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About Archimandrita
The village of Pano Archimandrita, situated close to the district
boundaries of Paphos and Limassol, presents one of the best sceneries
of the Paphos area.
At a height of 420m. above sea level and just 10km. away from
Palaipaphos, where the celebrated ancient sanctuary of Aphrodite
was situated; the modern village of Kouklia, Archimandrita was until
recently a small but thriving agricultural and pastoral society,
built between the effluents of the rivers Hapotami and Diarizos. |
| According to the tradition, the name Archimandrita
was derived from the founder of the village, who was an Archimandrite,
a lower church official, the name of which is not known any more. |
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Around the village there are a few ancient cemeteries, which
denote the long history of the region, while in the medieval period
Archimandrita is mentioned in a list of property dated to the period
of Venitian rule. Moreover, the church of Agios Theodosios and Agios
Pavlos are mentioned in the written sources, but none of them exists
any more.
One of the village’s most favoured attractions is the small
cave of the Holly Fathers, which is hewn in the rock and is dedicated
to the 318 Holly Fathers, as implied by its name. According to the
tradition, they had arrived on the island from Syria during the
first Christian centuries, but were killed by the pagans at that
spot. Fragmentary wall paintings, dated probably to the 14th century,
can be seen on the walls next to the entrance.
According to census records, Pano Archimandrita experienced an
increase in population during the period of the British domination
until the early 1960s, when the villagers start to move massively
to the cities. Today the village is inhabited mainly by pensioners
while the rest of the people live in the cities of Limassol and
Paphos and return to their village during weekends and holidays.
The cultivations include vine, carob and olive trees and other trees,
cereals and vegetables to a lesser extend, while there are a few
people who are engaged in animal (sheep and goat) breeding. |
| Two km. south of the village, the deserted settlement
of Kato (Lower) Archimandrita exists in ruins. In 1962, the 12 last
families of the village (about 40 people) were moved by the state,
after their own demand, to the neighbouring village of Pano (Upper)
Arcimandrita, due to various problems they faced in their everyday
life at that isolated village. |
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The route to Archimandrita, either from Paphos through Kouklia or from Limassol
through Dora, is very exiting during all seasons due to the alternate geomorphology
and the rich flora of the area around village, and it presents an alternative
drive from Limassol to Paphos or vice versa, which it worth trying.
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