On the southeastern foothills of the Troodos, at an altitude of 1100 meters above sea level, is one of the largest Cypriot villages - the village of Agros. The village is located in the Pitsilia wine region, 45 kilometers from. The village is quite modern, it has its own police, fire department, sports and youth center, school, theater, European information center, several museums and a modern hotel. With all this developed civilization, in the village, somehow, the traditional, measured village way of life and a special flavor have been preserved.
The village of Agros was named after the monastery of Megalos Agros, which was erected on the site where the church of the Holy Mother of God is located in the village today. According to legend, 40 monks from the city of Kizikos (Kizikos) of Asia Minor, during the era of iconoclasm, left the monastery of Megalos Agros in Kyziki and moved to Cyprus in order to save the icon of the Mother of God. The monks settled in the place where the village of Agros is located today. Then they built a new monastery, calling it Megalos Agros, just like the temple in which they lived before. In 1692, a deadly virus spread throughout Cyprus, causing the death of 2/3 of the inhabitants. The survivors abandoned their homes and settled near the monastery. Thus, a new village was founded, called Agros. In 1894, after a conflict between the inhabitants of Agros and the Bishop of Kiti, the monastery was destroyed, leaving a great historical heritage behind the village. The current church of Panagia Eleousa (Pnayia Eleousa) was built in its place. Many icons, the iconostasis and the altar of the Great Agros Monastery were saved and then placed in the chapel that was built in the churchyard of Ayia Eleousa. Icons such as Panagia Agriotissa and the Almighty are priceless. It is believed that the icon of Panagia Agriotissa (Pnayia Agriotissa) was one of 70 painted by St. Luke and one of four similar icons that were brought to Cyprus and donated to the most famous monasteries: Big Agros, Araka (Araka), Machera (Machera) and Troodisse (Trooditissa).
Several factories operate in Agros. The first will be very interesting for gourmets - it has become popular thanks to smoked pork. In the shop at the factory you can buy delicious national delicacies: hiromeri is pork marinated in wine sauce and smoked, luntzu ham, bacons, lukanik sausages. Also, try tsamarella - this is raw smoked goat meat, an appetizer for an amateur.
In addition to meat, in the village at the Nikis factory, the famous Cypriot glyco jams are brewed. In the store you will see such a variety of this delicacy! Here and jam from young eggplants, watermelon peels, lemon and orange zest, and even walnuts. There are 50 types of jam in total. And another famous Agro delicacy is suzukos, nuts in grape juice, strung on a string. The village of Agros is still popular for its eponymous mineral water, which can be bought at any store in Cyprus.
But the real popularity of the village of Agros was brought by roses, and rose water and essential oil are produced from their petals. Cosmetics, perfumes, rose tea and a variety of brandies and liqueurs are made from roses. These rose products are popular not only in Cyprus but also in many other countries. The Damask rose that grows here was introduced by Father Chrys Tsolakis in 1948.
Every year at the end of spring, the Rose Festival takes place in Agros, dedicated to the beginning of the collection of rose petals. However, festivals are loved in this village. Every year on August 15, on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin, a festival is held, folk groups in national costumes perform on the central square of the village, national music, dances and songs are performed. There is a fair with local products - what is not here! Fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, sweets, local wine. You can taste homemade pies from local hostesses. In general, the villagers are very hardworking, hospitable and cheerful people. Agros festivals are known throughout Cyprus and people come here to relax from all over the island.
There are several folklore museums in Agros that will tell about the life of the villagers. If you like painting, visit the Frangulidis Museum, which displays the work of the Cypriot artist Solonos Frangulidis. This artist painted the icons of the church of Panagia Eleusa. In the vicinity of the village, you can walk to several Byzantine temples, where ancient frescoes have been preserved. Also, you can take exciting walks along specially designed routes - route maps can be taken at any hotel in Agros at the reception.
The village of Agros is a traditional Cypriot settlement, where old houses, folk crafts, as well as a calm, peaceful atmosphere are still preserved. The village of Agros is famous for its cultivation of roses, as well as for the many products that the locals make from them. Syrups, soaps, rose water, liqueurs and perfumes - this is not a complete list of what is produced in Agros from roses. In addition, local residents make delicious smoked meats, as well as unique jams from the most unexpected ingredients - from traditional fruits to nuts, eggplant and zucchini.
Agros is located in the Troodos mountains, at an altitude of approximately 1100 meters above sea level. It is very beautiful here - narrow streets, a sea of greenery, traditional Cypriot architecture. You can get to Agros in about 40 minutes from Nicosia, and it is worth considering that for several kilometers you will have to climb a rather high serpentine: it is better to take motion sickness tablets or lollipops with you.
