The picturesque village Alaminos emerges on the west side of Larnaca.
On your way to the center of the village you will be impressed by
the wild vegetation, the olive trees and the pines which dominate
the scenery. The beautiful image of the village is composed of the
tortuous roads, the traditional taps, the arches, the traditional
little houses, the churches, the fortress and the view to the sea.
Below we will describe a tour in the village.
Traditional little houses, made of big stones and adobe emerge between
the new and the restored houses and reveal the historical route of
the village. The traditional houses are marked by the wooden doors,
the big windows, the small balconies and the yards, which are full
of flowers.
The picturesque elementary school of the village is situated on
a small hill. In the paved yard of the school lemon trees, orange
trees and roses flourish. There is also a basketball field. The door
and windows are sky blue and made of wood. The school has two halls.
The first one was probably built around 1900 and the other one in
1944-5. There are also some more additional classrooms at the back.
In the yard of the old school, you can also find a small church dedicated
to Agios Georgios.
 |
| Elementary school |
Next to the school and in a small paved yard a copper statue rises.
It is dedicated to Lazaros Georgiou who was killed during the bombing
of Mansoura on 8th August 1964. Near the statue of Lazaros Georgiou
there is another one, the “Monument of the Five Heroes” which was
constructed to honor the memory of five men who died on 20th July
1974. The bust of the heroes are copper. Their names are: Takis Vasiliou,
Kleitos Mandritis, Stavros Georgiou, Christodoulos Christodoulou
and Christos Panayiotou.
Opposite the monument of Lazaros Georgiou, you can see the church
of Agios Mamas which was built in 1992. The money for the construction
were donated by the inhabitants of the village. The church is quite
big, the yard is also big and the bell tower is impressive.
 |
| old Turkish school |
During your tour in the village you will meet traditional coffee
shops, a supermarket, the athletic association “Alaminos”, the community
council, the old Turkish school, the mosque and the kindergarten
which used to be a Turkish school. The traditional taps are spread
in the village. They are made in 1954 and they take us back to the
times when women filled their pitchers with water in these taps.
The stone made arches and the water mill are impressive but the
signs of the abandonment are obvious. The water mill will be restored
by the Department of Antiquities.
The old church of Agios Mamas is an impressive ecclesiastic building.
It stands on a the higher part of the village and it was built around
1600. On the inside of the church you can see some wonderful wall
paintings and a beautiful wooden iconostasis. In front of the entrance
of the church, there is a big stone with a footmark of Agios Mamas
on it.

The fortress is one of the most important historical monuments of
the village. It is also called “Koulas” and it was built around the
15th century. It is long, narrow and made of stone. Its height is
8 meters. It was restored some decades ago. It is believed that it
was an observation tower of the southeast costs of the island. The
access to the fortress was made through subway tunnels.
The beach of the village is under development but every year more
and more people visit it. In the area there is a recently built hotel,”Aldiana”,
which is helping the development of the beach.
To sum up, the visitor can walk in the small narrow roads of the
village with the traditional houses, the traditional taps, the monuments,
the churches, the old elementary school and the fortress.
The visitor can also enjoy the view of the deep blue sea. Touring
in Alaminos will give you the chance to enjoy yourself and calm in
the natural beauty.
|