A creek separates the town of Zodia into two "communities", Pano and Kato Zodia.

In ancient times, people from the Greece, specifically near the area of Argos Zotean, migrated to the area. They built a sanctuary devoted to the mythical god Apollo of Zodeion. Thus their settlement attained the first name of Zoteia (as can be seen in older maps of the area). It was in this very same place that the monastery of Archangel Michael was later built. It was also here that Saint Eirinikos (or Arniakos) is famed to have gone into monastic life in early Christian years. That monastery was later replaced by the church of Archangel Michael depicted below.

The Church of Archangel Michael in Pano Zodia, during happier times.

Remnants of the ancient Hellenic temple and the early christian monastery are still visible today. Or at least they could still be found before the savage Turkish military invasion of the island in 1974. Today, this holy site, of the thousands of years of history, has been turned into a stable for animals by the barbarians!

Rainfall in the area is one of the lowest on the already dry island. The people of Zodia have traditionally been farmers. They thus had to limit their crops to ones that did not demand much water. The most common crops in the area used to be grain, legumes, water-melons, melons, but also flux and spices such as aniseed.

Zodia was famous for the excellent melons and water-melons it produced, but also for its flux. It is this fiber that was specially sought out for the making of the famous Lefkaritika lace.

In more recent years (before the 1974 Turkish invasion), Zodia underwent a dramatic transformation after groundwater was drilled to the surface and covered all the needs of the agriculture.

The barren land was turned into evergreen gardens ladden with aromatic orange groves, lemon trees and other citrus fruits. New crops such as potatoes and carrots also found their way into the farming activities of Zodiates.

The Church of Timios Stavros (Holy Cross) in Kato Zodia.
(my grandmother's house was across from the church)
Today this church has been turned into a mosque by the occupation regime.

This was the only chance that the proud and hard-working people of Zodia needed to literally turn their town into a much envied paradise on earth! Prosperity was everywhere. People started expanding their horizons to extend beyond farming and to recognize the value of and thus include education in various fields of the sciences in their already large book of virtues.

Cyprus, an independent country and member of the United Nations Organization, was invaded in 1974 by military forces of a foreign nation, Turkey, who has since been occupying 38% of its territory, uprooting the native Greek population, which constitutes 30% of the whole population of Cyprus from their ancestral homes, in which their forefathers lived for three thousand years, and turning them into refugees in the remaining part of the island.

Turkey's pretext, that she invaded the island as a guarantor power in order to restore the constitutional order, on account of the coup staged against the legitimate government, cannot justify the continuation of the Turkish invasion, because the constitutional order had been reestablished since 1974 and so Turkey, following the restoration of constitutional order, should have withdrawn her forces. Quite the opposite, however happened. For not only has Turkey not withdrawn her armed forces but she has been continuously reinforcing them.

I find it quite interesting that the Turkish invasion forces were named "Mehmetcik", which means "peacekeeping operation" in Turkish, yet the code name for the military operation was "Attila" - a bloodthirsty barbarian! This is the poster that they used to celebrate this so called "peace" operation!!!