Anogyra is a settlement in the Limassol district. It is around 45 kilometres from the city of Limassol and is situated in a picturesque area with carob trees, almond trees, and grapevines.

There are numerous theories on the origin of the village’s name. One of them claims that the term Anogyra stems from “Ano Gyroi.” According to this story, the existing settlement was the upper portion of a village named “Gyroi” that was located further south of its current location. According to a second theory, the name derives from the plant “anagyris,” which may still be found throughout the community. The alternative theory asserts that the village received its name from the “Ano Iera,” i.e., from sanctuaries located in the vicinity of the current village. According to Antonis Papageorgiou’s book “Etymological about Cyprus,” the name Anogyra is not derived from the Greek word “onogyros,” which means thistle. One viewpoint desires that the village return to the Neolithic period. Nevertheless, Anogyra is mentioned in a description of the Roman era. In this account, the village is called Onogyra, but it is labelled as Onoira on older maps.

These sources also confirm the above-mentioned theory that the origin of the village’s name is the onogiro. In his list of Frankish fiefdoms, Mas Latri lists the village as Anoghira, Anoira, and LaNoyere. Nearchos Cleridis mentions in his book “Villages and Property of Cyprus” that during the Frankish period, a feudal lord with a mansion resided in the settlement. According to a local legend, Rigaina, who had a home and orchard in Anogyra, resided in the village. Regina had a beloved son, but she obtained him in an unfair manner. The young man was a horse and riding enthusiast. So he spent a day with his word in his mother’s orchard over a hole. He failed and fell into the pit, ending in his demise. Rigaina, unable to take the death of her kid, sealed the pit with all of her household’s gold and silver implements and departed the hamlet. The church of Archangel Michael, constructed towards the end of the 18th century, is located in the village’s centre. It is a rectangular stone structure.

Above one of the church’s entrances is a sundial, while on the edge of the other is an imitation of Gothic architecture in the form of relief artwork. In addition to the gynaikonite, the church’s iconostasis made from wood is renowned. The church celebrates the feast day of Archangel Michael on September 6 and November 8 annually. At the village’s entrance, in a region filled with locust trees, grapevines, and almond trees, the ruins of the Holy Cross Monastery stand out. The Monastery was constructed on the ruins of a late Roman proto-Byzantine hamlet called “Anogyri” in the Acts of the Apostles.

A church dating to the 14th century and built in the style of a single-aisled church with a dome survives from the monastery. Inside the church are fragments of frescoes from the 15th century that are representative of Paleologian art. After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 at the hands of the Turks, it is very possible that these paintings were created in Constantinople and were transported to Cyprus. In the monastery were “Crosses,” one of which was relocated to the Monastery of Omodos during difficult times for the island. According to local mythology, there is an underground tunnel in the vicinity of the monastery where the monks hid their wealth. The tunnel in question has not yet been discovered, hence its presence has not been archaeologically proved. Every year on August 1st, a festival is held in the Monastery’s courtyard.

At the entrance to the settlement, in the local cemetery, stands the 1909-built church of Agia Varvara. The residents of Anogyra were mostly engaged in the cultivation of terass, or carobs. The community has long been referred to as a “monster village” due to the fact that it was the leading producer of locust beans. It is the only village where the custom of producing pasteli persists, with many families still preparing this delectable dessert in the traditional manner that they have inherited from generation to generation. In Anogyra, the pasteli is created between September and May, when the temperature is not high enough to make it difficult to form. At the Pasteliou Museum in the village, which was established with the intention of showcasing this traditional delicacy prepared from the juice of carob trees, the visitor gets the opportunity to closely observe the pasteli-making process and to follow in the footsteps of our long history. The Museum is located in the village’s ancient Turkish-Cypriot school, which was refurbished in 2000.

Every September, the town hosts the Pastel Festival, where visitors may learn about the cultivation of carobs, the “black gold” of Cyprus, and the preparation of carob-based products, as well as sample authentic pasteli. In addition to olive cultivation and olive oil manufacturing, it appears that people in the village were also engaged in olive cultivation. According to a 1572 Ottoman record, Anogyra belonged to the kaza Avdimou, and the olive production in the village accounted for 11% of the overall levy. In the village they produced 850 Cypriot kilogrammes of olives a year. In the vicinity of the Pastel Museum, there is also an antique olive press, which provides a wealth of information on the olive and olive oil-related occupations of the locals.

The Anogyra Community Council, directed by Mr. Foivos Nikolaou and cognizant of the gravity of its mission, continually promotes the picturesque village of Anogyra and contributes to the preservation of its long-standing traditions. Anogyra is a village that is ideally suited for agritourism, thus visitors have numerous possibilities there.

Pastry shops, vineyards, olive mills, dairy factories, hostels, cafes, etc. are among the enterprises that operate in this sector. The settlement of Anogyra has a rich cultural legacy. It is a village that maintains its traditions and is populated by hospitable people who are proud of these traditions and hold them in high regard.