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The Ammochostos Region
Once sleepy fishing villages, Agia Napa on the south-east coast with its fabulous beaches of fine white sand, and Protaras, the coastal area of Paralimni, in the east with its hundreds of windmills, nowadays buzz with life.
Spend the day sunning yourself on the beach, swimming in the warm turquoise waters or taking a short cruise along the coast. Some of the best snorkelling and diving can be had off Cape Greko, the eastern peninsula national forest park, with its secluded coves and rocky outcrops, impressive cliff top views and sea caves. In the evening dine at one of the many restaurants, especially one of the local ones in Paralimni, or jive to the latest sounds at one of numerous nightclubs.
This area is known collectively as the “Kokkinochoria“, “red soil villages”, because of the rich red earth in which Cyprus’ famous potatoes are grown. Culture lovers can explore the medieval churches found in villages like Sotira or go round the folk art museums displaying rural artefacts in Deryneia and Avgorou.
Children will love the Marine Life museum or the new Sea Museum, “Thalassa”, in Agia Napa, which has an amazing replica of a 4th century trading ship which sunk off the coast of Kyrenia. Or you could stop off at the tiny estuary known by the locals as “Potamos” and watch the fishing boats haul in their catch in their multicoloured baskets.
Macronissos Tombs
The site consists of 19 rock - cut tombs, a small sanctuary and an ancient quarry situated west of Agia Napa in the Macronissos area. The targets of illegal digging, the tombs were badly looted over the years.
Archaeologists believe the dead were placed in clay sarcophagi that were originally covered with three flat tiles. The tombs had a rectangular entrance originally closed with one or two slabs.
Most of the chambers are almost identical with a rectangular trench in the middle and three benches at the side. The tombs were used during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Pyres were found on the surface, characteristic of Greek burial customs.
The sanctuary is a simple rectangular enclosure, made of large irregular blocks.
Agia Napa Monastery
This charming medieval monastery dedicated to ''Our Lady of the Forests'' stands in the middle of the village of Agia Napa surrounded by a high wall.
Both the village and the monastery take their name from the ancient Greek word for wooded valley "Napa"– a reference to the morphology of the area in the past.
Built like a medieval castle around 1500 AD, Agia Napa Monastery is the best known landmark of the village as well of the surrounding area. The monastery is partly built underground and cut into the rock.
The ancient sycamore tree in front of the south gate is believed to be over 600 years old.
The monastery was restored in 1950 and in 1978 became an Ecumenical Conference Centre serving churches in Cyprus and the Middle East. A new church built in1994 south west of the monastery is also dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
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