Paphos Beach.
During one of our many holidays on the sunny Island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean we visited The Kykkos Monastery up in the Troodos mountains.
At the time we were staying at the popular Paphos area, you will see Paphos on the bottom left of the map and The Troodos Mountains, nearby where The Kykkos Monastery is situated.
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Outer entrance to the monastery. |
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Inner court entrance to the monastery. |
The Kykkos Monastery looks quite ordinary from the outside but once you get to the inner sanctum the opulence is quite breath taking. It is the richest and most lavish in Cyprus, and is situated at an altitude of 1318 metres on the north west face of the Troodos Mountains .
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A row of icons where people line up an make their pleas then kiss the icon. |
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Mosaic depiction of The Virgin Mary with the child Jesus |
Dedicated to Panagia, (a term for a particular type of icon of the Theotokas) The actual icon of The Virgin Mary is covered in silver gilt and is in a shrine made of tortoise shell and mother-of-pearl, it stands directly in front of the Iconostasis. It is never looked at and remains hidden behind a protective covering. It is said whoever looks at it will be blinded.
The Troodos Mountains Cyprus.
We stopped at this mountain village, (on the left) for lunch, view to the right from where we were sitting.Throughout the centuries the village people in the mountains have revered the icon and have attributed miracles to it's presence. It is said St Luke the Apostle painted and carried it from the Emperor's Palace in Constantinople at his request to place it on the site where the new Kykkos Monastery was to be commemorated.
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