Paphos Life

Last year late spring I was visiting Vasa and its caves, where I met some locals telling me that photographing Agios Georgios Church is a must... so I did as I was already in the area.

As I got stuck in the village in one of its narrow roads I decided to take the second route, bypassing the village on the other side of the valley.

Doing that I stopped on the main road for some village shots and discovered the old stone bridge in the valley, on the far end lays the church hidden under huge trees.


This is the village above the valley ...


and here is the church which was closed up when I arrived first. There are ongoing reservations in- and outside the chapel and I needed 3 visits until I could get access with the help of the Mukhtar finally.


Here the first impression when you enter the place which is still half a building site


many of the frescoes need more work done as there is a layer of scum on them due to high humidity, which looks like blurry pics..


this detail looked strange to me with the eagle talon holding a plate or sign...


more details of this part




another area which needs a lot of renovation if that is possible..


this part is nearly perfect though


unfortunately most of the faces are damaged (not from humidity)


part of the dome


you would need a 360 image to see all the wall painting of that area..


right up


and finally last photo from inside where one can see some lunch utensils in the window...


....from the experts renovating this nice little church which is already worth a visit. I had a very good time with them, and of course they invited me for coffee and....more


Max

As it is quite a distance from Paphos to drive to Vasa ( ca 1 hour) here a map showing my route...





Max

Looking at the clicks (140) on this post about churches in Cyprus and their beautiful frescoes, it seems to me that there is limited interest on here...

Maybe there were too many posts about them in the past 2 years. So I decided to have a break, posting about chapels, as it is time-saving, instead to spent hours to choose the right photos from huge files and upload them.

Max

Is your route to Vasa easily done in an ordinary car? Would like to do it but would only have a hire car not 4x4.

Yes it is. It is a bit bumpy as you go past Gero Vasa, but nothing off road. If you want a slightly easier route, take the F612 from Kouklia, Archimandrita and Dora. This was on the original route planned for the second ebook road trip, so it is definitely safe for all vehicles.

Thanks

brengreen wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2020 3:48 pm Is your route to Vasa easily done in an ordinary car? Would like to do it but would only have a hire car not 4x4.

Mind, brengreen, that the church will be closed when there are no renovation works going on. In this case I would visit the nearby village of Potamiou (2km in the valley) and the ancient church there. (300 AD!!) viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9381 There is always access..

Max

Thanks for the info Max

brengreen wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 8:00 pm Thanks for the info Max

You're welcome! brengreen. Driving back to Paphos I would recommend the route Dominic referred via Dora, Mousere, Archimandrita, Kouklia...
Very nice views from there and a good quiet road....

Max

@Max....
Thanks for the posting and pictures.

I visited the caves atVasa recently, following a posting by yourself. Really nice village.
On the day, the Church in the village was open, so I went inside to take some photos.
After about 5 minutes there was an almighty( sorry) clang as the priest shut and locked the doors from the outside. Being at the opposite end of Church to the doors, I ran down the aisle and ended up hammering on the door to be let out, with no response.

After about 10 minutes, the Priest came back, having heard the banging en route from the bar to his home.

He seemed to find my predicament very funny

Regards
CL

Hopefully he now checks inside the church before he locks it up

Cheshire Lad wrote: ↑Mon Jan 06, 2020 10:44 pm @Max....
Thanks for the posting and pictures.

I visited the caves atVasa recently, following a posting by yourself. Really nice village.
On the day, the Church in the village was open, so I went inside to take some photos.
After about 5 minutes there was an almighty( sorry) clang as the priest shut and locked the doors from the outside. Being at the opposite end of Church to the doors, I ran down the aisle and ended up hammering on the door to be let out, with no response.

After about 10 minutes, the Priest came back, having heard the banging en route from the bar to his home.

He seemed to find my predicament very funny

Regards
CL

I also met the priest (a very laid-back guy) while I was invited from the mukhtar for coffee at the coffee shop next to the huge village church, waiting that somebody arrives with the key of the chapel which never happened on that day. I think the priest was not so happy, after he invited me to visit the large church and I refused as I prefer to visit old chapels with rich frescoes much more...

Max

Hi,
How old is the Church? I am assuming very!

Diocletian wrote: ↑Tue Jan 07, 2020 4:28 pm Hi,
How old is the Church? I am assuming very!

The church was built in the 14th century as part of a monastery. (Micri Lavra) The frescoes are 15th century though...

Max