Agros

Agros sits in the Troodos mountains, in the Pitsilia area of the Limassol district — 45 minutes from Limassol and Nicosia, an hour and twenty from Larnaca and Paphos. It is built amphitheatrically into the mountain slope, which is best appreciated from a distance, and its 800 people support rather more than you would expect.

The forty monks

The village takes its name from the Great Agros monastery, which stood where the Church of Panayia of Agros stands today. Forty monks came to Cyprus from Asia Minor during the iconoclast period, bringing with them an icon of the Holy Mother. They first stayed in a cave, and then built a new monastery, which they called the Monastery of Great Agros.

Roses and cured meat

Agros is best known for two things. The first is roses: two factories in the village turn the local petals into a range of products, chief among them rose water, which Cypriots use in almost every sweet — mahalepi included. The second is cured meat, along with sausages, lountza, marmalades and sweets.

A village that runs itself

For its size, Agros is unusually well equipped: a day-care centre, a primary school, a high school, a police station, a post office, health care, sports grounds for basketball and football, a theatre and a supermarket. The sports centre is named after Glafkos Klerides, a former president of Cyprus.

Several monuments around the village honour figures who shaped it. For staying, the Rodon Hotel sits on the peak above with panoramic views over the village and the country around it; it has been running for over thirty years and was built in the traditional Cypriot manner.