We took our visitors out for a while today - hoping to show them a bit of the island that they may not have visited before even though that is getting increasingly more difficult because if they tally up all the times they have been here over the past, nearly 30 years, it comes to almost a year according to Dad.
Before we went on our Yiannis Tour we had the obligatory dip in the pool - I don't know why I bothered to check the temperature as I knew it was going to be cold although to be fair it hasn't got any colder over the past few days and so I am used to that take your breath away moment when my shoulders go underneath and then it is pretty ok actually. Not sure we will manage to do it until the end of October but if the weather remains the same I don't see why not (blimey who am I kidding!!!) John seems to be enjoying his Bear Grylls moments and has gone back to having outside showers. Next thing I know he will be building a bivvy in the garden, catching his own supper and living outside!
We decided that we would take Joyce and David around Kritou Terra - it is only across the road and for a small village is really quite interesting and hats off to the local council they have places of interested clearly signposted.
We started by taking a look at the reconstructed village ancient laundromat and then took a slow and careful drive down to the waterfalls stopping to take a look inside a tiny little church which is in the middle of being refurbished.
They were amazed by the countryside and by the waterfalls - like they said it is so very different to Paphos but only a short distance away. Up here in the hills we are beginning to notice the signs of Autumn so the landscape has taken on a different hue - vines in the fields are turning colour and although beautifully sunny today the mornings and evenings have a definite nip in the air.
As we were coming back up into the village from the falls we noticed that the door to the casino was open and so we decided to go in and take a look. The village website explains...
...The first casino in Cyprus operated in our village, Kritou Terra. It was housed in a building which had been constructed between the years 1860 and 1870, and which is located east of the school. The casino began operating during the Turkish occupation, in particular in 1878, and stopped operating at the beginning of the 20th century. The maintenance of the building has been undertaken by the Department of Antiquities.
Neither John nor I had been inside before so it was a first for us as well.
We then made our way to Akourdaleia and St Simeon Church where Caroline and Clem got married about 6 years ago if my memory serves me right. I have popped up there a couple of times since with visitors because the view across the valley to Miliou is fabulous. The road approaching the church obviously doesn't get used much as it was pretty cut up so good job we were in Kenny.
Next stop was to get a mid morning cuppa and piece of sticky to keep us going until we went out for our meal this evening. We chose to go to the Herb Garden not expecting to see Elaine as this is usually one of her days' off but she had swapped with Hadeel and so we got to see her. It was very pleasant sat on the terrace and the coffee was first class as were the cakes we chose.
We called in for a sneaky peak at Elaine's own garden which, as she is the first to admit, is in need of a bit of TLC at the moment but as she is building up her business at the Herb Garden this has to take a back seat - once the Herb Garden planting is more established then she will be able to concentrate on the Lodge.
As we made our way back to Droushia we stopped at Arodes to visit the church in the cave with its freaky doll candles. Joyce and David had not been to any of the churches we visited nor had they been to Kritou Terra although I had taken Aunty Joyce to Akourdaleia when a farmers' market had been on sometime in the past.
The remainder of the afternoon was reasonably quiet with John and Uncle David enjoying some sport on the TV - good results all round as Sheffield United, Yeovil and Reading all won. Aunty Joyce and I enjoyed the afternoon sunshine and then we all got ready for our night out.
Apparently Joyce and David are a bit partial to Chinese so where better to go but to the Farmyard in Kathikas? We had an absolutely excellent meal - they were very impressed although we ordered far too much food. We had spring rolls and chicken satay to start then honey chicken, kung po pork, beef with ginger and spring onions and a masiman curry all washed down with a nice bottle of Tsangarides.
