The Semi-Abandoned Village of Mathikoloni
Don't worry, we didn't clambour all over the walls. the church is actually quite small and it is possible to view and photograph it by leaning over the fence.
One More
One last shot. You can see the original floor here.
Rocky Fields
We weren't joking about the rocky field. Look at that! Imagine trying to plough it?
To The Village
Anyway, that's enough of a preamble. Let's head to the village. To get there we have to drive through the gorge. It is very steep here but the road is pretty good.
Ruins
So, the question is, why was the village abandoned? It is difficult to find a reason. It is built on a slope, so it is possible there was a threat of landslide, like they had in Statos and Agios Fotios. I looked in the PRIO database but there is no record for the village. However, it does get mentioned in the text of another village:
Armenochori
The five remaining Greek Cypriots (per the 1946 census) left the village sometime before 1960. Whether or not this movement was related to the conflict needs to be scrutinized. No one else was displaced from this village during the 1950s emergency years, nor during the intercommunal fighting of 1963-64. However, the village served as a reception center for displaced Turkish Cypriots who fled the nearby village of Mathikoloni in 1964.