Aglandjia - Sites of Interest

Sites of Interest

Skali Cultural Centre is the most dynamic work of the Municipality, which constitutes the basic infrastructure for Aglandjia cultural upgrading. It is the pride of the Municipality and constitutes the cultural identity of Aglandjia and a reference for all Cyprus. It succeeded in its aim and mission, which it the qualitative cultural offer to the citizens, the revival of old Aglandjia and the communication with the broader society.

The history of Aglandjia dates back as far as 3888 BC, since several tombs from the Bronze Age were found on the Arona trapezoid hill (Leontari Hill or Leondarovounos). The first archaeological finds were discovered in the last decades of the previous century, period to which the oldest excavations in Cyprus in general date back. The centre of the first excavations in the area, both by the Germans and the British, was the imposing trapezoid hill, which is known under the names Leontari Hill or Aronas.

The prehistoric settlement on Leantari Hill, strategically located for the defence of the area, had most certainly the character of a military deployment during the firs phase of its history. The medieval La Cava castle, built on the same site, more or less in the middle of the flat summit of Leondarovounos around 1385 by king Jacques I, was also used as an observatory for the control of access and the road leading from Larnaca to Nicosia.

However, the destruction that hit the monument started very early, the first in 1426 already by the Mameluks. The Venetians blasted it later, during the third decade of the 16th century, whereas the Ottomans used the bigger of the two towers as a powder magazine. The demolishing of the castle walls in 1878 and the use of its stones as building material for the erection of Faneromeni Church in Nicosia completed the wear of dereliction during the previous century.

La Cava Castle was built by James I of Lusignan,it took its name from the large rock cistern which still survives today, In 1888 the area was excavated by a Mr M R James he dug up to 49 feet without reaching the bottom. Up until 1870 a considerable amount of the Castle was still standing including the vaulted hall, the curtain walls and two towers. However the majority of the Castle was pulled down in that year to build the Church of Phaneromeni.The Castle was proclaimed an ancient moment in 1915. Today a portion of the Great Tower and Second Tower exists together with the Cistern.

The Kafizin or small Aronas is a historic site with a cave dedicated to the worship of a Nymph, where important archaeological works of art and inscriptions in Cyprosyllabic writing were found. Potteries with votive inscriptions constitute nearly the whole of the offerings found in Kafizin cave. On the other inscriptions, the alphabetic writing has been used to express the common Greek language. The offerings to the Kafizin Nymph, potteries and utensils, whether they bear inscriptions or not, represent a unique in its kind series of representative ceramic types of local manufacture and specific chronology. There is a big variety of vessels and some of them are unique, we have bowls of different variations, two-handled vessels, cup-bearers, feeding bottles, mud-lighters, jars, cooking utensils, frying pans, wash basins, jugs, combined pots, urns, amphorae, rythons, large jars and jar lids, objects testifying to the practice of waving etc.It is worth mentioning that the area is full of potsherds.

On the basis of dates which are mentioned on some inscriptions, the use of the Numph worship place dates back to the Hellenistic period and more precisely between 225 and 218 BC, that is to say from the twenty-third year of the reign of Ptolemy the Benefactor until the fourth year of Ptolemy Philopatoras. The Lefkomiatis settlement was in Aglandjia area during the Middle Ages. Only a few remains are saved from the Byzantine period and the Middle Ages, during which there was a settlement in Aglandjia. After the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottomans, the Aglandjia settlement declines. It starts setting up a self-sufficient rural settlement at the end of the 18th century. Its inhabitants are busy with farming, stockbreeding and quarrying.

Aglandjia has also a large, traditional and old quarter where many local restaurants and taverna are located.

The Melkonian Educational Institute also operated in Aglandjian between 1926-2005.