A journey around Phyti

Following the main Pafos - Panagia road and taking the left road after Agios Demetrianios, you reach the picturesque village of Phyti in five minutes. The village is located at the top of the plateau and many other villages are in the surrounding mountains.

The village's small, stone-made houses with the red tiled and grey roofs seem like a crown at the head of the region's small giant. Following the main road, you reach at the village's centre in a spacious plaza.

The church of St. Demetrianos - a 19 th century (1857) construction as it is recorded on a stone over the church's north entrance -rises before you. The bell tower, having twice the height of the church, carries two bells and is also made of stones treated with good workmanship.

Across from the church stands the bronze bust of the community's great benefactor, Constantinos Foitides. In 1938, Constantinos Foitides bought water from a spring belonging to the Holy Monastery of Chrysorrogiatissa and transferred it to the village at his own expense. In that way Phyti, which up until then was supplied with water by wells, was now supplied with water coming from a spring.

Around the benefactor's bust is the paved plaza, the low, stone-made walls laden with flowerpots that bear multicoloured plants and flowers such as basil, marjoram, and "kiouli" (rosy flower), spreading their fragrances and making the whole landscape enchanting.

In the south end of the paved area stands the stone-made fountain with two taps. A plate with a poem dedicated to the village's benefactor is built in right here. An old, preserved olive-press stands between the fountain and the bust.

The building of the Weaving and Folkloric Art Museum is located in the east end of the paved area. It is an old, reconditioned building that was converted into a museum. Inside the Museum you can learn about the renowned "Phytkiotiko" decorated textile that is produced only in Phyti in the traditional fashion of the loom (weaving machine). Inside the Museum you can also see other traditional tools, used by the village's previous inhabitants in their various chores -both agricultural and domestic.

The village's communal library is close to the village's plaza, in an old stone-made, reconditioned, and maintained house.

Taking the road east of the Museum and at a distance of about 150 metres, you arrive at the village's highest point that is named "Ta Ntepozita" (The Water Tanks). Because of the venue's altitude, the central water tanks for the water supply of -not only -Fyti but also of another 15 villages of the region were built here.

From this height the view is enchanting. The horizon is open all around. Eastward, at the slope of the plateau across, named "Vouni", stands "nailed" to the ground -as if in a painting -the Monastery of "Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa". In the north and at a distance of 2 kilometres begins the pine-clad forest of Pafos. In the west the Bay of Chrysochous with its deep blue waters send a message of beauty and coolness.

Descending to the west part of the village, you can wander in the village's narrow, graphic alleys while admiring the folkloric architecture of the structures with a kind of an arch over the main entrance and in many of the windows. The highlight of all these is the palace, the Forester's mansion, which in spite of the bad condition it is in today -being almost in ruins -draws you to examine it from all sides with its splendidly indescribable architectural beauty. It cover a huge area with rooms that have large arches (apses), a large cellar with many earthenware jars buried under the roof's soil that fell down upon them, a bedroom with a traditional bed, an enormous yard in which the wine-presses for the grapes are located, an oven and a water-closet. Leaving the mansion you wonder why such unique treasures are left to perish.

Moving on you pass by the hospital of Phyti (made in 1960) and next to it the village's elementary school. Continuing you complete the circle and enter the village's paved plaza with the two old coffee-houses that today have turned to cafe-restaurants; the "Fytkiotiki Taverna", housed in what probably is the oldest building in the village and formerly was a school, and the "Pefkos" (Pine) restaurant, which took its name from the age-old pine that stands at the restaurant's entrance. There you can rest and be refreshed, recollecting your journey in the truly beautiful village of Phyti.