Kykkos Monastery

The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos was founded around the end of the 11th century by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081 - 1118).

According to tradition, hermit Esaias was living in a cave on the mountain of Kykkos. One day, the Byzantine governor of the island Manuel Voutoumites, who was spending the summer at a village of Marathasa because of the heat of the season, went into the forest to hunt. Having lost his way in the forest he met Esaias and asked him to show him the way. The hermit who was not interested in the things of this world would not answer his questions. Voutoumites got angry at the monk's indifference and maltreated him.

Not long after, when Voutoumites returned to Nicosia, he fell ill with an incurable illness. In his terrible condition he remembered how inhumanly he had treated the hermit Esaias and asked God to cure him so that he might go to ask the hermit personally for forgiveness. And this came to pass. But God had appeared in front of the hermit and revealed to him that the very thing that had happened had been planned by the divine will and advised him to ask Voutoumites to bring the icon of the Virgin, that had been painted by the Apostle Luke, to Cyprus.

The icon was kept in the imperial palace at Constantinople. When Voutoumites heard the hermit's wish he was taken aback because he considered such a thing impossible. Then Esaias explained to him that it was a matter of divine wish and they agreed to travel together to Constantinople for the realization of their aim.

Time was passing and Voutoumites could not find the right opportunity to present himself in front of the emperor and ask for the icon. For this reason he provided Esaias with other icons and other necessary things and sent him back to Cyprus, at the same time placating him that he would soon see the emperor. By divine dispensation the daughter of the emperor had fallen ill with the same illness that had struck Voutoumites. The latter grasped the opportunity and went to see the emperor Alexios. He recounted to him his personal experience with the monk Esaias and assured him that his daughter would be cured if he sent to Cyprus the holy icon of the Virgin. In his desperation the emperor, seeing that he had no other option, agreed. His daughter became well instantly. The emperor, however, not wanting to be parted from the icon of the Virgin, called a first-class painter and ordered him to paint an exact copy of the icon with the aim of sending this one to Cyprus.
In the evening the Mother of God herself appears in a dream of the emperor's and tells him that her wish is for her icon to be sent to Cyprus and for the copy to be kept by the emperor. On the following day the royal boat with the icon of the Virgin departed for Cyprus where Esaias was awaiting for it. During the procession of the icon from the coast to the Troodos mountains, according to legend, the trees, participating in the welcoming ceremonies, were piously bending their trunks and branches. With patronage provided by the emperor Alexios Komnenos a church and monastery were built at Kykkos, where the icon of the Virgin was deposited.

The Town of the Cats

Over time, I have had the chance to visit several towns around the world. You can find, in many of them, unknown emblems: the “community pets”. Let count: dogs in Bucharest, swans in Prague, rabbits in Dresden, crows in Tokyo, and so on. Limassol is the town of the cats.

Camel Park

No so long time ago, camels were common in Cyprus. Even today you can take a short ride at Camel Park, near Mazodos (on Larnaca-Limassol shore road). You can spend here a nice day, enjoying not only the ride, but also, a small museum, farm friendly animals, Cypriot food and a cooling pool.

Limassol Art Promenade

Molos is the well-known Limassol Promenade. It is a place usually crowded by tourist and locals. Many attractions are on this 2 km-long esplanade (ideal for walk, fishing and relax). Here is a big open-air art exhibition. Stone, metal, wood, water and even air, gray and colors, strange and usual, all are present. Take a walk and look around! (See more photos at Art Promenade.)

OMODOS - The Village of the Holy Cross

Omodos is a wine-producing village. It can be admires for its gravel-paved central square and its rich architecture.

According to tradition, the village accepted the Christian faith around 150 AD. One night, the inhabitants saw a great fire and after search the area, they discover a small cross hidden in a cave. A chapel was build near the cave and with the passing of time a monastery was built to accommodate the pilgrims who sought cure from the Holy Cross. The history of the Monastery of the Holy Cross is long and dates back to 327 AD when Agia Eleni (Saint Helen) visited the island.

Eastern Mediterranean See

A culture which draws on Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East, and 9000 years of constant invasion: Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks Romans French crusaders, Genoese, Venetians, Turks, British… Crusader castles rub shoulders with ancient vineyards, frescoed monasteries overlook citrus orchards, and sandy, sun-soaked feet tread Roman mosaic floors… The birthplace and centre of worship of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty… Picturesque harbor, long, sandy beaches, charming villages in its mountains (here life has gone unchanged over the years), famous monasteries… 800.000 inhabitants and many more tourists every year.

Kopiaste! Welcome to Cyprus!

