THE CYPRIOT TRADITIONAL HOUSE AT FIKARDOU



We are walking through the narrow alleys of the village, and I am taking photos .

After the morning rain, the sun is out and everything looks so shiny and clean.

It is an excellent moment to take photos, but suddenly Dimitri is curious and when he comes to an open window shutter he is happily surprised that the man inside invites us in.



I feel a bit disappointed at first because I have to stop taking photos, but the moment I step into this Cypriot stone- structured house I am very excited.

The man (Mr. Farmakas) welcomes us in, and I cannot describe what it is inside. It is a real Cypriot traditional house – there is an old fireplace in the corner, baskets hanging from the roof, a pair of a shepherd's boots hanging on the wall, even herbs hanging from a string that the owner wants to dry and make tea. (nettle leaves) I had no idea that such houses still exist, and my mood changes when I see all these .



There is this man with a Chinese girl helping him putting labels on some bottles of red wine, and the table is actually full of them. I ask permission to take photos of the whole place, and he says that it is fine with him. My friends are busy asking questions about his wine, and we are told that his wine is dated back to 1994. As I take photos, I hear the conversation is getting more and more interesting and the man seems to have a great knowledge of his country’s culture. He seems to be quite educated even though his face seems that he had probably had a hard life.   



It was then that I asked him if he could open a bottle of that 1994 wine so that we taste before buying. In a moment 4 glasses are brought to the other smaller table next to the fireplace, and we try the wine as shown on the video.



The other video shows the man signing the date of the wine on the label however when I came back to Greece, I had second thoughts about the true date on the wine . I mean, since no date is written on the label, that person could put any date he wanted. I wonder, - am I too cunning, am I stupid, or I can be foolish enough to trust whatever I hear?



I cannot believe that the bottle of wine the man signs for me is bottled in 1994.

The colour of it was like brandy, I can admit that it was quite good, but a bit sweet for my tastes. Anyway, I bought 2 bottles.



The (museum)……his house was just perfect. I have only seen these kind of houses in villages when I was very young.



We spent at least one hour in Mr. Farmaka's house probably more, and while my friends were talking, I sneaked up the stairs and took a photo of the upper floor room which was so dark that nothing could be seen in there . Luckily I had the flash, and saw that it was the man’s bedroom up there. There was an old traditional bed like the one my grandparents used to have…..yet it is still very fashionable again these days.



When the time to leave comes, I consider ourselves lucky having been in that traditional Cypriot house. Enjoy the videos!