Another day trip promised an opportunity to see ‘traditional’ Cyprus, and so we booked! After being picked up at the hotel, our first stop was the village of Yeroskipou where we saw traditional pottery being thrown, as well as the famous loukomia being made (Cypriot ‘Turkish Delight’). We also visited the five-domed church of St Paraskevi, built in the 9^th Century on the site of the ancient temple of Aphrodite.

From here, we drove to the village of Letymbou, where we visited a traditional style house and enjoyed a home-make breakfast of village bread sprinkled in olive oil with fresh halloumi cheese. Delicious!!

Nicely filled, we got back on the bus, and headed to the Saint Neophytos monastery and the ‘Enkleistra’, an enclosure which was carved out of the mountain in the 12^th Century by the hermit Neophytos. The main church of the monastery was built around 200 years after the death of Neophytos and is dedicated to the virgin Mary.

Our final stop was a local winery, where we not only got to see the production process, but, naturally also got to sample the final products! Cyprus has a significant wine industry, dating back 6000 years, and is best known for its Commandaria sweet wine (first made at Kolossi Castle!). Most wine production remains based on a few varieties of local grape such as Mavro and Xynisteri, although international varieties are also cultivated. Unfortunately, although happy to have a taster, I really am not a fan of wine – give me a good Spanish Sangria any day!

Hopefully you enjoyed this little trip with us! It was nice to get out into the little villages - and the fresh halloumi with the oil-sprinkled bread is a top memory of the Cyprus trip…. I’ve always enjoyed Cypriot cheese!

Take care!    Trevor, Shanhong & Teddy   xx