The village got its name in honor of the Mekalos Agros monastery. It used to be on the site where the church is currently built - the monastery was destroyed in 1894, and today nothing remains of it. According to legend, about 40 monks from Asia Minor arrived in this place, who fled from persecution in Cyprus. They brought with them the icon of the Mother of God and stayed in the Agros region - for some time the monks lived in a cave, and then built a monastery. Gradually, people began to settle around the monastery, and so a village arose, which today is considered a fairly large settlement.
Damascus rose, considered the main pride of Agros, was brought here in 1948 by Father Chris Tsolakis. Chris still lives in Agros - today he owns a small production facility and produces liqueurs, jams, wine and scented candles.
Not far from Agros there are several Byzantine churches in which frescoes have been preserved. There are several museums in the village itself, which display handicrafts, traditional dishes, antique household items, etc.
Photo album
You never get tired of being surprised how many interesting things are hidden from the eyes of people who spend time exclusively on the coast! Perhaps, it is in the Cypriot villages that you can simultaneously get acquainted with the ancient culture of the island, and with the modern traditional way of life. In addition, nowhere else can you find such amazing taverns and wineries as those located high in the mountains.
Hotel and taverns in Agros
Our path lies to the village of Agros. On Friday evening we go there to have some rest and visit the famous rose festival that takes place every year in this village in May. And since there are plenty of events planned, we decide to spend the night there as well. The place of our refuge is the hotel " Rodon”, whose name is translated from Greek as bud. The hotel is quite large for a village, and Agros is considered one of the largest villages in Cyprus. In "Rodon" you will not feel the specifics of the so-called, because it is a modern hotel that is fully consistent with its class (3 *), has a large territory and two swimming pools, one of which is quite large.
In summer, the hotel is also popular among local residents who come here to relax from the sweltering heat. Therefore, in the summer months, it is worth booking in advance. The cost of a hotel room is from 66 euros, there is even executive suite, offered for a "fabulous sum" of 100 euros.
The first point of our visit is the village tavern. On Friday evening we are the only guests, however, according to the owner of the tavern, every weekend ( Saturday Sunday) he gets 150-200 orders for branded meze. Residents from surrounding villages and large cities come to the tavern. By the way, the quality of the meze is wonderful and worth it to drive an extra 40-50 km for it. The cost of a dish is 16.5-18 euros.
Having had a hearty dinner in the tavern and breathing in the mountain air, we decide to go to bed early in order to go “to explore” the interesting places of Agros in the morning.
In the morning - to the rose factory
Since our initial goal was to get acquainted with the rose factory, we go to it in the morning in the first place. There are several such factories in Agros, and one of the most famous is VenusRoseCosmetics, whose products are supplied not only to the local market, but also to a number of European countries, as well as to Russia.
Company owner Mr. Tzolakis kindly tells us about the technology of making rose water, which is subsequently used to make rose tea(by the way, it helps with headaches and stomach problems), natural cosmetics, liquor, handmade candles with a unique aroma and other original products.
The time of pink flowering in Agros is May. As a rule, the harvesting of the "harvest" lasts 20-25 days. All this time, Tzolakis, his family and assistants get up very early, because the roses must be collected before the buds are scorched by the sun, otherwise they will lose their magical fragrance. To get 1 kg of rose petals, you need to collect about 400-500 buds. Every day, about 27-30 thousand buds are removed from the plantation. Next, the buds are placed in a huge vat, where natural rose water is obtained by heating and subsequent distillation.
Apricot and ... eggplant jam
Having heard enough about roses and having packed all the purchased products in a bag, we move on - to the sweets factory NikiAgathokleous. This is one of the most famous factories in Cyprus, whose products are supplied to numerous supermarkets and local shops. For over 25 years, traditional jams and preserves « glyco » are in constant demand among local residents and guests of the island.
In total, the factory is ready to offer about 50 varieties of traditional "gliko". This is the usual types of jam from apricots, cherries, melons and watermelons, and rather unusual "instances" - carrot, eggplant, tomato, bergamot, walnut jam etc.
It is worth paying attention to a variety of jams that do not contain sugar, which can be tasted even by those people for whom sugar is contraindicated for health reasons.
The cost of a jar of jam is from 2 to 8 euros, depending on the volume and type.
village smokehouse
And finally, the last, but not the least significant, as the British say ( lastbutnottheleast), the point of the program is a village smokehouse. There are two of them in Agros, but we were recommended Kafkalia.
