Ormidia
Ormidia is a village situated in the Larnaca province, located 25 km northeast of Larnaca, 78 km east of Nicosia and 90 km northeast of Limassol.
One of the kokkinochoria villages, the villages with the characteristic reddish fertile soil that has given its name to these areas, Ormidia is built in the valley of ancient Ormidia and very close to the British military base of Dhekelia.
The name of the village has to do with the many bays that it has on its coastal line (ormos means bay in Greek) and it was widely known as “the village of Pomegranates” for its large production of pomegranates. In fact, here is held every year the Ormidia Pomegranate Festival.
Ormidia has been inhabited since ancient times (early 8th century BC) and until the Early Christian era it was a large settlement. Archaeological findings from the area include the remains of settlements, temples, cemeteries, clay pots, statues, jewelery, coins and various tools made of stone, copper and iron. The graves of the cemeteries had been sacked in the past and today many of the finds are exhibited in museums abroad.
In the present area of Pidkiavlis, the most ancient settlement was found, while on the hillside there is a large cemetery dating back to the Geometric and Archaic times, as well as in the current area of Vattenas, northwest of the village. Settlements were also found at the Vathi River (northwest of the center of the village) and around the chapel of Agios Georgios of Agonas, northeast of the present village.
After excavations, it appears that the settlement in the center of the present village continued to exist until the Roman and Early Christian periods, as because of the Arab raids and the possible filling of the harbor, the settlement had moved inland, within the area.
The church of Agios Konstantinos Alamanos and Agioi Anargyri (Kosmas and Damianos) is located in the center of the village. Previously there were two small churches, but in 1901 a single church was built in their place. There is also a chapel and a cave, the holy cave, as the locals call it, just outside the village where St. Constantine the Alamanos or Ormithias lived. In this cave also used to run a holy spring. His grave is situated beneath the Holy Altar in the sanctuary of the church. The Saint celebrates together with the Saints Anargyroi on July 1st.
In Ormidia the community park “To Rodi” was built in 1982 and it is a green area with a playground and an open theater for the village’s events, while the settlement is adorned with an imposing monument dedicated to the fallen and the missing people from the Turkish invasion of 1974.
The approximately 4,000 residents of Ormidia, of whom 30% are refugees who have been living in the village since 1974, are currently engaged in agriculture, livestock farming, fishing and the tourist industry of Larnaca, Ayia Napa and Protaras. Livestock farming is growing steadily and strongly, making the settlement one of the largest livestock villages, in the Kokkinochoria and the province. In the area there is a power plant and a desalination plant, as well as crafting factories, supermarkets, pharmacies, kiosks, a bookstore, a hospital, a post office, cafes, banks, clinics, various shops and other businesses.