Palia Kakopetria (the old part of the village) is the most beautiful and picturesque part of the village and it is built on the place where Kakopetria had first arisen (Old Village). Today, this part of the village is actually on the west side of the village, and more specifically it emerges from the left side of the valley Solia. Palia Kakopetria is surrounded by two rivers: Karkotis and Garilis.
The architecture of Palia Kakopetria will attract and amaze you with its distinct character. The houses are all built very close to each other and almost all of them have two floors. The roofs of the houses seem to be united as a big imaginable road.
The little houses have sloping and tiled roofs which are based on wooden beams. Each house has a beautiful wooden balcony which gives a magic color to the image of the village. They are made of adobes and big stones found in the rivers of the village.
The first floor of each house was used as a warehouse where they kept big clay-jars full of wine or other foods but also the people who had animals used to put them there. The families lived usually on the first floor, which in the Cypriot dialect was called “anoyi” or “makrinari”.
Every house had a little yard where they usually kept logs which were used in the mud-oven and in the “tsiminia” which is something similar to the fireplace.
Among the traditional and picturesque houses of Kakopetria lies a tortuous stone made road. Within the efforts for the embellishment of Palia Kakopetria, a sewage system was put below the stone made road.
The traditional architecture and building of the houses offer to the village a special color. The entire village is a unique sample of original folk architecture.
The inhabitants of the village have contributed to the conservation of the folk architecture of the village as they began restoring their houses on their own but also according to the guidelines of the Department of Antiquities. The first houses were restored in 1980.
Both the participation of the inhabitants of Kakopetria and the governmental services have ensured the renaissance of the traditional architecture of the village. Palia Kakopetria is under the protection of the Department of Antiquities and it is classified as an ancient monument.
After the classification of Kakopetria by the Department of Antiquities as an ancient monument, more restorations have begun. For example an old wine press and a watermill were repaired.
Palia Kakopetria is a vivid museum of folk tradition and architecture and offers to every visitor amazing landscapes and many elements of the Cypriot civilization.
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