The smokehouse has been in existence for 26 years, and its owner proudly shows us his products and the smokehouse itself. True, there is no special need to demonstrate products: as soon as you cross the threshold, you are enveloped in such aromas that you simply cannot leave without a purchase.
Luntza (smoked pork) and lukanika (minced pork sausages), which can be eaten raw or cooked over a fire), zalatina (pork soaked in vinegar, lemon juice and seasonings)) and pastorma (smoked beef) - this is not a complete list of dishes waiting for you in the smokehouse.
Here we also buy delicious homemade, which is amazingly suitable for meat products. How else?!
Farewell - rustic lunch
Our trip ends with lunch in another village tavern located in the center of the village. Despite the small size of the central "square", about 5-6 such "food points" are concentrated here. And all of them are filled with customers on Saturday. Lunch in a village tavern with a decanter of homemade wine will cost you much less than a visit to a restaurant in a tourist zone (we got about 50 euros for two).
And now - back to ! Of course, we will return to Agros more than once, but we don’t know yet when this will happen, because there are many more villages, the discovery of which will be a unique opportunity to get to know the true Cyprus.
and , Deryne and - You can list the names for a long time, and each of them hides its own mysterious world, combining modern life and technology and centuries-old Cypriot history and traditions.
Village Agros(emphasis on "o") is located on the map of Cyprus is not entirely successful, so to speak. Now let's explain. You need to go here either purposefully, or to places that are not so "promoted", located away from the tourist routes that are being laid for themselves by those traveling around Cyprus for the first time. Our first visit to Agros was also largely accidental. We just drove to interesting places somewhere in the Nicosia region, and decided to return not along the "autobahn", but along a longer mountain route. When we passed the village, it was already getting dark. The central street with a bunch of illuminated tents made us slow down and take the first picture in the village. Some goodies were on sale.
It turned out that on this day there is a traditional weekly farmers' market, which roams the villages on schedule. It was located just next to the Church of the Virgin Eleusa (Merciful), which we will later mark on the map so that you can imagine where it was. Well, the market and the market - we decided then and almost forgot about Agros. But later they visited him more than once. Then we will tell you why, but for now we will give a little information about him.
Geography and population
The village of Agros belongs to the Limassol District, although it is not at all close to it. It is located in the Troodos Mountains at an altitude of 1100 meters in a fertile area called Pitsilia. Today, about 800 people live in the village, which is a lot by the modern "village" standards of Cyprus. We hope that we have given the most complete information on the "geographical" topic, so let's move on to the next one.
History of Agros
According to legend, 40 monks from the monastery of Megalos Agros, which was located in Asia Minor, during the period of iconoclasm were forced to leave their habitable places and move to Cyprus. To the place where the village is now. At first they lived in a cave, but over time they built a new monastery, giving it the name of their predecessor, Megalos Agros. For a long time the monastery existed in quiet seclusion, until an epidemic hit Cyprus in 1692. The surviving residents from the surrounding villages moved closer to the monastery. This is how the village appeared in this place. Unfortunately, time did not spare the monastery - in 1894 it was destroyed, leaving the village its name Agros.
Agros today
What struck us in Agros after the first acquaintance was the presence of two objects that do not fit in our minds with the image of a modest mountain village. The first of them is a large, even by city standards, Rodon hotel, and the second is a kind of building, the purpose of which was not immediately guessed. See for yourself in the second picture. Guess without a clue what it is?
This is the sports center Glafkos Clerides, very unusual in form. Having become acquainted with these objects, we ask ourselves a question.
What's with the gourmets?
It's time to reveal the main "secret" of the village. There are several factories for the production of Cypriot delicacies and a factory in Agros at once... But let's start with delicacies first. It is not without reason that even special excursions are carried to Agros under the name "Gourmet Tour".
Factory of meat delicacies
Let's say right away that you can't just get into the factory itself. But to the store with her - easily. There you can taste meat goodies before you decide to buy something. But most likely you will. Here are samples of raw smoked meat made according to traditional Cypriot recipes. We will not list all the options now - you will see for yourself. We were most attracted by raw smoked goat meat. This product in Cyprus is called tsamarella(tsamarella, τσαμαρέλλα). We’ll warn you right away that the product is not for everyone ... goat smells.
When we entered the store, we found a group of compatriots there, for whom the guide was holding a pre-tasting "lecture" with a demonstration of products. Well, then everyone decided what to buy if he liked it.
Now let's move on to desserts.
Jam Factory (Nikis Sweets Factory)
Another point of attraction in Agros is the factory of sweet delicacies. It's about a small company Nikis. As in the previous case, do not count on visiting the production itself. Here, too, you will see only a "showcase" offering the entire range of products. But what a wide! Of course, we imagined what products can be used to make jam. But to even one of those... - I don't have enough imagination for that. Carrot jam is the most harmless for our perception. You will see for yourself when you arrive.
