Agios Ioannis Paphou

Agios Ioannis Paphou is a village in the province of Paphos and it is located 42 kilometers northeast of the homonymous city, 56 kilometers northwest of Limassol and 107 kilometers southwest of Nicosia.

Very close to Salamiou (4 km), Mesana (5 km) and Arminou (5 km) and built at an altitude of 650 meters, Agios Ioannis Paphou is located near the Diarizo river and on the route leading to the mountains of the emblematic Troodos.

The community was a purely Turkish Cypriot village before the Turkish invasion of 1974. According to the tradition, the name of the area is associated with Agios Ioannis (Saint John) of Kaliergous who was born nearby and lived in the first half of the twelfth century (1100-1150 AD). Performing many miracles, he was proclaimed Saint after his death and was buried in his birthplace of Malounta in Paphos, where the inhabitants built a church in his name, keeping his holy relics. After the occupation of Cyprus by the Turks in 1571, the village was fully occupied by the invaders, and as a result the temple was abandoned and the remains were lost. However, its Turkish Cypriot inhabitants continued to worship in the ruined church until they were moved to the Turkish-occupied northern areas of Cyprus after the invasion of 1974. Agios Ioannis (Saint John) of Kaliergous was the founder and first abbot of the Saint Savvas Monastery of Karonos near the village Prastio of Trachipedoula, while later he became Bishop of Paphos.

Near the village of Agios Ioannis Paphou, at about 13 kilometers, the famous Hasaboulion Rocks or “Kourtelorotsos” are situated, an impressive natural landscape with massive stones of recrystallized limestone of coral origin, dominating the landscape almost in the middle of the road. A living legend that survives to this day and was a source of fear for the inhabitants and the passers-by during the British occupation, Hasaboulia was a family of Turkish Cypriots who came from the Episkopi of Limassol and during the British occupation they moved to neighboring Mamonia. The Rocks of Hasaboulia is the point where the three brothers hid and attacked passers-by. Today it is a popular location for climbing enthusiasts and it is found on the road shortly after Kouklia and on the old road that connects Mamonia with Agios Georgios Paphou, Trachipedoula and Kidasi.

Within walking distance to the northwest of the community, you will find the famous Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery (15 kilometers) and the Holy Monastery of Paphos (14 kilometers), two of the most important monasteries in the province. The Monastery of Chrysorrogiatissa is a magnificent building complex that was founded in the 12th century and is a place of pilgrimage for many local and foreign visitors (mainly from Russia), who come here in the thousands per year to see their miraculous icon. The Holy Monastery is also one of the most ancient religious sites, since it was built in 300 AD. on the ruins of an ancient Greek temple of the king of Paphos Nicocles (374 / 373-361 BC), and it was dedicated to Hera.