The Street Art of Cyprus
Associated with sun, sea, and alcoholic spirits by many Britons, Emma Harris discovers that there’s much more to Cyprus than meets the eye.
Located at the north-eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is the third largest island in the region, and it’s crammed full of culture, influenced by its diverse geography; it’s south of Turkey, southeast of Greece, north of Egypt, west of Syria and Lebanon and northwest of Israel. Along with its cultural influences, its rich history makes for enviable landmarks and historical sites which beg to be visited.
If history’s your scene, there are two particular gems which you need in your satnav, both in Paphos. The first is the Saint Neophytos Monastery, one of the most well-known monasteries in Cyprus, beautifully indented in rolling Cypriot hills; second is the Tomb Of The Kings, a site of fascinating underground tombs which date back to the fourth century BC. The entire town of Paphos is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List and on arrival you will understand why – it’s like stepping back in time. A major benefit of the heritage sites is that you can wander freely, even clambering down into the very lowest of caves.
Going hand in hand with the culture and history is the amazing food. The obvious dishes are often the best, particularly moussaka, souvlaki and stifado; however, if you walk into any restaurant and ask for a meze for two, you can rest easy that you will be receiving an absolute winner of a meal.
These reasons for visiting Cyprus are near the top of the list for the thousands of tourists who flock there each year. However, the reason I returned a second time was the phenomenal street art which adorns so many regions, sometimes bold as brass and sometimes hidden down darkened alleyways. As a major fan of street art, I was instantly hooked. Street art is fascinating because of its social and political message: it says something about the place it’s in. In Cyprus, I was surprised at the diversity and rawness of it, which has apparently been on the increase since the parliamentary elections in 2016.
One particularly inspiring piece was a huge mural of a Nepalese mother holding her baby, which appears on a desolate wall in the middle of Limassol. I found out that this was created by Paparazzi, one of Cyprus’ most popular street artists, in response to the earthquake in Nepal which killed 8,000 people in 2015. Paparazzi is one of the main figures of the Street Life Festival, a huge event which attracts over 20,000 visitors to the old town of Limassol to take part and watch abandoned houses and walls being turned into art.
Both Larnaca and Paphos also have their very own street art events too – the Bubble Street Art Festival and the Street Art Square Festival respectively. The latter is particularly interesting: its curator, Yiannis Sakellis, intends to have the festival ‘invade’ areas of the city, converting them into landmarks of the city centre and rearranging the mapping of our daily life. This is exactly what’s so exciting about street art: it disrupts the banality of everyday life and creates a talking point. The frequency of street art festivals in Cyprus shows its increasing popularity. Whilst we do have some brilliant street art festivals in the UK – particularly UpFest over in Bristol, Europe’s largest – there is something different about the Cyprus scene.
With the rise of popular street artists across the island (as well as Paparazzi, look out for pieces by Twenty-Three, Billygee and RockTheDog), street art is a real cultural scene of its own in Cyprus. The placement of pieces is often deliberately remote and unexpected. Surprisingly, many are often commissioned by the Parliament of Cyprus to breathe new life and culture into the cities. This recognition of the power to transform our towns and cities with art has truly given these regions a liberal and bohemian culture; it is a joy to walk through alleyways and passages in the afternoon sun to find a work of art shining out loud and proud.
Info: http://www.visitcyprus.com/index.php/en/