Trekking through the Troodos

The Trodos mountains hold medieval monasteries that are home to some of the most stunning frescoes existing today

It was a day of winding mountain roads, hairpin turns, and sublime medieval frescoes. Jenny and I pointed our rental car towards the Troodos Mountains with a handful on the dozens and dozens of Troodos monasteries picked out to visit. We put our trust in our GPS "Jason", who had performed with mixed results yesterday. Before the day was out, Jason was fired and sequestered in the glove compartment. Man (me) replaced machine after Jason misdirected us, was horribly confused by every turn, and essentially proved himself worthless as a navigational aid. In all honesty, the signs on the road, combined with the map our hotel had given us that morning, proved sufficient. I'm pretty good at finding my way around, and once I got my bearings right after we locked Jason away, did a flawless job of navigating...if I must say so myself - ha, ha!

Troodos Mountain scenery

Tiny and plain on the outside, but ornate and spectacular inside - the Pedoulas and the Archangel Michael Church

With our first stop, Pedoulas and the Archangel Michael Church, we found that these medieval churches are a lot smaller than you'd expect. Despite its lofty name, this clay tile roofed stone building was smaller than my house. The inside was stunning,,though. Every bit of wall space was covered with frescoes painted on the walls. They depicted not only scenes from Jesus' life, but hosts of saints stared back at us as we slowly paced through the church. Like most churches with medieval frescoes, no photography was allowed. In Armenia a couple years ago, that had been the case except for one enlightened priest who realized no flash equals no damage to them thousand year old paintings. Would fortune smile on me today like it had in Armenia? I could only pray that it did.

Our rental car and the beautiful, Mediterranean hillside scenery

Spring is supposed to be the best time to visit Cyprus, and we were rewarded with the the gossamer blush of cherry trees in bloom near every village. The views from mountain top and valley were stunning. We were blessed with wide spots or places to pull off the road in the best vantage points, too. It seems others appreciated a good a panorama, and there were obvious places others had pulled off the narrow roads, and we followed suit when the urge to snap a photo took us. After our initial, nauseating drive from Limassol to Pedoulas, the other legs from one monastery to another seemed to go quicker. Of course, I'd like to take credit with my navigating, but I realize it was our longest stretch, with the most climbing....!

The most crowded and wealthy of the Troodos monasteries, Kykkos

Lots to see in Kykkos Monastery, including the monk's cells, museum, and treasury

Our second stop was at Kykkos Monastery, which is the largest and wealthiest in the Troodos Mountians. The monks throw open most of the complex -- including the gold-mosaiced hallways outside their rooms (hard to call the "cells" in such a magnificent building!). We wandered its corridors, which were the most crowded we'd see all day. The amount of mosaics on the walls was stunning. Every inch seemed to have a depiction of some saint or scene from the Bible. As crowded as it was, we were one of the few visitors who paid the 5 Euros to see the museum. As I slowly paced through the dimly lit, but treasure-packed rooms, one thing kept coming back to me. I remembered what I tell my 7th graders when I am explaining medieval Christian monasticism. In particular, I dwell in my instruction on a Mona's vows. I even have them recite a monk's vows , then spend a silent day in my classroom scriptorium creating an illuminated manuscript. But as I looked at glass case after glass case full of gold-plated crosses, censers, reliquaries, and elaborate, colorful vestments, the Vow of Poverty kept coming back to me. I acknowledge this is less excessive than the Vatican's treasure rooms, but it is a monastery! Poverty does not exist at Kykkos, and wealth was everywhere you looked. Before any Greek Orthodox challenges me on this, I do understand the difference between church and individual property.

Hill town in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus

Difficult to find, the Kalopanayiotis Monastery

Our next stop proved difficult to find. We navigated to the village all right, but where inside Kalopanayiotis was it? the guidebook siad the three stone buildings were "clearly visible", but it took us awhile. Once again, no photos were allowed inside the actual church. The frescoes were every bit as gorgeous as those at at Archangel Michael. The church at Kykkos, by the way, was relatively modern...it had burnt down several times in its existence, the most recent in the 1800s. There was quite a bit of construction going on in the village. Many Cypriots come here from the plains and coasts to escape summer's heat. Some renovations were clearly going on at the monastery of Agios Ioannis Lampedistis. I imagine if I came back in 5 years I'd have a hard time recognizing the place.

Though the exterior doesn't look it, the interior of the Agios Panagia Forviotissa monastery was the highlight of the trip

The frescoes on the interior of the Agios Panagia Forviotissa monastery

Our final monastery on our itinerary turned out to be the best. It was the most remote -- out in the countryside, miles away from a farm village. Our guidebooks had said that if you can visit only one to make sure you saw Agios Panagia Forviotissa. It was our favorite, too, though I doubt that is what Forviotissa stands for...! The frescoes and subjects painted were so obviously medieval Byzantine. I recognized the clothing, armor, hair styles, and especially the deep, soulful eyes that appear on Byzantine art. After we had reverently paced our way through the tiny stone church, Jenny and I both remarked we'd seen nothing about photography not being allowed. We asked I the elderly attendant and he waved us onto snap pictures to our hearts content. I doubt he expected us to break out the tripods and camp out for 45 minutes like we did. We weathered the storms of other visitors, holding off on our shots while they visited (though most came in went within a few minutes). The pictures we got were amazing, inspiring, and simply made our day.

Even the ceiling of the Agios Panagia Forviotissa monastery are covered in medieval frescoes

We drove back to Limassol content and with beatific, monk-like smiles on our faces. We also had a much smoother trip...with Jason securely locked away in the glovebox. Earlier in the day, we had burst out laughing when his voice came out from the glovebox recommending a change to my route -- after I had hit the "sleep" button. Our route seemed much smoother under MY navigation. But, after all, "Michael" means "like unto The Lord" in Hebrew. Don't believe me? Look it up!

A fresco of Jesus' crucifixion on the medieval walls of the monastery