At this time of year, with the endless hot sunny days of summer, most people's thoughts turn to the Troodos mountains and their wonderful cool pine scented air! The great thing is that the mountains are never far away in Cyprus as they are less than two hour's drive from any part of Cyprus. As well as the fun of a stroll in the woods or by the famous Caledonia waterfalls, the villages themselves are full of all types of surprises - including nine Byzantine painted churches that are so precious that they appear on the World Heritage List.

The mountain villages each offer visitors a unique view of 'yesterday' with their traditional architecture, handicrafts and slower way of life that is intrinsically linked to the passing seasons. Pano Platres, the main 'mountain resort' has, over the years, welcomed royalty and filmstars, artists and writers to its confortable hotels and beautiful mountain scenery - as the poet Laureate, Seferis warns in his poem Eleni-
'Nightingales let you not sleep in Platres.

Last year a 'Regional Cultural Week of the mountainous resorts of Limassol' was held for the first time and was so popular and successful that a second week has been planned between Saturday 21 July - Sunday 29 July, and everybody, young and old, visitors and local residents are very welcome to join in all the fun - and there's plenty!

The idea behind the cultural week

The idea is to hold a variety of events in a different village every day. Eight mountain villages are taking part in the week and each village has its own carefully designed and very individual programme of activities. In most cases these events are spread over the entire day and end with plenty of singing, dancing and merriment late in the evening! The programmes that have been organised by each village vary tremendously to give visitors the opportunity to enjoy a whole range of local cultural activities within their traditional setting and to see some of the points of interest of both the village and its surrounding area.

A promotion of different crafts

One of the organisations that is co-ordinating the event is The Cyprus Handicraft Service which will have some of its craftspeople joining the villagers to give demonstrations of both the traditional and more unusual crafts of the island that still continue in the village. Last year, in Kato Platres, visitors were delighted to watch the ladies stitching Lefkaritika {the world-famous lace embroidery from Lefkara} in the evening sun, whilst close by, the shoemaker sat handstitching gleaming black leather men's boots that are traditionally worn with the vrakas. Just a stone's throw away Koko Kyriakides who lives in the nearby village of Mallia was explaining how the local wild herbs can be used to make delicious tea that has many beneficial properties from dispelling winter colds to boosting energy levels!

With some villages renowned for one particular craft...

The variety of handicrafts found in Cyprus is as colourful and diverse as the island itself, with whole villages renowned for one particular craft like Pano Lefkara, and in some cases there are just one or two people left practising the skill taught to them by their grandparents. Phini, which is the host village for the first day of the cultural week on Saturday 21 July, has long been known for its red clay pottery that was made into bowls jugs and pitchers for use in the home. Most importantly, the clay was also used for making pitharia - the huge clay jars that have been used for storing wine for generations. In the old days, the potters from the village would travel near and far to make pitharia to order -in situ because they are far to heavy to

carry! Although the pitharia are no longer made, there are still several women in Phini who make water pitchers and intricately decorated vases. The day in Phini begins at 10.00 with a tour of the area when visitors can enjoy seeing the beautiful Khantaras waterfall {one of the few in Cyprus}, the old bridge and the wonderful Pilavakis Museum that tells the story of the village's pottery-making tradition.

For those interested in handicrafts, at 5.00 p.mthe same day, there will be a demonstration of the village's other well-known handicraft - chair making, as well as pottery- making, candle -making and the chance to enjoy freshly made Loukoumia {Cyprus Delight sweets}. More unusual crafts - making mandilia {printed kerchiefs}and how to construct bricks will be demonstrated in Kato Platres {on Tuesday 24 July} and silk-processing, for which Cyprus was once so famous, will be shown in Mandria {Thursday 26 July}. In Pera Pedhi,{Sunday 29 July} the local wood sculptor, Takis Maniori will be hard at work!
The chance to explore...

The third day of the Cultural Week, will make a visit to Troodos, which will give everyone a valuable insight into this village- an old village buses because that is how the journey up to Troodos will be made from Pano Platres! There will be the chance to see the environmental museum and the famous Caledonia waterfall - it will really be a great day for enjoying the beauty of the mountains

… and discover the area's history.

The Troodos area has many places of historical interest, and the village communities will be making a special effort to teach visitors some of their history. In Pera Pedhi there will be a 'Pera Pedhi of Yesterday' photographic exhibition ,and there will be similar exhibitions in Kato Platres and Mandria {Thursday 26 July}. There will be a visit to the beautiful Medieval church of Ayios Nikolaos in Pera Pedhi , which was built in 1796 and is steeply pitched with square tiles. Inside it has broad wooden beams, and relics of Saints Neophytos, Philip and Spyridon and it looks so special in the candlelight. A similar visit to the Monastery of the Holy Cross {Timiou Stavros} is planned in Omodhos. During the day in Kato Platres, visitors will be able to take a peep inside a traditional house and the old school! A very special ceremony is planned in Pera Pedhi on Sunday 29 July at 6.00 p.m. when Dr Christoulos Christodoulou, the Minister of Interior will inaugerate the village's traditional water-mill, as it has recently been carefully restored. This will be

followed by a representation of wheat-grinding- another historical monument in the village the venue for the evening's entertainment - the old KEO factory. Some of the island's darker days will be remembered in Omodhos, when visitors will be able to see the Museum of Struggle and the hiding place of the liberty struggle, which both recall the troubled years of 1955-1959, which are both inside the village's monastery.

Information courtesy forsale.com.cy