Nicosia, Cyprus
Today I was taking a day trip to Kykkos Monastery in the Trodos Mountains. I'd been disappointed with the Greek Orthodox Churches thus far as not being as elaborate as the Russian Orthodox ones.
I was awake from 6am and noticed ants in the room near my food but they didnt get inside. After breakfast I asked in the hotel where the pickup described for the tour was. There is only one large supermarket in the town centre and I was told to meet at the bus stop here. I didnt see any bus stop so the hotel told me to goto the old Debenham's building at the end of the street to find the stop.
I waited in the morning sun for the bus to arrive for 830 which as with most tours got me worried when it came late. The bus then took 75 mins doing hotel pickups. The bus filled with mostly white British and European tourists from the more resort style hotels outside the centre with me the lone visible foreigner.
The bus was full and I was told to share a two seater so a couple could sit together. We then made a mid morning stop at a small village cafe for 45 mins. All the people from the bus took all the seats and promptly ordered coffees and apple pie.
Our guide for today was from the Turkish north originally and described the civil war as a "Turkish invasion" and northern "occupation". It should have been a more balanced description as there were also Turkish refugees that had to go north and leave their homes. She also said Turkey sends settlers to live in the north, there are no official census data, and it "breaks her heart" to see the north.
Passing the Kykkos Monastery we went further up the mountain. There is a giant statue of a Patriarch in the parking lot. You then ascend further up a mountain path lined with mosaic portraits.
At the top is a tower like structure but it was closed for restoration work. Nearby was the Tomb of someone important in recent modern history, I forget what he did. A soldier stands guard.
We then descended back down the path of mosaic portraits back to the bus to drive down to the monastery itself.
It had a triangular courtyard and upper terraces, almost identical to the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria I'd visited. Everywhere was mosaic artwork unlike Rila which had painted art.
First we went into the main church where no photos are allowed. We were then given an hour and half to explore at out leisure which was plenty of time to explore without being rushed.
There was too much to see with the art on every surface and it was a bit of a maze with the multi levels and passages. Some of the passages also had ceiling mural art and decorations.
I dont think I've seen an Orthodox Church with as much mosaic art, some of which was with gold tile. This made of for the lack of impressive Churches I had seen thus far.
There were no food options or lunch break. I had some snacks and there was a stand to buy sandwiches. There was also an ice cream truck.
We then drove for 75 mins winding thru the mountains. I kept dozing off in the bus. This was maybe overkill and too much driving. We stopped in a village where they had some jams and lemonade prepared. They had fig, honey, plum, and others. You could buy a jar if you wanted.
We waited here for 30 mins which was a waste of more time. We then left and started our hotel drops for another hour. We had picked people up as far from Limassol outskirts when this is advertised as a tour from Paphos.
We passed by Aphrodite's rock. They say to come and dive here naked on a full moon or I forget the story. I was home after 6.15.
Kykkos Monastery is probably one of the must see places in Cyprus. However it can easily be done in a half day and so much time was wasted in hotel pickups, drop offs, morning and afternoon rest stops. I would still recommend this tour but expect it to last the whole day due to group sizes.
2025-05-23