On Saturday, Richard wasn't working so we drove to Lefkara, a village a little way in the mountains, about half an hour's drive from Larnaka. It's the home of the traditional Lefkara lace which is widely sold around Cyprus, and there are also traditional silversmiths - making everything from large containers for incense through to delicate filigree jewellery. The latter is very good value.
There's a lot of renovation work going on in this area - a good thing, really, so that tourism is encouraged. Some of the older folk are worried that the traditional crafts are dying out, since their children and grandchildren aren't interested in carrying on with them. Many of the buildings are looking rather scruffy, due to the ravages of the weather, and because they're getting old.
Some have been very nicely renovated, keeping the traditional stone facings, like this one:
But according to some plans we saw, the majority are going to be renovated in a far less attractive way, making Lefkara bright and colourful. We saw houses in blue, pink, and yellow... here's one which is still in process:
A pity. Perhaps nobody has realised that tourists from overseas like to see traditional buildings. Or, at least, buildings that look like old-style Cyprus houses, even if they've been improved in recent years.
(There are more pictures from Lefkara in this post, from a visit six months ago)
2 comments:
Wow. The buildings are gorgeous!
Love the photos! The stone is beautiful.
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