Lefkara Cyprus: is it worth going?

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Lefkara Cyprus: is it worth going?

Pano Lefkara (Greek: Πάνω Λεύκαρα) is a village on the island of Cyprus famous for its lace, known as lefkaritika in (Greek: λευκαρίτικα) and silver handicrafts. The village takes its name from the white of its silica and limestone: Lefkara is derived from a combination of the Greek words “lefka” (Greek: λευκά, Translation: white) and “ori” (Greek: όρη, Translation: mountains, hills).[1] It has been listed among “The 30 most beautiful towns in Europe” by the Japanese Association of Travel Agents.[2]

Historical overview

Concise presentation of Pano Lefkara
Antiquity to the end of the Ottoman period
The Neolithic archaeological remains found in the village are proof that the region around Pano Lefkara has been inhabited uninterruptedly for many centuries. The first historical testimony of the existence of Pano Lefkara with its present-day name is found in the testament of Saint Neophytos, born in 1134 in the village of Kato Drys near Pano Lefkara, when Cyprus was part of the Byzantine Empire. The house, which consists of just a single room, where Saint Neophytos met with his wife-to-be the night before he ran away to become a monk, still stands. Although a newer house has been built around it, it is now unoccupied and owned by Mrs. Maritsa Kallou. During the Frankish and Venetian period (1191-1571) Pano Lefkara became a fiefdom. In the 16th century, it was the largest town in Cyprus. From 1571 to 1878 Cyprus was occupied by the Turks. Most of the houses conserved today in the village date from this period. The bare stone façades with few openings, the layout of rooms around an inner courtyard and the flat rammed-earth roofs are typical elements of the architecture of Pano Lefkara until the late 19th century.

British period and independence

Elementary school
In 1878, Cyprus came under British Administration, following the Cyprus Convention and the Treaty of Berlin of that year. Starting in the early 20th century, the commercialisation of local embroidery sold all over Europe by the people of Pano Lefkara produced major changes. Dating from this period are the two-storey houses with shops on their ground floors, sloping ceramic tiled roofs and long balconies running the length of main façades rendered in coloured plaster and decorated with period neoclassical architectural elements.21 nil

World War II interrupted the sale of embroidery, which never recovered. The shortage of work forced inhabitants to emigrate en masse and in the 1930s half of the village of Pano Lefkara was left uninhabited.

Historically, the town had a mixed population, consisting of a majority of Greek Cypriots and a minority of Turkish Cypriots. The 1946 census recorded a population of 2,530 Greek Cypriots and 473 Turkish Cypriots, totalling 3,003. A number of residents of Pano Lefkara migrated overseas in the 1950s, such that by 1960, the total population had dropped to 2,075, with 1,714 Greek Cypriots and 361 Turkish Cypriots. Around 400 Turkish Cypriots fled from the village and were displaced to the nearby Kofinou during the intercommunal violence in December 1963-January 1964. They were displaced once again to Northern Cyprus following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, being resettled to the village of Agios Theodoros (Çayırova).[7] These displaced residents hold on to the culture of Pano Lefkara, and a Pano Lefkara House where the weaving of the Pano Lefkara lace is taught functions in Agios Theodoros.[8]

Tourism began to develop in the 1970s, saving Pano Lefkara from economic ruin. With traditional architecture still intact, embroidery and artisan silverwork attracted tourists.