Kataklysmos Event time at Home and Friends 


I spend the next 2 nights at home in Larnaca seeing friends and relatives, and sorting out my suitcase trying to make it as light as possible before I set off again tomorrow .

In the meantime Mary and Rob pick me up from home and I suggest getting to Oroklini to see some friends of mine. Antoni (classmate from school) invited us to go and see his son's new Bar-Restaurant "Lithos" which was under construction when I visited them last time. It is exactly as I expected it and it stands out in the round area. For years it has been the preference of many English couples and I guess with the new look it is even more popular now. It is an oasis for Sports enthusiasts with a projector and 8 different big screens. The food is of excellent quality, affordable and the portions really huge! I guess this is the secret of its popularity.

We return to Larnaca under heavy traffic to leave the car in the parking lot of the hotel and walk to the beach promenade of Finikoudes. The Festival of Kataklysmos, (Flood Festival) as they call it is an All Day event. It starts on June 1^st and lasts the 6^th, exactly 50 days after the Orthodox Easter . The biggest Festival is organized here in my hometown Larnaca, and the seafront promenade suddenly becomes an open-air fair with scores of stalls selling toys, clothing and local delicacies.

Different activities take place for days with lots of singing and dancing and in line with the spirit of the celebrations, events include competition in the water. Famous and popular Greek and Cypriot singers participate, and there are lots and lots of people coming from all around Cyprus to feel the spirit of this Festival. I notice many Turkish families again this year, and not only. Many other nationalities parade here and they all seem to be having a good time. I just wonder if it is only me who does not feel comfortable out here!

You hardly see familiar faces anymore even if you walk up and down the promenade for an hour. I hope I don’t give the impression of being snobbish but it is because I cannot stand the crowds and noise . What makes it worse is the loud music.

You see, the Festival has nothing to do with the good old days of the past. I mean the days when Larnaca was a very small city and everyone knew each other. We would walk a few paces and we would come across friends or acquaintances. The atmosphere was friendlier and it is this that I have missed. No matter what the Municipality does to highlight this festival …who knows how much money is spent for a successful event yet, all these do not touch me.


We idle about an hour among the loud and noisy crowds, we stop here and there to see what is going on at the two or three stages where singers and dancing groups perform but seeing that it is already late I tell my friends that it is time to leave them and get home. I reach home on food a few minutes before 11 p.m.