CYPRUS: TROODOS MOUNTAINS
The Troodos!
A mountainous region located in the center of Cyprus, with its highest point at 6,560 feet (2,000 meters): Mount Olympus. (Ah, mythology!)
Worth noting along the way: the silver cedars.
The Troodos Mountains are renowned for their hiking trails and attract many walking enthusiasts.
Where to spend the night after a good mountain hike?
Hmm...
In this charming youth hostel tucked away in the Troodos mountain range!
The Troodos Mountains are beautiful, except...
...near the village of Amiandos, where they have been scarred by an open-pit mine.
There is an old asbestos mine there that, as you might imagine, was closed in the 1980s.
The few small mountain villages are home to an indigenous population, including this old Cypriot shepherd.
In Panayia, a small village in the Troodos Mountains, Mikhail Mouskos was born in 1913.
Better known as Makarios III, this archbishop became the first president of Cyprus after its independence in 1960.
He held this title until his death in 1977.
Cypriots still revere him as the 'Father of the Nation'!
All photos of Troodos Mountains © 1996 - 2013 by Richard Soberka