Cyprus is more than beaches and sunshine. Alongside the coastline and the year-round weather there is a great deal of history, and religious sites and churches across the island that are genuinely unusual. Profitis Elias is one of those that stays a favourite with locals and visitors alike.
The church sits in the Famagusta and Protaras area, some 6km from Paralimni. It is Greek Orthodox, and stands at the top of a hill looking over the town and the sea. It was built in 1984 on the site of an older chapel, using stone found locally so that it would sit comfortably in its surroundings.
The remembrance tree
At the top you are met by a small stone chapel with a tree behind it, its branches covered in ribbons and strips of cloth. It is a remembrance tree: people tie a ribbon in memory of someone they have lost. If you would like to do the same, bring a ribbon with you. Others tie one and make a wish, so for some it is a wishing tree instead. Either way it is worth doing.
Inside, the church is covered in frescoes from wall to ceiling. You may light a candle and sit for a while, to pray or simply to look. At night the outside is lit, which makes the church and the ground around it more striking still.
More sightseeing around Protaras
Ayioi Saranta Cave Church
The most unlikely church on the island — hidden inside a cave in rough ground near Profitis Elias, and easy to walk straight past.
Ayios Nikolaos Church, Protaras
Dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, whose miracles were nearly all worked at sea — which makes the setting above the water the point.
Fig Tree Bay
Five hundred metres of golden sand, a Blue Flag, and fig trees on the hillsides behind.
Agioi Anargyroi Church, Cavo Greco
A white chapel built on the cliff edge at Cavo Greco in the 1950s, with steps down to the sea cave below where the saints are said to have kept vigil.