Psematismenos

Psematismenos is one of the villages of the Larnaca district in Cyprus and it is situated 36 km southwest of Larnaca, 59 kilometers southeast of Nicosia and 36 kilometers west of Limassol.

A small community built 120 meters above sea level and on a hillside full of olive and carob trees, Psematismenos is a quiet village with stone-paved streets, stone-built houses with wooden balconies, beautiful churches and a rich historical past.

Two are the most prevalent versions regarding the origins of the name of the village. The first one speaks of the corruption of the original Gypsomatismenos (a place with gypsum), due to the many gypsum deposits in the area. The second version refers to an incident dating back to the times of the Ottoman domination. According to tradition, Ali, a Turkish tax collector who came to the village from Larnaca, had been housed in the house of the mouchtaris (the president of the village) and attempted to rape one of his daughters. The mouchtaris finally killed Ali and threw his body into a ravine. When the Turks later sought the missing tax collector, the villagers replied that they did not know anything about what might have happened to him. Their claims were not believed by the Turks who subsequently named the village a psefto chori (in Greek this means lying village). From this incident comes the name of the village (psefto chori = Psematismenos). As a matter of fact, to this day there is an area in the village with high cliffs called “Piali”, that is “where Ali went”.

In the center of the village the view is dominated by the church of Agia Marina, an imposing architectural creation of the 15th century, while in the area the visitor will also find the chapels of Agios Andronikos and Agios Athanasios.

Part of the sightseeing for the visitor of Psematismenos is also the park of natural vegetation with the olive trees (called locally fragkoelies, meaning the olive trees of the Franks), the huge century old olive trees that have existed since the Frankish era.

The village has several beautiful tourist accommodation options that offer relaxation and tranquility and is an ideal getaway for those who want to enjoy the natural beauties away from the bustling cities, while the beach of Agios Theodoros and Zygi, a picturesque fishing village, are very close to visit by car.