OLD VILLAGE OF LAPITHOS

Away from the sea, in the hills, the old village of Lapithos/Lapta is drowned in greenery. The six ancient Orthodox parishes and the old Muslim quarter offer beautiful views and a touch of authenticity. At the foot of the village, the small district of Prodromos houses the town hall and the beautiful Timios Prodromos (St. John the Baptist) church. Next to Prodromos, the Aşağı ("lower") district was the only one inhabited by Turkish Cypriots before 1974. There are two mosques here, including one dedicated to Haydar Paşazade Mehmet Bey, a ^17th-century philanthropist. We then climb to Ano Lapithos (the "heights of Lapithos") with its beautiful houses, some in Byzantine style. The ancient Agia Anastasia monastery (^18th century), built on a rocky spur on the site of a castle, dominates the village. Still on the heights, to the west of Ano Lapithos, the Agia Paraskevi district owes its name to the church of Saint Paraskevi (1892), which was looted in 1974. Beautiful French and Ottoman architecture. Agios Theodoros is a more rural district. Its Church of St. Theodore (1834) preserves two large white columns from a ^17th-century Byzantine church. Finally, to the south-east of Ano Lapithos, towards Karavas/Alsancak, are the districts of Agios Loukas and Agios Minas. The former is very large and houses the Church of Saint Luke (1850), now a dance school. The latter owes its name to the church of Saint Menas (1843), where a few icons have been preserved.