Before we went on our Yiannis Tour we had the obligatory dip in the pool - I don't know why I bothered to check the temperature as I knew it was going to be cold although to be fair it hasn't got any colder over the past few days and so I am used to that take your breath away moment when my shoulders go underneath and then it is pretty ok actually. Not sure we will manage to do it until the end of October but if the weather remains the same I don't see why not (blimey who am I kidding!!!) John seems to be enjoying his Bear Grylls moments and has gone back to having outside showers. Next thing I know he will be building a bivvy in the garden, catching his own supper and living outside!We decided that we would take Joyce and David around Kritou Terra - it is only across the road and for a small village is really quite interesting and hats off to the local council they have places of interested clearly signposted.
We started by taking a look at the reconstructed village ancient laundromat and then took a slow and careful drive down to the waterfalls stopping to take a look inside a tiny little church which is in the middle of being refurbished.
They were amazed by the countryside and by the waterfalls - like they said it is so very different to Paphos but only a short distance away. Up here in the hills we are beginning to notice the signs of Autumn so the landscape has taken on a different hue - vines in the fields are turning colour and although beautifully sunny today the mornings and evenings have a definite nip in the air.
As we were coming back up into the village from the falls we noticed that the door to the casino was open and so we decided to go in and take a look. The village website explains...
...The first casino in Cyprus operated in our village, Kritou Terra. It was housed in a building which had been constructed between the years 1860 and 1870, and which is located east of the school. The casino began operating during the Turkish occupation, in particular in 1878, and stopped operating at the beginning of the 20th century. The maintenance of the building has been undertaken by the Department of Antiquities.
This pioneering idea at the time belonged to our fellow villager, Savvas Makrides, who also managed the operation of the casino. Describing this special venture, the following words were written about Makrides: “He dared to do the unthinkable for the time by bringing women from Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, who did belly dancing at the casino while the customers were playing cards and gambling in general”.
As it is distinctively mentioned, the visitors of the casino were mainly Turks, as well as the “elite of the Middle East”. Among those who added a special glamour to the casino with their presence was the king of Egypt, Namouk.
What is one worth noticing are the frescos on the internal walls of the casino, whose themes are inspired by history and tradition. One of the frescos depicts scenes from the arrest of the Greek Revolution hero, Athanasios Diakos. In particular, one can notice the arrest of the hero and two armed Turkish soldiers. Depicted on the other fresco is the well-known popular hero, Koutalianos, and this fresco was made in his honour when he visited the community in 1896.
Neither John nor I had been inside before so it was a first for us as well.
We then made our way to Akourdaleia and St Simeon Church where Caroline and Clem got married about 6 years ago if my memory serves me right. I have popped up there a couple of times since with visitors because the view across the valley to Miliou is fabulous. The road approaching the church obviously doesn't get used much as it was pretty cut up so good job we were in Kenny.
Next stop was to get a mid morning cuppa and piece of sticky to keep us going until we went out for our meal this evening. We chose to go to the Herb Garden not expecting to see Elaine as this is usually one of her days' off but she had swapped with Hadeel and so we got to see her. It was very pleasant sat on the terrace and the coffee was first class as were the cakes we chose.
We called in for a sneaky peak at Elaine's own garden which, as she is the first to admit, is in need of a bit of TLC at the moment but as she is building up her business at the Herb Garden this has to take a back seat - once the Herb Garden planting is more established then she will be able to concentrate on the Lodge.
As we made our way back to Droushia we stopped at Arodes to visit the church in the cave with its freaky doll candles. Joyce and David had not been to any of the churches we visited nor had they been to Kritou Terra although I had taken Aunty Joyce to Akourdaleia when a farmers' market had been on sometime in the past.
The remainder of the afternoon was reasonably quiet with John and Uncle David enjoying some sport on the TV - good results all round as Sheffield United, Yeovil and Reading all won. Aunty Joyce and I enjoyed the afternoon sunshine and then we all got ready for our night out.
Apparently Joyce and David are a bit partial to Chinese so where better to go but to the Farmyard in Kathikas? We had an absolutely excellent meal - they were very impressed although we ordered far too much food. We had spring rolls and chicken satay to start then honey chicken, kung po pork, beef with ginger and spring onions and a masiman curry all washed down with a nice bottle of Tsangarides.
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