Ayia Napa History
The exciting Ayia Napa that we know of today is much more different than it was years ago. According to records, in ancient times the area was nothing but a vast land of wooded valleys, greenery, and natural springs. The monastery and village did not yet exist. The area was not yet called Ayia Napa until the 11th century, when a hunter stumbled into a cave looking for his dog and he found an icon of the Virgin Mary. The virgin was lit in a miraculous manner. The years before this time period were very weary and the Virgin Mary icon had to be hidden due to the controversy.
The news of the newly discovered icon quickly spread to the surrounding villages about the cave of the remote “napa”. It was soon transformed into a shrine by the Orthodox Christians of the area and the icon was named “The Icon of Ayia Napa”, or the icon of the Saint of the wooded valley. In later years, a stone aqueduct was built in order to bring water to the shrine from the springs. The water still runs today from a fountain shaped like the head of a wild boar.
The well that was found in the cave, which still gives a fresh water supply, leads historians to believe that the cave might have been used by the monks and the locals who were hiding from raids of pirates and other invaders throughout the centuries. The theory by locals is that the people found refuge in the cave during the pirate attack, and the Virgin Mary appeared to show them the fresh water well in the corner of the cave. It is still a mystery why the water has never run out.
At some point, the cave was expanded and changed into a church. Architectural details of the door show that the church must have been built during the 14th century. The extension of the church is built with two sections covered with a pointed arch. The smaller area of the sections has signs that it was once used as a Latin chapel, probably during the 16th century. On the north side of the section, there still remains a painting of three female saints. The Italian influence used in the painting shows that it dates back to the 15th century.
The monastery of Ayia Napa continued to grow and develop through the 16th century until the end of the Venetian occupation in 1581 A.D. Ayia Napa is referred to in manuscripts of this time period and appears on many maps drawn of Cyprus from this time. One of the forts on the south wall of the old city of Famagusta, which was built by the Venetian conquerors, was named Ayia Napa. Historians believe this was because the road leading to Ayia Napa began there.
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