Foinikas in 2024
Underneath The Arches
There has been a certain amount of creativity applied to Historic accounts of the village though. I remember a few years ago reading an account which stated that the Archway you can see in the building here was very unusual for Cyprus and was a sign that it was built by the Templars. Well if that was the case they must have been quite prolific builders as I have seen similar archways on numerous houses in villages around rural Paphos. So don't believe everything you read.
Clifftop View
When the reservoir is full the village really looks the part. You can imagine it being a picture-postcard setting. The reality though is that the Asprokremmos wasn't dammed until the Eighties. The houses were probably built on top of the cliff purely for defensive reasons, and because they would be able to see enemies coming easily. That's my take on it, anyway.
Anyway, let's fly the drone around the village, and see what we find. We shall first head up to those houses you can see at the top.
Water Feature
There are a number of water features dotted around Foinikas. You will find them in pretty much every Cypriot village. A lot of them were constructed in 1952. You could tell this because they have a little shield with a date on them. It said something like ER 1952. Because of this, it was commonly thought among a lot of the Brits living here that they had all been constructed to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This was not in fact the case. You will find a variety of dates on the Water Features. There are even some from the Sixties, which are notable because the ER has been replaced with the shield of the Republic Of Cyprus.
The Water Features highlight an important aspect of village life between the Fifties and Seventies. The infrastructure was not up to much, and many places were without electricity. If you explore the houses in a lot of the villages you will see little hooks in the ceiling. This is where they would hang lamps at night.
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Related Blogs:
Abandoned Villages - Foinikas
Foinikas has a special place in our family's hearts. It was the first abandoned village we explored in Cyprus, some ten years ago. We have returned to it each time we visited Cyprus, and consquently have more pictures than we could ever possibly want of the village and surrounding area. We posted some of them on our blog about the Asprokremmos Reservoir. We wanted some up-to-date photos for the Abandoned Village blog series. So last saturday we revisited Foinikas, and couldn't believe what we found when we got there...
Foinikas Revisited
When we first blogged about Foinikas it was springtime, and the abandoned village was bathed in a sea of yellow. It was always an essential destination on our holidays, but we had never been in Spring, so it came as a pleasant surprise. However, it made it difficult to explore, as you never know what you might tread on when you have to wade through thigh-high flowers. As frequently happens with our blogs, people posted more information about the site in the comments. So we decided to pay another visit a few days ago, and explore it in more depth...
Foinikas by the Lake
The abandoned village of Foinikas lies on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir. Now that the waters are lapping at the village boundaries, we thought we would pay it another visit, to see how it looks now.
Foinikas In Bloom
Foinikas is an abandoned village steeped in history, that lies on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir, just to the East of Paphos. Current water levels make a visit a bit tricky, but if you perservere you will be rewarded by a sea of colour as the spring flowers bring the village to life.Related Pages
MapFoinikas in 2024
Foinikas is an abandoned village on the banks of the Asprokremmos Reservoir. Well, usually. At the moment it lies on Asprokremoos Prairie. Anyway, the village itself has a long history. In the Middle Ages it was the home of the Knights Templar, who once ruled Cyprus. This fact ensures the village gets a fair number of visitors from more adventurous tourists. I went there recently to fly my drone, and as well as a nice film, it also took these lovely pictures...
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eBookCyprus Road Trip 01: the Kathikas - Panagia Loop
Let me take you on a journey around the region of Paphos, Cyprus. Starting at Paphos itself, we travel to Akoursos, then Kathikas, Kritou Terra and Simou. We continue past Lasa and Kannaviou, before taking in the delights of Panagia. Getting a bit more adventurous, we visit the abandoned villages of Statos and Agios Fotios, before passing through Choulou, Letymbou and Polemi, and rejoining the main Paphos - Polis road.
The route is suitable for all types of vehicle, and requires no off-roading. The guide contains about 130 photographs including shots of all the road signs you need to pay attention to, as well as some of the highlights you may experience along the way.
There are also several maps which will help you keep your bearings.
You can do this journey in a day, or you can break it up into chunks. You can also do it in reverse, to get some completely different views. It is entirely up to you.
