This trip is truly a tour de force of the Byzantine Art and history of Cyprus. During our tour we will visit both sides of the island: the southern "Greek" part and the Northern part of the island, occupied by Turkey. By exploring near every corner of this beautiful island, known in pagan Antiquity as the birthplace of Aphrodite, we will visit a great number of churches and monasteries that, in addition to their spiritual and historical value, serve as incredible repositories of the Medieval Byzantine Sacred Art. Cyprus endured a very difficult history, with countless invasions and destructions. And yet, time and time over again, people found the strength to rebuild, renew and redecorate. In just under two weeks, you will be given a full panorama of the Byzantine Art from its Paleochristian origins, through the height and sophistication of the Komnenian period and Palaiologan Renaissance, all the way to the naive, but heart-warming images of the post-Byzantine middle ages. This trip was initially conceived as an educational tour for iconophiles, but I am sure that absolutely anyone will benefit immensely from experiencing a trip to this land with  its religious spirit, incredible history and amazing art.    

Arrival to Larnaca International Airport  (LCA). Group transfer to the hotel. Welcome Dinner. Orientation. Overnight near Larnaca.

We’ll explore some of the most famous sites in and near the resort town of Larnaca. Of great pilgrim interest is the Basilica of Agios Lazaros (with relics of Lazarus of the Gospel, “the friend of the Lord”) dated back to the 9th century, the Angeloktisti Church with mosaics from the era of Emperor Justinian (the only one still surviving on the island in-situ), and the Church of Agios Antonios in Kellia. The church in Kellia is one of the most important Byzantine monuments on the island. Originally, it was built in the 9th century as a three-aisled vaulted basilica with a dome. In the course of the centuries, the edifice was reconstructed several times, but part of the frescoes from the 9th, 11th and 13th centuries survives until the present day.  

After breakfast, we will cross into the Northern occupied area to explore the ruins of Salamis, the once largest city of the island. Imposing ruins give a good idea of the magnitude of the city, populated by multitudes at one time. Among them, there was a sizable Jewish community, including a man named Barnabas. Later in life he was a disciple of the Lord and co-laborer of the Apostle Paul. Near the ruined city there is a monastery (now a museum since the occupation in 1974) and the shrine dedicated to the Apostle. Our last visit of the day will be to the Medieval fortifications of Famagusta, the place of fierce battle against the Islamic onslaught in 1571. Prior to that, it served as the Western/Crusader Capital of Cyprus. 

Our first stop today will be in the village of Lefkara, in the area that is known as “old” or “kato” Lefkara. Here, in the middle of nowhere (as the immediate vicinity looks literally like a field) there is a nice littler church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The church was built in the 12th century and has partially preserved interior frescoes that date back to the same period. Our next stop will be at the church of St. Catherine, better known as the  Royal Chapel. It was built in 1421 by the Lusignan King Janus. It is considered to be one of the most interesting surviving structures from the Frankish Period on the island. The chapel was originally entirely painted, but many of the paintings were destroyed during the course of time. On the eastern façade, King Janus is depicted in a wall painting along with his second wife, Charlotte de Bourbon. Included in the mural decoration of the chapel is a series of coats-of-arms of the Medieval Kingdom of Cyprus, as well as graffiti carved into the frescoed walls. The small church of the Holy Apostles in Pera Chorio was built in the 12 century, during the Frankish dominion of the island. Still, built in a traditional Byzantine cruciform style, it was decorated with frescoes shortly upon the completion of the construction of the church. The frescoes are considered to be a very good representation of the iconography from the Komnenian period. Our last stop will be at St. Demetrius church in the Dali Village. The church is small, but beautifully proportioned domed Byzantine edifice that dates back to the 13th century. Preserved frescoes of the interior are from 1317AD. 

Today we will spend time on the Karpas Peninsula, a National Park of incredible Natural beauty and historical importance. In Antiquity, it was a densely populated area. Vestiges of Paleo-Christian basilicas stand out as true gems of Christian Art and legacy on the Island. We will visit several of them before a lunch break at a restaurant in Agios Philon. Once an important trading harbor and the capital of the entire Peninsula, now it is a relaxed place in the shade of palm trees, next door to the ruins of a 12th century Byzantine church of the same name. After lunch, we will travel further east to visit St. Andreas Monastery, the only Orthodox Monastery that was allowed to remain open by the occupational authorities. It was built on a spot where, according to tradition, a boat with Apostle Andrew docked. Recently, the monastic complex was renovated as a symbolic gesture of improving relations between the divided parts of the island.   

