Stavrokonou

Stavrokonou is a village in the province of Paphos in Cyprus and it is situated 26 kilometers east of the homonymous city, 63 kilometers northwest of Limassol and 124 kilometers southwest of Nicosia.

Situated at an altitude of 410 meters and surrounded by a wild mountainous landscape with wildflowers, carob trees, May-trees and almond trees, the small settlement of Stavrokonou with its dense vineyards and wild vegetation, is one of the ampelochoria (wine-producing villages) of Cyprus. The settlement, preserving its traditional architecture, consists of small and now ruined stone-built houses. The village was once one of the largest and most populous Turkish Cypriot settlements in the province, with few Greek Cypriot residents.

In the community, the abandoned church of the Timios Stavros (Holy Cross) and the Muslim mosque of the village remind of the cultural and historical past of the place, which went through a very difficult period, that of the intercommunal riots of 1963-64.

There are a few Greek Cypriots loving in the village who have arrived here since the Turkish invasion of 1974 and the mutual exchange of populations. The Turkish Cypriots, respectively, moved to the Turkish-occupied areas to the north of the island, while the Greek Cypriots of those areas settled as refugees in free Cyprus.

At 7.5 km northeast of the community, there is the church of Panagia of Sindi, one of the most original examples of monastic architecture in Cyprus, which belongs to the UNESCO Protection List. Panagia of Sindi today constitutes an open museum and archaeological site of great historical and archaeological value.