History

Legends & History
There are a number of sites of historic and legendary interest on the island. The Troodos Mountains are rich in Byzantine monasteries and churches, many of which contain exquisite frescoes.

The Village of Pissouri has had a continuous increase of population. In 1881 its inhabitants were 482, rising to 956 in 1931 (860 Greek-Cypriots and 90 Turkish-Cypriots), and in 1960 they totaled 1072 (1053 Greek-Cypriots and 19 Turkish-Cypriots). After 1964 and because of the intercommunal unrest that followed the Turkish-Cypriot mutiny, the few Turkish-Cypriots of Pissouri abandoned their village and moved to neighboring, thoroughly Turkish-Cypriot villages, in the context of instructions by Ankara for the creation of strong Turkish-Cypriot pockets in Cyprus. In 1973 the inhabitants of Pissouri, all Greek-Cypriots, numbered 1030. Today the inhabitants of the village totals 1400.