Kritou Terra

Kritou Terra is a village in the province of Paphos in Cyprus and it is situated 32 kilometers north of the homonymous city, 93 kilometers northwest of Limassol and 141 kilometers southwest of Nicosia.

Situated in the area of ​​Laona, as the wider area is called and in a landscape surrounded by high mountain peaks and to the north overlooking the Gulf of Chrysochous, Kritou Terra is built at an altitude of 465 meters, is one of the ampelochoria (wine-producing villages of Cyprus) of the island and is considered one of the most beautiful and picturesque villages of the province.

With a rich and long history that it has been part of for centuries, today it attracts many locals and foreigners who want to enjoy the sights, the drinking fountains, the many churches and the beautiful natural surroundings that engulf it. An area that is a pioneer in many aspects and original achievements, Kritou Terra is a carrier of culture and tradition for Cyprus. It was the second village in the number of watermills on the island (with 15 watermills), the first village in the province and perhaps the first in Cyprus that founded its own elementary school in 1796. Here the first homonymous casino opened on the island during the Ottoman domination in the 19th century and here were born some of the most important personalities who played a leading role in the history of the place.

The community owes its name to a two-word synthesis. The first composite comes from the name of the first settler of the village and feudal lord Erotokritos, while during the years of the Frankish rule, the Franks who turned the village into a feud, added the terra composite (terra means land in Latin). Another version states that on old maps it is listed as “Critou” and “Terra”, presuming that initially there were two different villages, which eventually merged. A third version refers to the carved caves of the area, referring to the fact that the word Kritou derives from the Franco word “la grotte” which means caves, while the word Terra, from the Latin “terra”.

The village is the birthplace of three great figures who lived during the Ottoman domination, the dragoman Hadtziiosif, the dragoman Hadtzigeorgakis Kornesios, who was the most important dragoman of the island and the Archbishop Damaskinos. Other personalities from Kritou Terra are the E.O.K.A. hero Savvas Petrides and Christodoulos Michael Tzipouras, one of the greatest poets on the island and many others. After the intercommunal riots of 1963, the few Turkish Cypriot residents left the Greek-Cypriot community, while the urbanisation of the 1970s and the abandonment of the lake mines in which many residents worked, contributed to the decline of the population, and as a result the community now numbers no more than 70 inhabitants.

Wandering around Kritou Terra, visitors have many places of interest to visit that will meet every taste and cover every field, such as natural, religious, archaeological, cultural sights and more.

The settlement had been important since antiquity, as on the basis of some findings of 2010, such as a small childhood statue in Saint Evsevios (or else Saint Evresios), the area had been inhabited since the Roman era. Today, the existence of a Roman military camp beside the water source and the existence of a settlement has been confirmed, while ancient carved tombs were found in the locations of ​​Agia Irini and in Selli, as well as a subterranean aqueduct that was connected to the source of Agios Evsevios.

The stone-made fountain stone with the six carved faucets at the entrance of the village, a very beautiful spot to take a break, was built in 1908 and was the fourth largest in Cyprus and the third largest in volumes of water, from which the entire community was irrigated as well as the large orchards of the village, while it also moved 4 of the 15 flour mills and reached all the way to the troughs for the laundry. Next to it is the cave, which is 50 meters long and 2 meters high, where, according to tradition, flowed a lot of water and which was connected with the cave of St. Eusebius.

To the north of the settlement and north of the Kremiotis and Mylari rivers, the ruins of the watermills that grated wheat and barley can be found, which used to serve the inhabitants also of the neighboring villages. The laundry is a specially designed area with six circular rock openings for the housewives to wash clothes and it was used until the 1960s. On Tuesdays, women used to bathe in the troughs, and so they closed the entrance and it was forbidden for men to cross the area. Today, the stone trough and the underground burrow that transported water to the laundry are still preserved.

At the northeastern end of the village, there is the river Kremmiotis, through which water flows mainly during the winter months and forms the waterfall Kremmioti, while in the area of ​​Tzimenos, 100 meters north of the chapel of Agia Paraskevi, one can find the homonymous watermills that were restored in 1992. The primary school, next to the church, was built in 1850 and today houses the Foundation for Environmental Studies of Kritou Terra, while the Hadzigeorgakis Kornesios House is also nearby, an old stone-built building with light blue wooden windows.

The main church of the village is dedicated to Panagia Chryseleousa, a basilica of the early 19th century that once had 7 domes. In fact, the church was built in 1804 by Hadzigeorgakis Kornesios, who donated portable icons to decorate its iconostasis.

An important attraction is also the restored Franco-Byzantine church of Agia Aikaterini Fytevkias dating back to the 15th century, and located some 3 kilometers from the village, which is operated once a year on the day of the celebration of the saint. Among the 20 more chapels situated in Kritou Terra stand out the ones dedicated to Agia Paraskevi, Prophet Elias, Agios Georgios (there are 4 dedicated to the same saint), Agios Theodoros, Agios Evsevios, Agia Irini, Agia Afinia, Agios Ioannis, Agia Kournouta and the Agies Petres.

The Hero Monument is dedicated to Georgios D. Poyatzis who fell during the Turkish invasion of 1974, and there is also a small park with a playground dedicated to the hero.

Completing the village’s tour, guests can relax and enjoy their coffee in the cafeteria and the traditional cafe that doubles as a grocery store, or eat in the tavern on the new square of the village that serves fresh meat and souvlaki (meat on a spit). For those who want to extend their stay in the area, there is cheap agrotouristic accommodation offering all the comforts and amenities.