Liopetri and the Potamos, a fishing harbour on a river

Liopetri is one of those inland villages many people only visit to eat fish by the river, which is no bad reason. But the village also has churches and a history of its own. Here are both sides. The other red soil villages are in Kokkinochoria.

A village of potatoes and carrots

Liopetri counted 4,908 people at the 2021 census. It now belongs to Ayia Napa as a municipal quarter, and Visit Famagusta says it owes its name to the place having very few stones, petres in Greek. Its red soil is good for potatoes, watermelons and carrots, and in summer it holds a carrot festival.

The square has coffee shops where village life goes by, and traditional basket weaving carries on. The region adds that the French poet Arthur Rimbaud worked in this area in the 1880s.

The Potamos, a harbour on a river

Beyond the western edge of the Ayia Napa and Sotira coast lies the Potamos tou Liopetriou, the Liopetri river. According to the region, it’s a small fishing enclave where fishing goes on much as it has for decades, with traditional and modern boats along the banks, a small sand and rock beach and two good fish tavernas, which the fishermen sell to directly. Nearby are the remains of a Venetian watchtower and a chapel of Agios Georgios with benches under the trees.

The same website calls it Cyprus’s only natural fjord, framed by rock formations, and says there’s a plan to improve the paths and add a quay. Next to it is the Liopetri forest park, part of Natura 2000, with rare plants. In spring the surrounding countryside fills with wildflowers.

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The village churches

The Panagia, the church of the Virgin in the centre, dates from the 16th century according to the region, a single nave with a dome, enlarged in 1868 and 1901, with some original frescoes and a porch of columns and arches at the entrance. On its feast day the square is closed off for a celebration with music and dancing. A new church has been built beside it. Agios Andronikos, probably from the 15th century, has an octagonal dome and traces of murals in the apse.

The barn museum

The Achyronas barn museum recalls the 1958 clash between EOKA fighters and the British army in which four of the fighters died. One regional page says all four were from Liopetri and another names the teacher Fotis Pittas, from Frenaros, among them, and they disagree on the day too, 30 August in one and 2 September in the other. It’s a memorial aimed mainly at Cypriots, with texts in Greek only.

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Getting there

OSEA routes 501 and 502 pass through Liopetri on their way to Agia Thekla, Ayia Napa, Paralimni and Deryneia, route 705 links it with Avgorou and Ayia Napa, and routes 701A, 703 and 714 with Sotira, Paralimni and Xylofagou. A daytime trip costs €2. Nearby are Frenaros and Avgorou.

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