Information on Platanisteia Village, which is located in the Limassol District of Cyprus
Platanisteia Village Photo © CyprusExpat.co.uk
Platanisteia Village, also known as Plataniskia and Plataniski, is located in the Limassol District of Cyprus and lies close to Agios Thomas, Anogyra, Alektora, Avdimou and Pissouri Villages.
The village had a predominantly Turkish Cypriot population from the Ottoman period until 1974. The population of the village reached it’s peak in 1973, when the village recorded a total of 462 registered inhabitants.
In 1974 all the residents of Platanisteia Village left to seek shelter in the Akrotiri British Base. The villagers were later transferred to North Cyprus for resettlement.
Platanisteia Village is now almost exclusively inhabited by Greek Cypriot refugees from Eftakomi Village in North Cyprus, who began settling in the village in 1976.
The population of Platanisteia Village has dropped dramatically due to the lack on employment and education facilities. The number of registered inhabitants of the village now numbers just 35 permanent residents. The population grows, as is the case of many other Cyprus villages, at the weekends, public holidays and school holidays.
There are several stories as to how the village acquired it’s name, but the most plausible is from the Platanos tree, which grew in abundance in the areas surrounding the village.
Platanisteia Village is built on the slopes of a hill at a height of 400 metres above sea level, offering scenic views of the surrounding countryside and which also offers a refreshingly cool climate during the hot and humid Cyprus summer months. In February or March there may on occasion be a small snowfall.
The village was mainly a farming village through the years, with large herds of goats, numbering more than a thousand at times, producing milk for cheese and meat for consumption. Carob trees also grew in abundance with the carob juice used as a substitute for sugar.
The old Turkish mosque has lost it’s minaret, but the rest of the building is still in a good condition. The mosque lies next to old Turkish school, which has now been converted to a Greek orthodox church named Agios Georgios Church.
The Hambis Printmaking Museum is located in the centre of the village. The museum curator is the Cypriot artist, Hambis Tsangaris, who founded the museum in 2008.
The local community council has recently undertaken a project to relocate an old olive oil stone grinding mill from an abandoned field further up the hill. The new location will be at the south entrance to the village alongside the village water supply reservoir. The new location will be renovated to allow the display of more old relics from the village, to form an open air museum.
Platanisteia Village Photo © CyprusExpat.co.uk