What Is Happening To Vretsia?
Yesterday we went for a drive through Paphos Forest, culminating in a dip in our favourite pool near Roudia Bridge. On the way back to Polemi we happened to drive through Vretsia, and were somewhat surprised as to what we saw...
View From The Top

I love the balls-of-steel route from Roudia to Vretsia. Straight up a firebreak. In this case it was made a little more complicated by a descending herd of goats - this is no place to brake. Once you reach the top, you have to take in the view. I could have posted a couple of pages of similar views but this enough for this blog. We are due elsewhere...
The Mosque

Vretsia is an old Turkish Cypriot village, vacated during the troubles, when the residents had to flee to the north. You can read more about that on the first of our Vretsia blogs (see below).
Last Year

If this was your first visit to Vretsia you wouldn't think anything was odd. But if you look at this picture you can see that the minaret that used to adorn this mosque is no longer there.
Missing Minaret

I remember going up those steps a while back, and taking pictures. To be frank, it was fairly unsafe then, so I can appreciate that it probably just fell down.
Towards The Tavern

On this trip we came up from the old tavern (see links below). Before we reached the mosque, nothing seen that much out of the ordinary.
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Related Blogs:

Abandoned Villages - Vretsia
Cyprus has more than it's fair share of abandoned villages. The troubles caused the displacement of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.The environment itself has caused other villages to be abandoned for reasons of safety. Whatever the reason, the abandonment caused emotional pain and suffering to the affected people. So is it right to right a series of blog articles on them? I thought about this for a while, but decided that yes it was. Cyprus is a land built on antiquities, and these villages are just the latest example. I had no problem blogging about a Necropolis after all. However, some of these villages, and especially Ventris, do still get visits from the displaced families. So if you do decide to visit these places on the strength of these articles, please bear that in mind, and treat them with respect. The urban exploring motto "take only pictures, leave only footprints..." nicely sums it up.
Return to Vretsia
Vretsia has always been a favourite place of ours to explore in Cyprus. Nestled on the edge of Paphos Forest, it has been the gateway to many an offroad adventure. We first blogged about it a couple of years ago, but recent changes have made us return to take a closer look...
Vretsia Tavern
We recently did a blog on the abandoned village Vretsia. Until recently, a tavern still operated there. Unfortunately, last summer it appears to have burnt down. It is now a very eerie place to visit...
Vretsia Tavern Revisited
A few months ago, I wrote a blog about the abandoned village of Vretsia. I also did a supplementary blog about Vretsia Taven which, until last summer had still been open seasonally, for hunters and the like. In that blog, I reported that it had obviously had a nasty fire, as it was very badly burned. Well yesterday we were giving some guests a tour of the area, and we popped in to see the tavern. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found...
From Vretsia to Kelefos
This is another Road-Trip blog. Paphos Forest contains many treasures, and two of it's finest are the Venetian Bridges Roudia and Kelefos. Of the two, the latter is easy to locate. However, Roudia eluded us for some time, as it is easy to miss, being buried in woodland. So we have put together this guide, showing the route we took from our starting point of the abandoned village of Vretsia, through the forest to Kelefos and beyond. The aim of this blog is not to provide a de-facto route through the forest. After all, tracks get closed, and new tracks get opened every year. No, we mainly want to show you what you can expect to find should you decide to venture into the forest. We will do other blogs on the bridges themselves; today is all about the journey...
Playing With The Vretsia Donkeys
We meet any number of animals when we are out on our travels. On the last bank holiday, we thought we would pay some of them another visit, so we packed a picnic and headed off to Vretsia, to say hello to the donkeys...Good Pages To Visit

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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.
