Exploring Kykkos Monastery

High up in the Troodos Mountains in the Marathasa Valley is the Kykkos Monastery, the wealthiest, largest and most lavish in all of Cyprus. The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and houses one of three icons of Apostle Luke the Evangelist, made of silver gilt and housed in a tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl shrine.

Legend goes that a hermit of Cyprus, Isaiah, healed the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and in return, asked for the icon as his reward. The Emperor sent it to Cyprus with funds to build a monastery in which to keep and protect the relic. The structure later burnt down and nothing remains of the original monastery.

You can visit the monastery for 5 euros per person and also purchase the wines and spirits they monks make on site as part of their fundraising.