Fikardou

Fikardou had almost emptied by the 1970s, and rather than let it fall down the state declared the whole village an ancient monument and restored it as it stood: two-storey houses of stone with timber upper floors, wooden balconies, tiled roofs and cobbled lanes, with almost no modern intrusion. Two of the houses, the Katsinioros and Achilleas Dimitri houses, are open as museums with their original fittings, presses and looms. A handful of people live here; the rest is empty by design.

Background

Fikardou, Fikardu in Turkish, has kept the traditional character of a medieval settlement. It lies on the Troodos Mountains, on their north eastern slopes, and is reached by two roads, one from Klirou and one from Kalo Chorio Klirou. The traditional village of Lazanias and the Machairas Monastery are both nearby, and under the Komnenos dynasty (1081-1185) Fikardou belonged administratively to that monastery. Only 3 residents were recorded in 2001. The Department of Antiquities owns the whole village, which has been proposed as a candidate World Heritage Site.

Source: Wikipedia, "Fikardou"

What to look for

• The house museums - two eighteenth-century houses open with original fittings.
• The timber upper floors - the local building method, stone below and wood above.
• The cobbled lanes - the village street pattern preserved intact.
• The emptiness - a village kept as it was rather than repopulated.

When to go

April to November is comfortable. The museums keep limited hours and close on some days, so checking ahead matters. Weekends bring visitors from Nicosia.

Things to know

There is one taverna and little else; this is a short visit. The museum houses may be closed even in stated hours. The road in is narrow and winding.

Nearby

Machairas monastery is south, and Nicosia is northeast.

Key facts