Lifestyle and people
Refreshingly hospitable
Everyone who moves to Cyprus says that what they love about their new lifestyle, apart from long sunny days spent in beautiful surroundings, is the friendliness of the Cypriot people and the slower, more relaxed pace of life here.
Partly due to its island status, at the crossroads of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Cypriot people have an openness that encourages acceptance of people from other nations. In the world of today, it’s refreshing to be surrounded by hospitable people who really know how to make you feel welcome.
Ancient and modern Cyprus
Cyprus is a modern country, successfully marrying European culture with ancient enchantment and inhabited by people wholove their island and its cultural heritage.
Cypriot people are just as likely to love music, dance, film and theatre as they are to enjoy history, literature and art and most love a good football match too. And in the cities and bustling resorts it’s hard to tell the Cypriot people from their European visitors as everyone wears the same fashionable clothes.
It is out in small rural villages and in the mountains, where time seems to have stood still, that you’ll see old ladies dressed in black sat outside sewing or just chatting as farmers lead their laden donkeys back home from the fields.
Religion is an important part of everyday life here and you can easily find yourself sitting in a taverna chatting away to a long bearded local Greek Orthodox priest, dressed in his black overcassock and wearing his ‘chimney-pot’ style hat and long tied back hair. Chances are he’ll have some good stories to tell.
Cultural pursuits
- Long lunches and evenings under the stars sharing meze, drinking some fine Cypriot wine and enjoying the company of great friends.
- The International Film Festival at Larnaca and Limassol in April.
- Slurping some of the good stuff at the Limassol Wine Festival in August.
- Atmospheric open air concerts at the Kourion ancient amphitheatre between Limassol and Paphos.
- Handling the beautiful and delicate, hand embroidered lace in the picturesque village of Lefkara.
- The annual 5 day Kataklysmos (Festival of the Flood), celebrated fifty days after Easter in the coastal towns, the biggest is in Larnaca.
- Colourfully costumed Cypriot folk dances, seen at most festivals and accompanied by music made with drums, flutes and stringed instruments.
Quick Facts:
- Expats have their own clubs and societies in Cyprus where you can join in all kinds of activities, from belly dancing to bridge.
- March is carnival time in Paphos.
- You can get married after only three days residence in Cyprus.
- At the Festival of the Flood, a procession ends at the sea where people sprinkle each other with water.
To see what life is like in Cyprus, why not join one of our area and property tours?