One could stop there, but the female half of the human race likes to visit another attractive place for them in Agros. Therefore, you will have to visit him.
The Rose Factory
The heading title comes from the word the Rose. House of Roses - this is what the sign at the entrance says. Here they do everything that can be done using roses and their main component - rose oil. First of all, of course, the smell captivates. All presented products smell of roses. Be it candles, soap or even liquor. It looks very nice and delicious. Here, too, we met a group of sightseers, for whom the owner of the factory gave an introductory lecture. He talked about how this or that product is prepared and demonstrated various devices for their production.
The main action was later. First, the "guide" asked the women if they bathed this morning? Somewhat embarrassed, they nodded their heads. Then he chose the most nodding one and asked for her hand. Well, in the sense of giving a hand to his hand for a little experiment. Having thus taken possession of the object for the experiment, the owner began to rub her skin with a cotton swab dipped in rose oil. Ter quite a long time, not less than a minute.
And then he showed everyone that the fleece turned gray. The embarrassed lady immediately ran to the next room ... to buy such a miracle.
In the process of writing these lines, I decided to conduct an experiment. I took two cotton. He soaked one with water and began to rub it against his hand. After a minute, I looked at its color - it turned out to be white. That's how clean I am, I thought! But that's not all. I wetted the second cotton wool with ordinary sunflower oil and rubbed the same hand with it. And oh, a miracle - the fleece turned dirty gray. The conclusion is that ordinary sunflower oil can completely replace rose oil in terms of its cleansing effect. The main thing is to demonstrate this to your soul mate front visiting Agros!
Pink roses...
Concluding the story about the rose factory, let's say that every year at the end of May, a rose festival is held in Agros. The whole village is celebrating. The entrance in front of the factory is strewn with rose petals. Unfortunately, we have not been able to visit this action yet, but we have made an advertising photo shown on the "factory" TV.
Instead of an epilogue
At the end of their study of the village, they decided to just ride around it. As a result, we wandered into a street where the road was blocked by walking here ... geese. When they tried to get out of the car just to take a picture of them, they responded with an unfriendly gesture.
Well, we'll have to go home, we decided then. It is a pity that there was no smoked goose in the butcher's shop, for some reason I thought at that moment.
The products of local factories can be found, of course, not only in Agros itself. It is presented in almost any store in Cyprus, and at a price not more expensive. But the most complete range can only be found here.
And finally, we will tell you about a funny case from our Cypriot memories.
It was the last day of the car rental. It's time to give up. But it seems that it’s not quite time yet - there are still almost three hours and half a tank of gasoline left - it’s quite possible to drive somewhere in the end from Limassol. And the weather is not very pleasant, it is raining. And then we decided to go to Agros in order to buy a hundred grams of tsamarella for an evening snack.
But we have not yet said anything about water called Agros, which is sold everywhere in Cyprus. This is also part of the wealth of the mountain village. What can I say, it's better to look at our small photo album and find out how to get here, so that you will certainly come to Agros on occasion.
Photo album
How to get there
Agros can be reached in different ways, including from Nicosia. But we will traditionally lay the route "from the stove", that is, from Limassol. If you are planning a visit to the UNESCO-listed Panagia tou Araka church, you will certainly pass by Agros. Briefly repeat the main milestones of the path. First we move along the Limassol-Troodos road. Then in the village of Trimiklini we turn towards the village of Pelendri. Schedule a visit, it's worth it. From the turn in Trimiklini to Pelendri we drive about seven and a half kilometers. Further, bypassing the village, and moving along the signs directing us towards Agros, we drive for another ten kilometers. When you pass the sign indicating the name of the village, we hope you slow down to the legal speed limit of 50 km/h. In this case, after a couple of minutes of winding along the Agros road on the right, you cannot help but notice the bluish roof of the sports center that we talked about. Note the turn that will be right behind it, but don't turn now. Just drive another 100 meters from it. At this point, the road will take you to the left, and immediately after the turn there will be the first gourmet point - a deli meat shop. An hour later, when you get out of there, then turn around and move to the turn, which we talked about a little earlier, to move from meat dishes to desserts. We turn to the sports center and move along this road a little less than 300 meters. There, after the next turn to the left, a sweet jam factory is waiting for us. Well, having enjoyed the rich selection of this store, we will go further, but not far. We just drive another hundred meters, where a small parking area near the rose factory is waiting for us around the corner.
