Potamia

Potamia is situated 18 kilometers southeast of the capital of the homonymous province in Cyprus and it is about 30 kilometers away from Larnaca, 75 kilometers southwest of Limassol, and almost 150 kilometers from Paphos.

Of the 48 mixed villages that existed in Cyprus in 1970, today only two remain. Potamia, together with Pyla, is one of the two settlements bordered by the dead zone and located within walking distance from the “Green Line”.

Situated on the eastern bank of the Gialia river, which gave the settlement its modern name (which remains the same from the distant Middle Ages), Potamia is built at about 200 meters altitude and stands out for its fertile land. The tall eucalypti of the community welcome the visitor, while its olives, citrus fruits, vegetables, and grain crops give him picture-perfect memories.

The history of Potamia begins already in prehistoric times, as is confirmed by its relationship with the neighboring settlement of Dali and the findings of the ancient kingdom of Idalion, to which the village used to belong in the past. More specifically, in 1933 in the area “Ellines” was found a crowned head of the god Apollo, which is today kept in the Nicosian Archaeological Museum of Cyprus. The settlement seems to have existed since Byzantine times, while during the Frankish period it was owned by the royal family of the Lusignans, and in general the settlement seems to have attracted at times several kings, such as the Queen of Cyprus, Ekaterini Kornaro (1474- 1489). Additional examples include King Peter II (1369-1382), who built his country mansion – of which only a few ruins are preserved, and later the same building was the favorite shelter of the successor of King Peter II, but also of King Jacob I (1382-1398), while for a short while around June 1426, the Cypriot King Janus (1398-1432) settled in Potamia in order to attack the Mameluks of Egypt. That year, the settlement was completely destroyed by the Saracens. During the Ottoman domination (1570-1571), the village came to be a part of the royal estates, resulting in many of its medieval buildings being destroyed. In the most recent history of the settlement, and in the 1990s, the inhabitants of Potamia participated in rapprochement efforts between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities.

In addition to the bustling history, the village has several important cultural attractions, including the Church of the Holy Cross (18th century), which emerges about 300 meters from the main square of the settlement, as well as the “Kapnistirio” a room where the local tobacco was being processed in the 1950s.

There is no accommodation in Potamia, but several local taverns serve traditional dishes such as ofto and kleftiko (lamb in the oven). The community also has stadiums, a kindergarten and an elementary school, several monuments of Heroes (such as the one outside the listed building of the community council), the chapel of Agios Neophytos (northwest of the settlement), and the church of Agia Marina – the only medieval attraction in the region, which is located just before the end of the settlement with the outpost of the National Guard, and the land mines.

Finally, between the ruined settlement of Agios Sozanos, the homonymous Gothic chapel and the cave of Osios and the occupied village of Louroutzina, Potamia has never ceased to be an example of a small but developed society, indicating a separate way of life for the people of Cyprus after the Turkish invasion of 1974.