My Cypriot Adventure: Kakopetria and the Troodos

On my fifth day in Cyprus, I headed into the Troodos Massif mountain range for some green trees, charming towns, historical churches, and local wines. When planning my trip, I really had no idea where in the Troodos Massif to go, and since I was car-less, I needed to pick one place and stick with it. I ended up picking Kakopetria village over Troodos village (the highest town in the range) and was really happy I did because there were several sights to see within walking distance. The town had a preserved historical area with the old style houses, two delicious restaurants, a historic mill (which was also the hotel I stayed at), and one of the ten frescoed Byzantine churches of Cyprus. My time in the Troodos ended up being one of my favorite days, full of village charm and Cypriot hospitality. It was nice to go at a slower pace (the pace that Cyprus is best enjoyed at), be in nature, and just wander around in a small radius around the village.

I got a kick out of these cats uncomfortably perched on the narrow sill.

Entrance to Old Kakopetria--a lot of well to do residents of Nicosia
have actually bought these old houses as weekend/summer houses,
fixed them up and helped preserve some of the town.

The first historical house on the left

Metamorfosis Church--the sweetest old lady was in charge of the place

An elaborate altar for a tiny church

Paintings on the wall of the church

Nameplate above one of the old houses with a horseshoe for luck

Delicious jam and sweets for sale--I got some apple candy

A multi-colored pepper plant

A local walking down the main drag. The street is very narrow so this car
is a perfect fit (minus the fact that cars are not allowed in the old village)

On the way to visit the nearby painted Byzantine church, Agios Nikolaos Tis Stegis, I stopped a Cypriot man working in his orchard to make sure I was headed in the right direction. He responded in perfect English and I asked him what kind of trees he was growing. He rattled off a long list which included grapes, figs, and walnuts. In fact, we figured out that we both speak French when he used the French word for walnut because he couldn't think of the English one. This led to a conversation about the 16 years he spent living in France while in medical school, and him explaining that he has a weekend/summer house in old Kakopetria village but actually lives in Nicosia with his wife and two children. He had bought a plot of land to use as an orchard while he was a student, and he still tends it to this day.

After standing on the side of the road chatting for awhile in both English and French, Nikos invited me to sit at a table under one of his many trees to enjoy a cup of Cypriot coffee. When asked whether or not I had had it before, I told him that I had only had Turkish coffee (the most popular coffee in Syria and Jordan) but thought that it might be similar. While I'd been hesitant to mention Turkey (because of the bad blood from what Greek Cypriots view as the northern occupation), I followed it up with the fact that I really didn't like it because it was too strong for me. He insisted I try a cup of the Cypriot variety, and as I've learned in both Jordan and Syria, one does not turn down tea or coffee in certain regions of the world.

We sat for awhile as the water boiled on the makeshift camping stove, and he asked me about my travels in Cyprus, what I thought of the island and the Cypriot people, and why I was traveling by myself. I told him I was in love with Cyprus, the Cypriot people were nice, although I hadn't had too many interactions, and that I had really wanted to come to Cyprus but my friends wanted to go to closer  countries so I decided to come on my own. He was impressed and told me I was very adventuresome and that I was a person who knew what I wanted and I went ahead and did it. It's amazing how accurate of a judge of character someone can be after only a few minutes of meeting.

When the water was done boiling, he added sugar and cautioned me to wait a few minutes before drinking the coffee. While I waited, he started telling me about some of the painted churches and asked me if I had seen any yet. I responded that I had seen a few in Central Turkey, but that a lot of the faces had been destroyed because they were seen as irreverent. While I never outwardly asked any Cypriots about the Turkish occupation, Niko's reaction spoke volumes of the remaining harsh feelings: "the Turkish people have destroyed many things." I didn't press for any more information, but I left with the weight of his words in my mind.

And the Cypriot coffee? Much better than any Turkish coffee I had previously had. Although Nikos taught me the secret--you have to stop drinking towards the end of the cup to avoid the bitterness of the grounds.

My new friend Nikos with his Greek flag flying at the orchard gate.
He alternates it with the flag of Cyprus and the French flag.

Grapes!

Cypriot coffee

View of the surrounding orchards

St. Nikolaos Church

A sneaky photo of the vibrant church interior--the image on the left is
Mary breastfeeding the baby Jesus

Signage

Gorgeous orange berries--no idea what they were

Lizard! Lizards kept shooting out of the brush during my walk

This small house overhanging the river is Nikos' house
(he told me to look for it when I walked back through the village)

I loved this soft teal

And this teal too

On my way back past the church, and the caretaker is doing
chores across the street. She was the archetype of the little,
Mediterranean, Christian, old lady (long black skirt, black tights,
dark top, and black scarf on her head).

Graffiti on one of the old houses

The Mill Hotel where I stayed--built in the 17th century by a monk
for a nearby monastery, it was refurbished as a hotel in the 1950s.
The restaurant is famous for its local trout

Inscription above the mill's wheelhouse

I noticed this EOKA inscription as I was waiting for my bus the next
morning. It stands for Ethniki Organosi tou Kypriakou Agona which
was a revolutionary organization that fought British colonial occupation.
This area of the Troodos was a hideout during the anti-British campaigns.

As I waited for the bus the following morning (when I spotted the above picture), a bunch of children in traditional dress kept arriving in front of what looked like the local community center. It was Sunday morning and the cute, old Mediterranean men were out sitting on their benches and watching the rhythms of the town. The children were gathering, some with instruments, and other in costumes, waiting for their buses to arrive. I later found out it was a celebration of "Ohi" (no) Day when the Greek Prime Minister said "no" to Mussolini's ultimatum of letting his troops through Greece. This holiday, celebrated every October 28th, is another indicator of Cyprus' strong tie to Greece as it is celebrated with student and military parades in both countries.

Logistics/Recommendations:

This portion of my trip ended up being the hardest to plan since I had no idea when or where buses would leave to go to this region. I ended up having to do a bit of legwork in Nicosia (with the help of my hotel) to find out how to get to the Troodos without a car. I ended up taking an 8AM Saturday morning bus to the Troodos which left from the bus station on the other side of the Constanza Bastion. I had read that buses were more frequent since it's a common weekend destination for Cypriots in Nicosia, but I had a hard time finding these buses. I definitely recommend using a rental car to get through the Troodos Massif and explore more of the surrounding towns and sights. I thought hiring a driver would be an option to go to nearby towns but it was about 60Euro for a close trip, so I decided to stay local and walk around myself.

I stayed at The Mill Hotel (55Euro) which was a nice place, although the room decor was a bit dated and my tub leaked so there was a faint mildew smell. The location and restaurant made up for the room drawbacks and the receptionists were very helpful in pricing out different itineraries for me and looking up bus schedules. They are known for their restaurant and, specifically, for their trout prepared in the house style. It was delicious, as was the wine. Another fantastic restaurant was Nina's in the old village of Kakopetria. It was a bit touristy but I had amazing halloumi ravioli and a delicious glass of wine there for lunch.