Kykkos is Cyprus's most famous monastery. It is approx 1140 metres above sea level in the Troodosmountains and fairly remote. The building is modern for a monastery, the original was destroyed in a fire in the early 1800's. It has amazing mosaics on gold settings at the entrances and and wall paintings. It has the precious icon of the Virgin Mary, supposedly painted by St Luke whilst she was alive, on a piece of wood given to him by an Archangel and was donated to the monastery in 1080. Its said to work miracles. The monastery is a wealthy one, and runs hotels and a restaurant in the area. There are the usual souvenier shops for tourists also. It is well worth visiting and a lovely place to retreat from the heat of the coast but a few things should be thought about before setting out on a journey up to the mountains and monastery. Firstly, when visiting churches and monasteries in Cyprus, you should wear suitable clothing, i.e knees and shoulders should be covered, strappy tops, shorts or short skirts are a definate no-no, as we found out to our cost on our first visit! Secondly, the roads up there are long, windy and can be treacherous so a good car and great care should be taken, also it may say only a few kilometers to a place but bear in mind that it will take longer than estimated due to the windy nature of these roads, our kids got very bored on the way up although the scenery is breathtaking it can get a little monotonous. Another thing to remember is that the mountains can be up to 10 degrees cooler than down at tourist resorts, so depending on what time of year you visit, take a cardigan, coat, or snow gear! Although in July/August you should be OK. In the mountains there are many places to visit that are lovely and also many places to stop for refreshments on the way to your intended destination. Troodos and Platres are the main places where tourists stop en route and Troodos itself (only 3k from Mt Olympus) has cafes and a lovely park for children and is a great place to stretch your legs!
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Advantages: Cooler than sea-level, peaceful, relaxing, unspoilt, lots of nature trails Disadvantages: Not for those who want bright lights and loud music
Kukana 30.09.2004 (30.09.2004)
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Review of Troodos (Cyprus)
Advantages: Cooler than sea-level, peaceful, relaxing, unspoilt, lots of nature trails Disadvantages: Not for those who want bright lights and loud music
Kukana 30.09.2004 (30.09.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Troodos (Cyprus)
Jul 30th, 2000
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