natural wonder
Larnaca Salt Lake
Seasonal salt lake beside Larnaca airport that hosts flamingos in winter, ringed by a road and the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque.
20 km · about 25 min drive
EuropeCyprusLarnaka
Xylotymbou
Larnaka, Cyprus · Europe
About Xylotymbou
Xylotymbou is worth a stop: 5 minutes from Dhekelia, 20km from Larnaca Salt Lake.
Xylotymbou is in Larnaka, Cyprus, with about 3,600 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Dhekelia, about 4 km away.
Xylotymbou (Greek: Ξυλοτύμπου [locally [ksiloˈtimbu]] or Ξυλοτύμβου) is a small town in Larnaca District in south-eastern Cyprus. It is one of the four enclaves surrounded by the Eastern Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a Sovereign Base Area. The others areRead more
the village of Ormidhia and two separate parts of Dhekelia Power Station. It is administered by the internationally recognized government of Cyprus, the Republic of Cyprus.
Until 1917, Xylotymbou belonged administratively to Famagusta District and since then it belongs in Larnaca District. It is located in the middle of Makrasyka, Achna, Ormidia, Dhekelia, Pyla, and Pergamos. It is a new village. Until 1821, there were no residents. The Hadjiyiorkis was one of the first inhabitants of the village. When he was married in 1840, the village had only seven houses.
The village may have been inhabited during the Byzantine period. The ancient caves of pre-Christian era, the churches and the smallest, old church of Agios Andronikos from the Byzantine period were built in the same place where the new church of Agios Andronikos and Athanasia was later built.
During the Venetian occupation in the medieval period, the village, along with Ormideia, Panayia of Traseias, Augorou, Xylofagou, Liopetri, Agia Napa, and Pyla Cape were the thrones of a kingdom that was destroyed by an earthquake and pillaging barbarian invaders. The tower in Xylofagou was an observatory of the time for detection of corsairs conquerors.
In the Great Cyprus Encyclopaedia, Costas Christofides says that the antiquities smuggler Luigi Palma di Cesnola (1865–1876), and American consul in Cyprus, discovered a carved wooden grave with wonderful carving representations of Aphrodite and Artemis in 1882 (hence, the name Xylotymbou, literally meaning 'wooden tomb'). The elders of the village said that the place where the tomb was, is where Agios Andronikos and Athanasia church was built between 1890-1900, and where the builders took and used the stones from the grave.
Residents of Xylotymbou are engaged in agriculture and trade. Many residents work in the British Sovereign Base in Dhekelia and in the tourism industry in Ayia Napa, Protaras, and Larnaca.
Xylotymbou is famous for its many small churches/chapels (about 10) and, in particular, the majestic monastery of St Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene.
In 2006 two cooperating clubs (Laikes Organosis Xylotymbou and Kimon Xylotymbou) founded a united football team, the P.O. Xylotymbou.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Xylotymbou?
Within an hour or so of Xylotymbou: Larnaca Salt Lake (20 km), Nissi Beach (20 km), Cape Greco National Forest Park (31 km), Lefkara (43 km).
Where is Xylotymbou?
Xylotymbou is in Larnaka, Cyprus, about 4 km from Dhekelia.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 3,593
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Cyprus
- Region
- Larnaka
- Timezone
- Asia/Nicosia
- Coordinates
- 35.0163, 33.7435
Tags
Worth the detour from Xylotymbou
7 notable places within an hour's drive.
beach
Nissi Beach
Sandy bay with a shallow sandbar to a small islet at Ayia Napa, one of Cyprus's most visited beaches, with paid parking.
20 km · about 25 min drive
national park
Cape Greco National Forest Park
Rocky headland at Cyprus's southeast tip with sea caves, natural arches and a coastal road loop from Ayia Napa to Protaras.
31 km · about 35 min drive
landmark
Lefkara
A stone village on Troodos's southern slopes famed for lefkaritika lace: embroidery Leonardo da Vinci reputedly bought for Milan Cathedral in 1481, and filigree silverwork, still made in doorway workshops along its cobbled lanes.
43 km · about 50 min drive
ancient ruins
Choirokoitia
UNESCO-listed Neolithic settlement of circular stone dwellings on a hillside beside the A1 motorway, with reconstructed houses and parking.
44 km · about 50 min drive
castle
Kyrenia Harbour & Castle
Picturesque horseshoe-shaped harbour overlooked by a Byzantine-era castle housing the world's oldest shipwreck.
53 km · about 60 min drive
landmark
Fikardou
A protected medieval village in the Troodos foothills, its 18th-century timber-and-mudbrick houses preserved intact after near-total abandonment: a handful of residents, a rural-life museum and a taverna remain.
53 km · about 60 min drive
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