Akaki
Akaki is a village in the Nicosia province in Cyprus and it is situated 30 kilometers west of Nicosia, 68 kilometers northwest of Larnaca, 80 kilometers north of Limassol and 125 kilometers northeast of Paphos.
Built at an altitude of 210 meters, with its homonymous river and centenarian olive trees surrounding it, and next to a beautiful dam, Akaki of the approximately 3,000 inhabitants is a beautiful settlement with developed livestock farming, cultivated land (olives, grain, vegetables, watermelons, potatoes) and many interesting natural landscapes. The development of the area is evident from the coexistence of traditional houses and buildings of modern architecture, from the constant growth of the population, but also from the operation in the settlement of a kindergarten, an elementary school, a high school, a medical center, a veterinary, a post office, banks and various shops.
At the “Katokremmos” site one can find sea fossils, at the Akakiou-Malounta dam of the Serrachi river there are two river reservoirs, while in the area there are also stone drinking fountains and two stone bridges, as well as the half-ruined “Tower of Franks” standing since the Frankish rule near the elementary school and chapel of Agia Barbara. Two of the olive mills that opperated until the 1920s and 1930s are also preserved in Akaki and consist of a stone and a basin, which was rotated with the help of an animal or human. These are the Chatziantoni Mill in the heart of the old village and the Yakoumis Mill. An important attraction is the ruins of watermills that drew water from the Akakios River, Paliomilli in the area of Piskopos-Anagia, the Mill of Tsigi in the Pyrgos-Pervolia area, the Myloui, the Papa-Nikolaos Mill and the Hoja Mill, a flour mill that has now been transformed into a museum.
The existence of many rivers and a lot of water in Akaki forced its inhabitants in the past to dig out burrows, a chain of underground wells with a total length of 17 kilometers and a depth of 30 meters. In order to open the burrows that fed the wider area, they used kouspo (sharp spatulas), shovel, zebili and alakati and are nowadays known to locals with local names (“Merikas water”, “Frangomatou water”, “KoutsoDimitrous water”, “The water of Pigadia or Hadji-Fanies”, “The water of the Tsigides”, “The water of Papa-Loizou and Panaou”, “Hodja water”, “Hadzikonstantinou’s water”, “to kalokerino to kato”, “the water of Avlona”).
The name of the village is associated with the name of the first settler of the region, Akakios, a common name during the Byzantine years, while during the Frankish rule it was a royal feudal estate. As a larger settlement it was founded by King Henry. As a matter of fact, the various stone tools, vases, pieces of processed stones, tombs, amphoras, clay figurines and vases dating from 1900 to 1500 BC and found in the area “Vournes” and “Trounali”, in the area of Menoki, in the settlement “Chalopetra tis Kokkinis tou Kalogirou”, in “Chalopetra ton Pigadion”, indicate that the area has been inhabited since ancient times. Regarding the most modern history of the place, the community was mixed, inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, up to the 1960s and the first intercommunal riots. The mosque of the village is preserved in a good state, reminding of the past of coexistence in the area. Two years after the Turkish invasion of 1974, Akaki, like many other villages of free Cyprus, welcomed Greek Cypriot refugees arriving from the northern occupied areas of the island.
Regarding places of pilgrimage and religious attractions, Akaki can boast many temples and churches. The main church is Panagia (Virgin Mary) Chryseleoussa, built in the late 20th century at the point where a homonymous church, built in the 16th century, was demolished in 1977. The church of Metamorphosis of Sotira (Transfiguration of Christ) is located in the south of the village and was built in 1906, while before the icon depicting the Transfiguration was found in the area of Chalopetra around 1880-1900. The chapel of Archangel Michael was built in 2010 and the chapel of Agia Varvara situated near the "Tower of Franks” was built in the 1940s. The chapel of Apostle Paul is located in the orchard of Hodja, the chapel of Agia Paraskevi at the homonymous location. The religious landscape of Akaki is completed with the chapel of Agios Dimitrianos and Agios Georgios next to the local high school.