Today will be a Byzantine tour-de-force as we will visit several monumental Byzantine churches with preserved Medieval Byzantine art. Our first stop will be at the Panagia Asinou Church. It is a small church built in 1099 and dedicated to the Virgin of ‘Phorbia’. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains some of the finest Byzantine wall paintings on the island, dating from the 12th to the 17th century. The Church of St. Nicholas of the Roof (Agios Nikolaos Tis Stegis) is the only remaining part of the 11th-century Byzantine monastery that flourished in the village of Kakopetria. The interior walls of the church are adorned with a series of frescoes ranging over several hundred years. Some wall paintings are from the 11th and 12th century, but most of the murals of the church are dated to the 14th century. The Church of Panagia Moutoulla is the oldest of the ten UNESCO-listed painted churches in the Troödos Mountains, and believed to have once been a private chapel. It has the steep aisle and pitched roof common to the region. The rare unrestored paintings date back to 1280AD. The Monastery of St. John Lampadistas is of Medieval provenance. Under one roof there are three churches, that date back to different periods. Of greatest interest is the main church with most frescoes dating back to the 13 century. Two other churches that we are going to visit today, date back to the so-called “post-Byzantine” ere. One of them is the Church of Panagia Eleousa, is better known under the name Podithou. Once belonging to a monastery, the church was built in 1502. The mural paintings are of the Italo-Byzantine style that appeared on the island towards the end of the 15th century. The church of the Archangel Michael in Pedoulas Village is a small church built in 1474. The church is completely decorated in the local post-Byzantine style that developed prior to Venetian rule. On the upper level, there are eleven paintings from the Festival Cycle; on the lower level, there are depictions of the saints. 

Today we will explore Nicosia, the divided city and the capital of the Republic of Cyprus. Here, we will visit the Archeological Museum, and then after passing through the maze of Medieval streets we will come to the main Cathedral of the island, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. Next door there is a Byzantine Museum with an incredible collection of icons, frescoes and mosaics that could rival any Byzantine collection, not only of the continental Greece, but certainly the World. (We hope that the Museum will be open by the time of our travel, as at the present time it is still closed due to renovations). Later in the afternoon, we will cross the border (on foot) and will board vans to visit the Monastery of Antifonitis with some of the best Byzantine Art to be found on the island. It also bears deep scars of the war, as some of the frescoes were damaged in an attempt to smuggle them from the island to be sold to western dealers.  

The church of St. Barnabas and Hilarion in Peristerona Village is an 11the century Byzantine church. It has five domes on the roof arranged in the shape of a cross. Rather little has been preserved of its original interior. Most of the wall-paintings date to the 15th and 16th centuries. The church of St. Cyprian and Justina, dedicated to the two early Christian martyrs is the Medieval edifice built during the period of the Frankish occupation of Cyprus. The church is mainly interesting as a pilgrim destination and is an important part of the religious and cultural life of the Orthodox Cypriots. The Monastery of Saint Herakleidios is located near the village of Politiko, near the ancient city of Tamassos. The Monastery is dedicated to Saint Herakleidios, a pupil of the Apostles Paul, Barnabas and Mark, who was ordained by them as the first Bishop of Tamasos. During its long and turbulent history, the monastery was destroyed and rebuilt on a number of occasions. Modern archeological research showed the presence of the Ancient martyrion and ancient basilicas under the modern-day structures. The main katholikon of the monastery adorned with frescoes from the 13th and 16th centuries, and the oldest wooden iconostasis in Cyprus, decorated with heraldic historical beasts and the armory of various Latin knights. Our last stop of the day will be at the Chrysospiliotissa Church, a unique cave hermitage that dates to the 8th or 9th centuries, and perhaps even earlier.   