Seven

Our lives are made up of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. If (not daily), we spend a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, our lives will be in balance. But if we neglect any one area, never mind two or three, we will eventually sabotage our success. Much like a table, if one leg is longer than the rest, it will make the entire table wobbly. If we don't take time for health, our family life and social life are hurt. If our financial area is out of balance, we will not be able to focus adequately on our professional goals, etc. Each of us as going around with a big book under our arm, and it has seven chapters, on each of the seven vital areas. And every day we add a new page to each chapter. We are writing the story of our lives. What do we like to say about our health life, on the last day of our life? What would we like to say about our family life on the last day of our life? … And the only reason we focus on the last day of life is that on that day, we cannot change the book. Time heals all wounds. It doesn't matter what's "broke" in our lives; maybe you have some social issues, some financial issues, with time, we have a high probability of fixing those deficiencies. But on the last day of our lives, there's no more time, and the story has been told.

Love

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others include Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left. Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat." Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh... Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder and asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?" "It was Time," Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

[Source: Internet]

Fell the Music: Romanian Athenaeum

The Romanian Athenaeum is the symbol of the city as far back as its 1888 inauguration. The work of French architect Albert Galleron, who also designed the National Bank of Romania, the building was inaugurated on February 26, 1888, and was built almost entirely with money donated by ordinary citizens of the capital, when a campaign called 'Give a penny for the Athenaeum' rescued the project from folly after the original patrons ran out of funds.

The first concert of the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra took place on March 5, 1889, under the Athenaeum’s dome. Between the two Wars, the hall was embellished with a superb fresco, and at George Enescu's suggestion, was endowed with an organ.

Romanian Athenaeum is situated in Revolution Plaza (on Bd. Calea Victoriei). With its sublime baroque cupola, it stands proudly at the flux of the city's busiest public square, competing with the Athenee Palace Hilton hotel, the Royal Palace and the old National Library.

Romanian Athenaeums is the place to hear classical music; the resident orchestra is the George Enescu Philharmonic. The auditorium can seat 1,000 spectators comfortably, and is renowned worldwide for its outstanding acoustics.

It this Romania that you know?

At what are you thinking when you hear “Romania”? These are the answers that I got from a professional group:

• I have been only once in Romania (it was approximately 8 years ago). You have definitely very nice mountains. I love them. I do not know how it is now but when I was there I could make tent everywhere without any punishment...from my point of view it is last place in Europe where man can really feel free (Alps are horrible in this point of view). Unfortunately, I got some bad experience with gypsy people on south of Romania: they sit next road and once when they saw that we are not going to stop, they just throw stone against our car, next the front window. They could even kill us :-(.
• First though - Count Dracula;-). I've never been to Romania so this is almost everything.
• Dacia
• Beautiful Carpathian Mountains, largest ethnic minority in Europe, December 1989, RMDSZ, Trianon, and of course the gypsies on the side of the road. The Csango people of E. Romania & Moldova a good people, however.
• For me Romania = great business opportunities and new market for our services and products at the moment! We have to be fast, because the Romanian IT companies getting better and better.
• When I hear Romania, growing opportunity comes to my mind :).
• Loving Romania and visiting this country several times. Nevertheless, last time we’ve escaped fast from the mountains with three small children (two at the back seat) hearing bears. Brrr… We have friends in the Sibiu, beautifully repaired city and I love to go there again. However I am really not sure if to go there now with the car without a spare wheel. Routes are not the best.
• I've been there once and what I have seen: nice people, nice culture, country of great opportunities and the best place to arrange a motorbike trips (winding roads with a breathtaking views)
• I'd love to go to Romania and already have some friends there :) Looking forward to doing business in there soon :)
• I don’t think that there is a significant difference between safety in the Bucharest , Sophia or Prague. The difference for me is in the accessibility of the services far away from the capital that helps to solve the trouble if something happens. No one put the professionalism of the specialists in Romania to the doubt. I know several very good specialists for the quality management and process improvement from the south-east Europe. Good luck.
• Beautiful country. Absolutely gorgeous!!! And people are very honest in their behavior and open towards others. And ....the food is great :)
• No journey to Eastern Europe would be complete without paying a visit there. Outstanding landscapes. Simply magnificent.
• Normally Hungarians go only to Transsylvania. I am exception: I have been on business trips several times to Bucharest only. First time I landed in 1996, I thought: Oh my God, how many years they are behind us. Last time I was there in 2000 I thought: Oh my God how many years they will beet us if they continue at this pace. I met with Romanian businessmen and women, and I had positive impressions, however to make business there is not easy.
• I expect that Romania has the same trouble as all post-communistic countries including Czech, Slovak or Hungary: for local companies friendship is more important decision attribute than quality of a supplier. On the other hand, subsidiaries of large international companies have decision headquarter abroad and managed by people in USA, Japan, Germany,… that prefer local subsidiaries of their global partners and do the “waste time” with small local companies.
• I visited your country in 1999... Very nice Retezat and Sureanu mountains, strange people around the railway station in Arad around midnight. Summarized, I have good impression and recommend to everyone to see the mountains.
• Personally, I find Romania perspective for business. So I wonder to look for business partners in Romania in the nearest future