Mirmikofou

Mirmikofou is one of the abandoned villages of the Paphos province in Cyprus, located about 35 kilometers north of the homonymous capital and about 7 kilometers from Polis Chrysochous.

According to the State Archive of Venice, Mirmikofou was a Byzantine settlement and was owned by the Venetian feudal lord, Ioannis Bragadin, who had inherited the village from his ancestors. At some point, he decided to sell all his feuds in order to financially boost his daughters’ families in Venice – a common practise at the time.

Apparetnly, most of the inhabitants of Mirmikofou, seem to have embraced Islam, and those who remained Christians created the nearby settlement, Steni Paphou. The mixed settlement of Mirmicodu, as it was previously known, was abandoned only in 1946, which is confirmed by an inscription on the eastern wall, to the north of the arch of the church of Agia Marina. This stately, stone-made church with the16th-century frescoes offers the best panoramic view of the area and is the only living proof of the past of the settlement.

Finally, Mirmikofou is located between the village of Pelathousa and Agios Isidoros Paphou, while the old monastery of Panagia Chryssolakourna is also nearby.