LEFKARA can easily be called -A Living Museum!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Pano Lefkara, Larnaca, Cyprus

Lefkara, - A living museum!

Lefkara is one of the villages I love

. It is charming and quiet. I can easily call it –a living museum! Of course I have written about Lefkara on entries of a previous visit but I will just add a few lines in case somebody reads this and wants to know a few things about this beautiful and rare village.

It has a long history as a lace making center that goes back to the 12th century. It was the largest town in Cyprus those days, with men traveling abroad marketing the lace. They returned with their earnings and very soon the village stood out from the rest. The houses were big with balconies, usually two storey structures with tiled roofs. There was some relative affluence in the town and life was promising for these people those days. The village had good craftsmen and silversmiths known for their excellent work.

Times changed, so did the fortunes of the people in Lefkara

A flowery corner -Pano Lefkara

. Factory produced goods were now introduced and lace and silverware were no more competitive. People were leaving the village for the towns or going overseas in search of a better living.

The stone-built houses retain their distinctive character and original architecture and this is what makes Lefkara beautiful. These narrow streets still exist today and women still sit in groups outside the doors with their embroideries. Children play in the streets happy-go-lucky and the people of Lefkara continue the tradition of their forefathers.

My friend Charalambos is not from Lefkara, but he has two houses here, one opposite the other with beautiful gardens. He wants to show me around but when we come home some friends of his drop by. He takes us to different rooms in the two houses and he talks highly of his treasure. What a beautiful collection this is! Rare lamps, beautiful hand-woven carpets, vases, different size of plates with colorful designs, classic and very old pieces of furniture, bells… Oh yes, church bells in different sizes are hanging from the ceiling in one corner in the kitchen! I think I counted six

A flowery neighborhood -Pano Lefkara

.

What can I say of his collection of beautiful and rare paintings! His two houses are piled up with all sorts of antiques and rare pieces of art coming from all over the world. There are so many items packed and piled up in different corners. So there is still so much that I haven't seen.

Charalambos will travel long distances to buy something interesting for his collection. He is as passionate with this, as I am with my travels.

Of course this time he badly needs to find the right building to re house this treasure of rare gems. His dream will come true only if he creates his own private museum as he says, and I am sure this is what he is after right now. I believe, very soon he will achieve this because he is very determined, -a man who really knows what he is after and I truly believe in him. I am sure that very soon he will announce to me that the right building is found and he will invite me the day the museum opens up for the public

My friend's house -Pano Lefkara

. I am proud of my new friend and I count that he won’t rest until he achieves this.

We have dinner afterwards with much chatting, but suddenly we realize that it is getting late and I have yet to see the part of the village my friend promised to show me. So, off we go walking fast as Charalambos takes me here and there, showing me small churches, walking through narrow cobblestone alleys and steep streets. We come to the upper part of the village and we watch the beautiful sunset.

We return home where Irena waits for us, and we are out on their beautiful terrace overlooking the whole district. We enjoy our ice creams and we admire the beautiful view from out here. The lights are on by now and Larnaca can be seen in a distance very clearly from where we are. The view is unbelievable, the hills around, the nearby villages and the whole Larnaca bay. It is indeed a breathtaking view.

It is the night of the full moon but also there is a lunar eclipse tonight. Everyone’s eyes will be up in the sky tonight! The earth blocks the sun’s rays from striking the moon. Tonight is the night when the sun, the earth and the moon are aligned exactly, or very closely, with the earth in the middle. It will be a central eclipse tonight and it will be visible over Europe, South America even parts of Australia. Tonight will be the longest and darkest lunar eclipse of the century this is at least what I have heard over the news this afternoon and will last for 100 minutes.

It is much later than midnight that I am driven back to the hotel.

What an interesting and beautiful day this was!

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