We've been exploring the Diarizos Valley a lot recently, but we first visited Trozena a long time ago, when we were out geocaching. What fascinated us at the time was that parts of it appeared only semi-abandoned. The cache description stated that hunters may have been using some of the buildings seasonally. We also found a church that was far from abandoned. Incidentally, if you don't know where Trozena is, you can find it on this map. In the Paphos Life directory, there is a section for blog locations. It is worth looking at if you are looking for inspiration on days out.

So on this visit, we headed to the church first. In this shot, you can just make out a ruin in the foreground, to the right of the tree. That is, in fact, part of Gerovasa, which is a different village. We may blog about that as well at some point, but there doesn't appear to be much there to see.

Given the remoteness of the area, I wonder why these churches are still used? I know, for instance, in Letymbou, that one of the churches is only used once a year. Are specific churches used for certain dates? Or perhaps, the churches are used for weddings, or baptisms?

Whatever this church is used for, the celebrations involved tying ribbons to trees.

I've no idea what that sign says, but there appears to be a date on it. According to Wikipedia, the church of Agios Georgios was indeed built in 1885. It goes on to say that Gerovasa was Turkish Cypriot whereas Trozena was Greek Cypriot, and that they used to get on fine before the troubles started. Trozena itself was abandoned for economic reasons.

As you can see, the church is lovely, and obviously still used.