The European Capital of Culture events not only offer much in terms of visual arts, music, dance and theatrical performances, but also the chance to get out, mingle and engage with the city and its surrounding villages in new ways.
The community involvement programme, which is part of the Pafos2017 organisation, has a number of tours planned to get people involved in the culture of the outdoors.
This month the tour will take in the village of Amargeti on Sunday. The village, about 30 minutes east of Paphos, probably gets its title from the female Frankish name Amargueti, which was really common in the court of the Lousinians.
The scenery is divided by the river network consisting of the Ezousa in the west and the Xeropotamos in the east. The village boasts vineyards, almond-trees, olive-trees and cereals as well as fruit trees such as apple, pear and peach.
Until 1958, Amargeti used to be a village where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots lived together although the village now has only 171 residents. Today most of the residents live in the centre of the village, where there are old houses, traditional water taps made of local stone and narrow alleys.
The other landmarks situated in Amargeti are the central square, the building of the Community Council which is built with local stone and the Heroes’ Monument. The village also has two churches. The main church is dedicated to Zoodochos Pigi (Life-giving spring) and a chapel is dedicated to Saint George.
The tour of the village will follow the traces of history and memory, choosing and highlighting hidden spaces and exploring elements that cannot be seen at first glance. It will begin at the main square, then move on to the Folklore Art Museum, housed in the restored Turkish-Cypriot school, and then on to the Museum of Photography with unpublished historic photographs. There, members of the Amargeti Expatriates’ Association will guide visitors through the traces of the noblemen and knights who once lived in the area and narrate unknown stories from the past. The tour will end with a 20-minute walk, taking adventurers to the impressive Bridge of Routhouni (Nostril) in the Zimpounieris area, which was constructed during Frankish rule and connected the Amargeti community with the neighbouring villages.
There will be a free bus leaving from the Pafos2017 headquarters at 10am. Bus seat reservation is required by calling 26-955176 or sending an email to [email protected]
Tours and Traces
Tour of the village Amargeti. March 26. Pafos 2017 Headquarters, Paphos. 10am-4pm. Free. Tel: 26-955176
