A ‘travelling’ village on the verge of abandonment

This small village tucked away in the Paphos rural landscape has been on the move for over 200 years, ravaged by Turks in 1821 and relocated in 1953 during British colonial rule after it was destroyed in an earthquake.

Today, Eledio of just 37 permanent residents, no school and a priest on loan, is on the verge of becoming a ghost village. For the past three years, there has been no Christmas liturgy in the village church.

Eledio sits among wine villages, 23 kilometres northeast of Paphos, 69km west of Limassol and 153km southwest of Nicosia.

“Urbanism is one of the most serious and pressing problems that the community of Eledio is facing,” community leader Takis Papasavva said.

Most of the residents work in construction, farming and vineyards.

Papasavva has been community leader since 2007 and has tried to make the village attractive to visitors.

“But this is not all that counts. These projects alone are not enough to keep or bring back the people,” he said.

One of the most serious problems is housing, he said, as the €50,000 state grant was nowhere near enough to cover real needs, when a modest house costs up to €300,000 to build. He was referring to the government assistance given to young couples up to 41 years old who return to isolated areas and who are eligible for 50 per cent up to €50,000.

This, he said, needed to change if young couples were to be attracted to set up home in the village.

Papasavva said fuel was also a deterrent, as workers needed to commute on a daily basis to get to their jobs. He called on the state to help with this issue, thus providing incentives for the people to stay.

The monastery was destroyed by the Turks and the monks killed during the 1821 Greek revolution. Before its initial destruction by the Turks, Eledio had a church and monastery dedicated to St Irene, which have since been left in ruin.

When the village was moved to its current location, a new church to St Irene was built.

Rebuilding the original church is proving to be more difficult than anticipated, as Papasavva said there were “serious obstacles” from the Antiquities Department as a building permit was necessary to landscape the surrounding area. A geological survey was necessary to even construct an outside lavatory.

Eledio was originally a mixed village, but during its relocation the British separated the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, creating the new Eledio and Axylou, the former for Greek Cypriots and the latter for Turkish Cypriots.

The houses were prefabricated and brick houses were built later.

Surrounded by prosperous and bustling wine villages, as well as monasteries, such as the 12th century Chrysoroyiatissa believed to be home to a miraculous icon and Ayia Moni built in 300AD on the ruins of the ancient Greek temple to Hera built by Paphos king Nikoklis (374-361BC), Eledio is a place for a detour, map in one hand and history guide in the other – but best go quickly before it disappears again.