Secret Cyprus

W hen most people think of       plantations were a respite from    Cyprus, they think of         the bustle of city life.           sand, sea, boat trips,                                           cocktail bars and a confusing mix     I decided to check out a holiday   of restaurants. This is not a bad     in the villages and short-listed   thing and is definitely what a        my choice to Kathikas, Anarita,    lot of people are looking for or      Tsada and Episkopi. I chose these  they would not be happy to return     because they all have a            year after year. But, there is        traditional village square and I   more and I have found it. It          was eager to experience the real   entails luring you away from the      Cypriot way of life.               coastal resorts to discover the                                          'Secret Cyprus'.                      The contrast between spending my                                         Paphos holidays in a village       After having travelled to Cyprus      rather than close to the coast     many times I decided I was            could not be more acute. I was     bewitched by the people and the       away from the all-night karaoke    Mediterranean way of life. Having     bars and the tourist shops         seriously decided that I would        selling a confusing mix of Cyprus  like to make Cyprus my home, I        lace, sweet delicacies and         resolved to discover what this        t-shirts for grandma to buy for    beautiful ‘Island of Love' was      the kids back home.                all about on my next Paphos                                              holiday.                              The villages of Episkopi and                                             Kathikas are a reminder of what    The warmth of the Island in           Cyprus living is really all about  mid-March was a shock after           and the locals still go about      arriving from the freezing climes     their daily business, quite        of England and the colours in the     oblivious to what is happening on  fields and the full banana            the coast 15-20 minutes drive      away. Having said this though,        to try a tasting and sit a while   they are more than happy to see       to hear the fascinating story of   any day trippers and will make        the cellar history.                every effort to supplement their                                         income by selling local produce       Episkopi village entrance is       such as fruit, vegetables, lace,      dominated by a steep rock face     and of course their home made         displaying the full bodied         Commandaria (sweet Cyprus wine).      colours of Cyprus soil. The                                              traditional structure of the       I made my accommodation selection     village remains largely unchanged  from a variety of villas to rent      and the roads are narrow and       Paphos and opted eventually to        often steep. I was entranced to    stay in Kathikas Village, which       see working donkeys carrying       is approximately 15 minutes drive     crops of oranges from the fields.  from Coral Bay and 20 minutes         The landscape in this area         drive from the pretty fishing         reveals a stunning display of      port of Latchi in the other           oranges, limes, lemons, grapes     direction. I hired a car though       and almonds.                       and made sure I visited all these                                        villages during my stay. They all     Anarita and Tsada are not so far   have attractions of their own and     inland, in fact only a 5 to 10     charms that tug more at the           minutes drive from a beach or      senses than the purse strings.        golf club if you feel you still    For a start, the climate is           need to feel sand between your     cooler in summer, they all have a     toes or take the challenge of an   central village square and church     unfamiliar course, but all still   around which life revolves. I         have the allure of village life    even stumbled across the              and the locals will extend their   unexpected family run Sterna          welcome in the village tavernas    winery and was made very welcome      if you wish to try a Cyprus Meze   or any local speciality.                                                                                       A failure of imagination or        All these villages exhibit a          knowledge means that we often      community spirit and it is            park ourselves where it feels      fascinating to watch the older        familiar and amongst others from   gentlemen of the village gather       our own Country which often        at the local coffee shop to play      leaves us wondering why we         cards, backgammon or set the          traveled abroad, apart from the    world to rights. I have yet to        sun, obviously. Take the           pass through any Cyprus village       challenge, discover ‘Secret      without seeing the elderly locals     Cyprus' and experience some real   sharing a tale or having a laugh.     Cyprus living in the villages.                                            About the Author: Lynda Burke owns and operates the website http://www.rent-a-villa-in-paphos.com and now lives and works in Paphos, Cyprus. Source: www.isnare.com