Agia Marina
The village of Ayia Marina is about 13 kilometres from Polis on the Pomos road. The fifteen minute drive is well worth it as the road follows the coast all the way to the village which sits right next to the beach. With the Paphos hills and forest on the other side of Ayia Marina it makes it a truly beautiful setting.
The old village was up on the edge of the forest but in 1924 the English authorities moved the village 2 kilometres down to the sea to save the forest from over use by the shepherds and their flocks, the move gave the animals much more room to graze.
The village is named after the female saint Marina, she who looked over the village. St. Marina day is celebrated on the 17th July, the villagers collect the Icon of the saint from the old church and walk right through the village, there is also a village fair on the 16th July.
The Muktar of Ayia Marina is Thanasis Agathokleoous who is married to Eleftheria, he was elected on January 1st 2007 and this is his first term of office. Thanasis is a retired policeman form Polis and is well know and respected in the area.
The population at present stands at 850, of which there are 90 pupils at the village elementary school, the school has been chosen to be in the pilot programme for ‘all day schooling’ and has 16 teachers. The village also has its own nursery school, but the 70 gymnasium pupils travel to Polis each day. The rest of the population is made up from 50 foreign residents and the remainders being fruit and vegetable farmers, shepherds and their families. The local farmers union has its own public market on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday were you can buy the best fruit and vegetables, after which the rest of the produce goes to the big markets all over Cyprus. The village has its own reservoir in the forest for all their agricultural needs and two natural water springs that feed into the water tank for their drinking water.
The village remains unspoilt but slowly there is an increase in building for younger settlers and some tourists, however large areas remain form shepherds and agriculture. The village also boasts its own bakery, supermarket, bank and restaurant, it is the only village in the area with its own football field with showers, changing rooms, spectator seating to one side and even a box for the TV commentators and camera man. Next to the main pitch are two mini synthetic surfaces 5 a side courts, the whole project is very impressive and is hired out to other teams for training or matches, the moneys made from this goes towards other projects. Another project underway at this time can be seen just behind the co-op bank just off the main road where the old football pitch used to be. This is going to be an open air theatre, plus a children’s park with plenty of parking space and a canteen for refreshments, again village money with some help from the government and the EU, this should be ready by April next year.
Unfortunately due to the building work this years 14th August festival put on by the school children’s union to raise funds for the football team will not be able to go ahead. Most other village activities take place in the community hall behind the church.
The forestry department covering the whole of Polis area have their central offices in Ayia Marina, so all in all it is a very busy village with plenty for the Muktar to oversee. Thanasis believes that the coming of the new highway will benefit the village, not only will it help to stop traffic going through the village, but also commuting to Paphos will become a lot easier.
So next time you are driving along the coastal road stop at Ayia Marina and have a look around you will not be disappointed.