Frenaros

The village of Frenaros is located in the southeastern part of the island of Cyprus and belongs to the complex of sixteen kokkinochoria, or else red villages of the Famagusta province, and it is situated about 16 kilometers away from Ayia Napa.

Built at an altitude of about 80 meters, a small part of the northern part of the village of Frenaros is today part of the territory of the British bases of St. Nicholas.

The predominant version regarding the origins of the name of the village of Frenaros is that it came from the Freres Mineurs, the Franciscan Latin monks who had the monastery of Panagia (Virgin Mary) Hortakiotissa in the area. Their order was called the Little Brothers, which in French translated to Freres Mineurs, while the Greeks called them Frerides. Another version regarding the village’s name indicates that there were many monasteries and monks in the area. Indeed, the place name Frenaria in French means an area which is inhabited by monks. Another tradition claims that the name of the village was given to it by its founders, the twin brothers Frenaroi, or that the village had many wells, from the word frear that means "well, the shaft", or even that the inhabitants of the village had good frenes, meaning that its people were prudent.

A local woman recounts the story of her grandfather, who, as he said, left the “Hortatzia” to escape from the pirates that raided them and came to live in the present-day Frenaro which cannot be seen at all from the sea. Many elderly people in the area believe that if one pays attention, one can still find signs of the pits that the inhabitants excavated back then in order to hide from the pirates, while the younger ones promote their use for the storage of wheat and barley.

The village of Frenaros has been inhabited since the prehistoric years, as is evident by a Neolithic settlement that was excavated there. Northwest of the village, there are remains of a settlement which is considered by the archaeologists to be one of the most representative of the whole of the pre-ceramic period, dating from 7000-5300 BC. According to Venetian documents there were two villages: there were Kato Frenaro and Pano Frenaro, and when one of the two settlements was deserted, only the name Frenaros remained.

Other attractions in Frenaro are the bust of the fighter Fotis Pitta, the fallen and missing people of 1974, the traditional architectural houses, with the most remarkable and unique being “Hadtzifanis House”that dates back to 1919, and the many windmills.

In the village of Frenaros there is a Municipal School, as well as the Panou Ioannou High School and Fotis Pitta Lyceum which serve the entire community of the kokkinochoria.

A large number of small Byzantine churches can be found in Frenaros, two of which date back to the 12th century, the Archangel Michael and Agios Andronikos, which operates once a year. The village has 7 chapels, the most famous of which is Panagia (Virgin Mary) Asprovouniotissa.

The inhabitants of the village of Frenaros are engaged in agriculture and livestock farming, and many work in the tourist industry in Ayia Napa and Protaras.

In Frenaro, the Pancyprian Watermelon Festival has been held every summer, for the past few years.