Galataria

Galataria of Cyprus is a village in the province of Paphos and it is situated 33 km northeast of the homonymous city, 66 km northwest of Limassol and 162 km southwest of Nicosia.

Built at an altitude of 730 meters among dense vineyards and very close to the Paphos forest, Galataria of the few dozen inhabitants, consists of stone-built houses located between the narrow streets of the village.

The settlement was mixed until 1963, inhabited by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, but with the intercommunal riots of the 1960s, the latter settled in Vretsia until they finally moved to the occupied northern areas of Cyprus.

The name of the village is linked to the central church of the community, that of Panagia (Virgin Mary) Galatousa, who was the protector of women who could not produce enough milk for their newborn babies (gala in Greek means milk, and so the Virgin Mary is Gala-tousa). The most important religious attraction in Galataria is the old stone-built and frescoed chapel of Agios Nikolaos, built in a quiet verdant location 5 km south and outside of the village. The small vaulted and stone-built church dating back to the end of the 16th century has two entrances and is adorned with frescoes in the arch, the eastern part and the western wall. Some of the beautiful frescoes represent the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) standing up and praying, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, the 12 Apostles, as well as the hierarchs Cyril, Epiphany, Chrysostom, Vasilios, Gregory the Theologian and Spyridon.

Within walking distance of the community, there is also the famous Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery and the Holy Monastery of Paphos, two of the most important monasteries in the province. Chrysorrogiatissa is located about 6 kilometers north of Galataria and 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 admire the miraculous icon. The Holy Monastery of Paphos is 5 kilometers north of the village and is one of the most ancient religious sites of the island 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), which was dedicated to goddess Hera.

Galataria shares borders with Kilinia (1km), Stato-Agios Fotios (3km) and is very close to Vretsia (5km) and Pentalia (4km).