Description of the attraction
The sacred royal and stavropegic monastery of the Kykkos Icon of the Mother of God, or as it is briefly called the Kykko Monastery (Kykkos), is considered one of the richest in all of Cyprus. It is nestled among lush greenery on a hill near the Troodos Mountains, 1318 meters above sea level.
The monastery was built specifically to store the icon of the Virgin Mary, painted by the Apostle Luke himself. It is believed that this icon was brought to Cyprus from Constantinople after the daughter of Emperor Alexei I Comnenus fell ill with a fatal illness - then the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and asked to deliver the original icon to the indicated place in Cyprus, then the girl will recover.
This miraculous icon is revered by locals and pilgrims as one of the greatest shrines. People believe that she protects the island and relieves it from all sorts of misfortunes, such as the locust invasion in 1760. For the preservation of the image, in 1795 it was covered with a silver frame. Since that time, no one else has seen the very face of the Virgin. But the icon is still kept in the Kikko monastery, and pilgrims from all over the world come to it.
Now the monastery also houses a museum, where you can see many valuable exhibits that tell about the history of this place and the entire island. So, there are church utensils, old icons, works of art. But the building itself is of no small interest - with stone walls, a red tiled roof and rich decor, it also deserves the status of a work of art, it is not for nothing that the Cypriots themselves call it the “golden Christian heart” of the island.
The grave of the famous Makarios III, the first president of independent Cyprus, who was once a novice in Kykko, is also considered one of the attractions of the monastery.
