Ayia Napa is located near the Cape Greco, in the area “Kokinochoria” (red villages), derived from the red soil in this area. The name Ayia Napa means “Holy Forest”. In ancient times this area was unoccupied and covered by a big forest.
As a legend tells one time a hunter came here to hunt. He was surprised when his dog, that was chasing a rabbit, suddenly disappeared. The dog didn’t give up the chase and reached a cave. His continuous and excited barking brought the hunter to the opening of the cave. He stood still, surprised, when he found the icon of the Virgin Mary which soon became famous all over the island. The icon was probably put there in the 8th or 9th century to secure it. After it was discovered they left the icon in the same place and named it Virgin Mary of Ayia Napa. The inhabitants of the nearby villages held services in this cave to worship the Holy Mary. The place though remained unoccupied until the 15th century when a young noble lady from Venice, who lived in Famagusta, visited the area. The maiden, distressed that her parents would not give her the consent to her marriage to a commoner, abandoned her home and she found retreat at this very place where she built a chapel, and a few monastic cells. That’s how the monastery was founded. The monastery as it is nowadays, was built around 1500 but a cave in the church shows that long before religious services were held here. During the age of the Venetians (1489 -1570) the monastery became very famous, it played an important role and gained great prosperity. It was also able to survive the persecutions by the Turks during the Ottoman period. In the year 1668, until then only nuns had inhabited the monastery, it became a Monks-Monastery. As from 1758 the organised monk life was broken off and since then only every now and then monks are living here. According to the history, until 1790 no people lived in the immediate vicinity of Ayia Napa. The first inhabitants were 20 men from Salonika and through their successors Ayia Napa was founded.
Nowadays, with its beautiful, golden Sandy Beaches and crystal clear waters, Ayia Napa became a important Tourist Center. Here mainly, young tourists like to spend their time in comfortable tavernas, Discos and bars, Cinema or the Marinelife Museum, or trying themselves at the different Watersport-facilities. |
Square in Ayia Napa
Ayia Napa beach
