacco and other goods, which were carried onto the pier in wagons, then loaded on barges, which transported them to the ships 1.5 miles away from the shore. Dianellos tobacco factory was right on the seafront along with imposing grand neo-classical style buildings. During the Second World War they were used for carrying ammunition and provisions into the mountains where vehicles could not go.
The Phinikoudes promenade of today was designed by architect and town planner, Angelos Demetriou, aged 80, who was born in Larnaca, but has been based in Washington and Athens. Demetriou has worked on a myriad of major global projects, from the design of Atlantic City to the master plan for Islamabad. His design of Phinikoudes in 1990 was constructed and finished five years later.
Sadly, the Four Lanterns Hotel is no more. Controversially, and to the dismay of many who saw it as part of their local history, it was demolished recently and in its place a developer is building modern, luxury apartments. Phinikoudes is moving into the 21st century with big changes taking place, but remains a happy tribute to the joys of living and the pleasures of life by the sea.
