Foinikas in 2024
The lack of electricity was especially true in the Turkish Cypriot villages found here. Intercommunal fighting prevented the Electricity Board from carrying out the necessary work. I have read numerous accounts on who was to blame for this, and consequently have no idea what the actual truth of the matter was. But this is why the villages remained unoccupied when the TC population were moved to the illegally occupied area in the North, and the GC population came south; the infrastructure was inadequate.
House Numbers
The thing I find weird about Foinikas is that there are still road signs pointing to the village. Some of the houses even have house numbers painted on the front. I wonder what would happen if you sent a letter to one of them?
Army Games
Occasionally the local army base will use the village in its training exercises. If you fly a drone, you should be aware of this army base. You are allowed to fly the drone around the village itself, but if you go too high over the hills you will be in a no-go zone. This also applies to a lot of the reservoir closer to the dam, so check the official maps before flying.
Fun Drive
We've published numerous films on Foinikas. Our latest one shows us driving around the buildings here. I am able to do this because I know where the old road is that is now covered in vegetation. If you don't know where it is, and just drive randomly, you will run the risk of hitting rocks, barbed wire or even finding a hole. So don't try our route yourself.
You can get a similar view to this standing at the top of the small hill behind the village.
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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.
