Amargeti
Amargeti is a village in the province of Paphos and it is located 25 kilometers northeast of Paphos, 71 kilometers northwest of Limassol and 131 kilometers southwest of Nicosia.
Built at an altitude of 390 meters and on lands along the flow of the river Ezousa to the west and Xeropotamos (or Asprokremos) to the east, Amargeti is part of the ambelochoria (wine-producing villages), producing many varieties of wines as well as zivania (a Cypriot pomace brandy). In addition to the vineyards, almonds, olives, grain crops, apple trees, pear trees and peach trees thrive in the area.
In the interior of the settlement there are buildings of the traditional local architecture, made of wood and stone, stone drinking fountains and narrow streets. Combining the atmosphere of the countryside with the proximity of the urban centers, the village will impress its visitor with the sights of nature, the churches and the archaeological site of the area.
Amargeti has existed since the Middle Ages and during the Frankish and later Venetian times it was a royal feud. The name of the village is probably associated with the female Frankish name “Amargueti”, which was very common in the court of the Lusignan kings.
Actually, the habitation of the area dates back to antiquity, as the findings of the excavations brought to light figurines, vases, sculptures and inscriptions on the bases of statues of the Hellenistic and Roman times. The most important one is an inscription of the 1st century BC which was on a marble stand and was found at the location “Petros Anthropos” and on a statue dedicated by Timagoras as a oblation for his son. As it appears from other inscriptions-oblations, there was a temple dedicated to God Apollo the Melanthios, who, according to sources, “healed the sick with a herb produced from the melanthio, a type of plant called Nigella sativa.” In the most modern history of the place, until 1958 the community was a mixed village, with a minority of Turkish Cypriot inhabitants, who finally abandoned the area that year and thus the community became purely Greek Cypriot.
Of the most important places of interest in Amargeti is the central square with the paved courtyard, the community council building, the Monument of the Fallen and the tall eucalypti. There, in the heart of the community, local and foreign guests can enjoy their coffee or their food in the traditional cafes and taverns, while for those who want to stay, there is a guest-tavern offering comfortable accommodation with all the amenities.
The local winery offers a guided tour of its beautiful grounds, a free tasting of wine accompanied by cheese and nuts and the chance to buy bottles of local wine (dry and semi-dry red Ayia Sotira, Mataro, Livades, Xynisteri). In addition to the local and foreign varieties that come out of family vineyards, zivania aged in oak barrels is also produced.
At the entrance of the village is the park dedicated to the 121 victims of the Helios airplane crash of 14 August 2005 in Grammatiko of Attica, which was inaugurated by the former Minister of Communications and Constructions Charis Thrasos that same year.
The main church is dedicated to Zoodochos Pigi and was built at the end of the 19th century (1888-1890), at the foundations of an earlier temple. The Byzantine-style building with a dome and a beautiful wood-carved iconostasis of 1908 was reconstructed after the earthquake that struck Paphos in 1953. Another temple in Amargeti is the chapel of Agios Georgios of 2002, built to the east of the village, while impressive is the fact that at fifty meters and on a steep cliff, there is a cave with wall paintings of the saint.
The ruins of the chapel of Agios Agathonikos, which has been declared an ancient monument by the Department of Antiquities, are located in the cemetery of the church.
The most important points of interest, though, are the Amargeti Museum of Folk Art in the western part of the village, which is housed in the restored Turkish Cypriot school and which showcases exhibits of traditional professions and household utensils and furniture that transport the visitor to the olden times of the Cypriot countryside, as well as the Amargeti Museum of Photography with rich material from life in the village and the rural occupations.
Nature is one of the most admirable sights that the visitor will enjoy, coming to this small community. The small but impressive Bridge of Routhouni is located about 1 kilometer southwest of the village, at the “Zimbunieris” location, and it is a stone bridge built during the Frankish domination that connects Amargeti with the neighboring Eledio. The “Vota tou Piterou” to the east and just fifty meters from the road that connects the community with Agia Marina Kelokedaron, is the point where until 1930 water was constantly flowing, which the inhabitants of the village used for drinking and in order to wash their clothes. The gorge to the east with the dense pine forest goes all the way to Agia Marina and to Kelokedara. The Circular Nature Trail of Amargeti offers a beautiful tour of these natural local attractions and it begins from the central square of the community, covering a distance of about 5 kilometers and moving around the gorge. From the idyllic viewing platform with the benches and a gazebo, the visitor enjoys a panoramic view of the area of the path, including the area that extends to the southeast. From there, various traditional crops dominated by the olive and carob trees, are visible.
The monuments to the fallen are dedicated to the fighters and missing persons of the village from the EOKA struggle against the English in 1955-59 and the Turkish invasion of 1974. The one, as mentioned above, is located in the square of the village (Arestis Panagiotou and Socratis Evangelous) and the other in the courtyard of the church (Giannakis Georgiou and Athanasios Georgiou).
At a very close distance from the community, you will also find the famous Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery (13 km) and the Holy Monastery of Paphos (12 km), two of the most important monasteries in the province. 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 every year in order to see the 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.