Agros village on the map of Cyprus. Agros GPS coordinates
Let's start with the GPS coordinates of the places we talked about today.
34.917400 33.015300 − deli meats
34.915030 33.016730 - sweet treats
34.914500 33.017500 − pink spirit
And now let's see all this on the map of Cyprus.
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I got to the next village of Cyprus, Agros, by going on a one-day tour organized by the newspaper "Bulletin of Cyprus". If you ever have the opportunity to go on an excursion with Lena Nikolaeva, an employee of Vestnik Kipra, try not to miss your chance. Perhaps no one will tell about Cyprus in such an interesting way and at such a highly professional level as Lena does. But something I digress.
The village is located at an altitude of 1100 meters in the Troodos Mountains in the Pitsilia wine region. The mountains of Cyprus are of volcanic origin. The soil here is saturated with various trace elements, which makes it particularly suitable for growing grapes. Agros can be reached from Limassol and Nicosia in 45 minutes. Compared to my favorite villages Kalopanayotis, Lofou and Fini, Agros is a huge metropolis with a population of 840, "high-rise" buildings and its own "Broadway". Of course, I exaggerated a little, but compared to a village in which 50 people live, where all the buildings are no higher than 2 floors, and pedestrians and cars hardly diverge on the streets, Agros will seem like a big city to you. The village has a primary and secondary school, a medical center, two museums, an agricultural educational center, a football field, an indoor basketball court, a local theater, hotels ... I think that the fact that one of the former presidents Cyprus is from Agros. Well, well, one can only be glad for the village and its inhabitants.
Not Broadway alone, as they say. There are streets in Agros no worse than in other mountain villages.
A bit of history
This village of Cyprus arose during the period of iconoclasm. There was such a period in the history of Byzantium from 730 AD. to 843 AD, when the veneration of icons was considered idolatry, and icons, frescoes, sculptures, painted altars were destroyed, often along with the monks who venerated them. It was at this time that 40 monks from the monastery of Megalos Agros, which was located in the town of Kyzikos in Asia Minor, fleeing from the iconoclasts, arrived in Cyprus along with the icon of Panagia Eleusa (Our Lady of Tenderness). For some time they lived in a cave, and then they built a new monastery, which, without further ado, was called Megalos Agros. In 1692, a cholera epidemic raged in Cyprus, which wiped out two-thirds of the island's population. Residents, in order to protect themselves from a deadly disease, moved closer to the monastery walls under the auspices of the Mother of God and founded a settlement, which became known simply as Agros. Gradually, the monastery was empty, and the metropolis began to rent out the monastery premises. This continued until 1894, when the monastery was completely destroyed, and a church was built in its place, named after the icon of Panagia Eleusa. Next to the large church, a chapel was built in 1990, in which you can see a carved altar and icons that have been preserved from the destroyed monastery church. This is a brief history of one of the many churches in Cyprus.
The village has the Frangulidis Museum and the Museum of Folk Art. The first contains the works of the Cypriot artist Solonas Frangulidis, who painted icons for the church of Panagia Eleusa. In the second museum you can find out how olive oil was obtained in the old days.
But our tour to Agros was called "Gourmet Tour", so we started our acquaintance with the village from a local smokehouse. The hosts treated us to their products - lunza, chiromeri, lukanika, poured homemade wine and zivania.
The beginning of the excursion was laid and we cheerfully galloped to the other end of the village to the rose factory, to watch how rose water, oil, liqueurs, soap and other products are produced from damask rose petals.
I have never seen so many roses in any Cypriot village as in Agros. Red and yellow, creeping and curly, bright, luxurious - for every taste.
But the Damascus rose, the only one from which the famous rose oil is produced, looked completely nondescript, Cinderella against the backdrop of her elegant sisters.
This ancient “pepelats”, which has successfully survived to this day, was once used to obtain rose water. Now it is being "fired up" to amuse the venerable public.
The operator of this miracle of technology generously pours rose water on the palms stretched out to him for washing.
There is also a small factory "Nikis" in Agros for the production of traditional Cypriot sweets - jam from fruits and ... vegetables. There, too, they were treated, including freshly brewed jam from rose petals. Wine, however, was not poured.
In any village in Cyprus, and even in the city, you can meet colorful old men sitting on the street next to the cafe (a cafe is a kind of coffee house where only men gather), discussing local problems or playing backgammon. In the tiny village of Vavatsinya, the café is located in the village's only tiny square, so that seated old men take up the entire roadway. When a car approaches, the old men, along with their chairs, crawl away to the side, and then return to their original positions. But in Agros there is enough space for everyone: for cars, pedestrians and sitting old people.