The church of Stavros tou Agiasmati in Platanistasa Village is a Unesco-listed Byzantine church that is famous for its 15th-century murals done by Orthodox Syrian painter Philippos Goul. In two tiers, the images decorate the ceilings and interior beams of the gabled. The Panagia tou Araka is a middle Byzantine Orthodox church located in the village of Lagoudera. It is one of the most well-known and completely preserved middle Byzantine churches with fresco paintings. Most of the church's history is recorded within its mural paintings. The inscription on the interior of the north lintel states that they were completed in December of 1192 and were painted by a monk named Theodore who had been trained in Constantinople. Around the 14th century, the mural paintings were restored due to water damage and the inscription for these restorations was signed by a deacon named Leontios. The Church of Timios Stavros in Kyperounta, apart from the remarkable frescoes dating exactly to 1521, a precious collection of icons is on display, among which stands out that of Saint Marina dating from the 13th century. Our last stop of the day will be at Timios Stavros Church in Pelendri village. The church was originally a single-aisled domed structure, built around the middle of the 12th century, and may have been the church of a cemetery. It was destroyed under unknown circumstances, and the present form of the church is the result of several additions and alterations, carried out throughout various periods, with only the original apse surviving. According to an inscription in the apse, the original wall paintings date to 1171-1172 with fragments of the decoration preserved on the apse under the layer of the 14th century frescoes. The main part of the church was decorated during the second half of the 14th century by at least two artists. The north aisle served as a private chapel for the family of the Latin feudal lord of the area, Ioannes Lusignan (1353 – 1374 / 1375), and the village itself was once the property of Jean de Lusignan, son of the Lusignan King of Cyprus, Hugh IV. Due to the exquisite wall paintings of the Palaiologan period church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage site. 

We will start our day by visiting Panagia Katholiki in Kouklia village that was in 1260 within the premises of the Ancient pagan Temple dedicated to Aphrodite. The interior of the church still preserves part of the original frescoes. From here on we will continue to the site of Ancient Pafos. Right in the middle of the city are the ruins of a basilica that mark the place of the torture of the Apostle Paul. More remains of the ancient city have been located just outside the border of the modern town. Some suggest that one of the houses, (known as the house of mosaics) was the home of Proconsul Sergius Paulus, a convert to Christianity who embraced the faith based on the Apostle’ witness. Nearby, there is a cemetery known as “the Tombs of Kings” with elaborate burial chambers cut in the rock. Later in the afternoon we will visit the Monastery of Agios Neophytos, an original monastery consisting of a set of natural and cut rock-caves. Later as the monastery expanded, new churches and other facilities were built on the clearing in front of the cliff where the original monastery is situated. On the way back to the hotel, we will visit a unique five-domed Basilica of Agia Paraskevi and adjacent, a small, but very interesting Icon Museum in the village of Yeroskipou.

Time permitting: we will visit Panagia Chryseleousa Church located in Empa village. The church is actually a combination of two churches and is a stone-built structure with three aisles and two domes. The eastern section was first built as a cruciform church with a dome in the 12th century, possibly on the ruins of an earlier Christian basilica. An extension was made to the west with a domed building of the cross-in-square type later on in the 13th century. Some of the frescoes from 12th through the 16th centuries still adore the interior. 

Our first stop today will be in the village of Monagri for a visit to the monastery of Panayia Amasgous. The monastery was founded at the end of the 11th century but had been destroyed and rebuilt many times. For centuries, it had been left deserted, and its land was rented out by farmers in the area. Out of the original buildings, only the main Katholikon remains.  The original church was built in the 12th century and is adorned with excellent 12th, 13th and 16th century wall paintings. From here on we will proceed to the Monastery of Kykkos, the largest and one of the most beautiful in all of Cyprus. Kykkos Monastery, is known for the Miracle-working Icon of the Mother of God, ascribed to the hand of St. Luke the Evangelist. It is also known for an excellent museum of ecclesiastical art, with the collection of Medieval Byzantine Icons second only to the Byzantine Museum in Nicosia. In the afternoon, we will we will visit the picturesque village of Omodos for some souvenir shopping and wine tasting at the local winery.  

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the Larnaca International Airport  (LCA).  Departure back home