Information on Cyprus, Pissouri and Travel

The Village of Pissouri

Pissouri is a traditional Cypriot hilltop village sited almost exactly midway between Paphos and Limassol. The panoramic views over the vineyards - the main local employers - to the Troodos mountains beyond and, close at hand, down to the sea are spectacular. The population is maybe 1,200. Local services are good (including two well stocked mini-markets, two bakers, a butcher, two gift shops, three taxi firms, a couple of banks, two car hire firms, an ironmongers, a petrol station, a pharmacy, and a police station). At the last count, there were ten tavernas and restaurants, three bars and three take-away pizza/kebab houses in and around the village. Down at the beaches and elsewhere nearby there are perhaps another ten restaurants. The village restaurants tend to be better value than those at the beach. The village still retains its ethnic roots and has small-holdings and goat farms dotted about among the houses new and old. It is a Cypriot village with tourism grafted on not a resort town or village. The beach and its infrastructure are creatures of tourism but they are largely unspoilt and are more quaint than commercial (though neither adjective entirely suits). Small-scale enterprise and hard work are the real hallmarks of the local community.

Sophie's House is on the hillside just below the village centre with a gentle slope for about half the five minute walk into the village square. The front of the House faces south-east and the gable end southwest onto the cul-de-sac where you park. You have unobstructed access to the sun from dawn (and what a dawn!) to dusk. The front and rear patios are shaded by late afternoon but the sun is still there on the gable end patio and through the livingroom windows if you have not had enough of it. The hillside above the House gives livingroom views up to the top of the village (You have a 300 degree panorama from the livingroom but you are not overlooked). The weather in Cyprus changes accommodation priorities. A neighbour has the washing machine permanently installed in a bunker in the garden! The livingroom of the House has a vaulted ceiling into the roofspace to keep it cool. The tiled patios dissipate the heat. You can always walk on them with bare feet at any time of day. Breakfast and lunch can be taken on the large balcony admiring the view. The orientation of the House and extensive windowed area make it possible to bathe the rooms in warm sunshine in cooler months. Leaving windows open but shutters closed in high summer has the reverse effect aided by the onshore breeze. There are gates and walls on the House boundaries and the quiet cul-de sac alongside the gable end gives "open aspects" on three sides. Most eating out is done al fresco in the summer. No need to book. Just stroll into the village and make your mind up about where to eat as you walk. But do make a beeline for the tavernas in the village square on a Wednesday in summer to get your free cabaret of professional Cypriot dancing as you eat. (Click on More Villa/Pissouri photos to see what I mean.) Over the past three years we have had visitors to Sophie's House from Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Ireland, and the USA as well as from the UK. There are five parties who have booked or been on a repeat visit.

The Environs/Things to do.

For a major shopping expedition you have only to join the motorway which is a little over a mile inland from the village and drive for 20 minutes to the first exit at Limassol where you will find a hypermarket called 'Orphanides' right on the junction. For a spot of more leisured "retail therapy" both Limassol and Paphos have substantial shopping centres. If you get fed up with the beach day trips can easily be made to Limassol and Paphos, Latchi and the West Coast, or the Troodos mountains. There is an amphitheatre at Curium, and a Crusader Castle at Kolosi which together make a good half day out, and there are Roman Mosaics at Paphos which can occupy you for days. There are day or half day boat trips from Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca and Latchi. A visit to Latchi and boat trip round the Akamas (either on a 50 foot tour boat or a self-drive outboard) and/or a late lunch at a harbourside restaurant and a drive home via hilltop views down to Coral Bay is a our number one recommendation for a day out. Other things to do.

Air Travel

To Paphos - from Gatwick Wednesday and Sunday daytime from October 2003 & NEW via their subsidiary - from Manchester on Wednesday and Sunday daytime from 18th May 2005.

For 2004 there will be a new code share agreement with the Belgian airline SN Brussels (formerly Sabena) which will give flights from Newcastle, Bristol and Southampton.