Larnaka

General information• Larnaca is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and the capital of

the eponymous district.• So-called "Foinikoudes" is the promenade along Athenon Avenue on the seafront.

A row of palm trees lines either side of it. • Larnaca is known for its palm-tree seafront, the Church of Saint Lazarus, the Hala

Sultan Tekke, the Kamares Aqueduct and its medieval fort. It is built on the ruins of ancient Citium, which was the birthplace of Stoic philosopher Zeno.

• Larnaca is home to the country's primary airport, Larnaca International Airport. It also has a port and a marina.

• Its Salt Lake fills with water during the winter season and is visited by flocks of flamingoes that stay there from November until the end of March. It usually dries up in the summer. In the past, it yielded good quality salt scraped from the dried surface. The salt from the lake is now considered unsuitable for consumption because of the nearby airport

• The climate in this area is referred to as "Mediterranean".

• Ancient Kition: Kition is an ancient city-state located on the southern coast of Cyprus. At present, it is a part of Larnaca, also known as Citium in earlier days. In the 13th century, Greeks established Kition, but it was re-established in 800BC by Phoenicians. The site has been heavily excavated; first by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition in 1929, then the Cyprus Department of Antiquities in 1959 and finally by a French team in 1976.

• Larnaca Fort: Larnaca Fort is located on the shore at the south end of 'Phoinikoudes' Chronicle, built between 1382 and 1398 during the region of James-I in order to protect the town's harbour. It is imagined to be in the shape of a square tower, rebuilt in 1625 during the Ottoman period. The fort was used as a prison in the first year of British rule. Because of its historic importance, many rooms have been transformed into museum. The courtyard is used for cultural events in summer season.

Landmarks

• Church of Saint Lazarus: The Church of Saint Lazarus is named after Lazarus of Bethany, who was raised by Jesus from the dead. It was built in the 9th century to house the tomb of Lazarus. It has an open porch with preserved traces of Greek, Latin and French inscriptions. The church was reconstructed in the 17thcentury with an addition of the Bell Tower. Its design features a central nave, two aisles and three domes.

• Hala Sultan Tekke: Grand Mosque is a popular spiritual landmark in Larnaca. It is set on the outskirts of the earlier Turkish and Greek quarters of Larnaca. In the 16th century it was used by the small local Muslim community but since 1974 the mosque has stood pretty much unused. The top of minaret offers a wonderful view of Larnaca city and its stunning surrounding landscape.

• Museums found in Larnaca include the Larnaca District Archaeological Museum, Pierides Museum and Kyriazis Medical Museum.

• The beaches of Larnaca are lined with nearly identical seafood restaurants catering to tourists. Although there are many continental and international restaurants in Larnaca, visitors do not miss out on indulging in the local food. Many of the staple dishes involve beans, such as fasolaki (French beans cooked in red wine with lamb), and louvi with lahana (black-eyed beans with chard). Some of the standard appetizers are potato salad, kohlrabi salad, and hot grilled black olives. The next course may include Cyprus village sausage and sheftalia, dolmades and keftedes, kolokassi in tomato sauce, and several aubergine-based dishes. Baked or grilled lamb (souvla) usually appears somewhere in the course of dining, as does some kind of fish.

• Much of the activity revolves around the city promenade during the major festivals. The most important of these is Kataklysmos or the Festival of the Flood, celebrated in early summer with a series of cultural events.

Livadia

• The settlement of Municipality is in short distance away from Larnaca, on its north side. It is located at an average altitude of about 15 metres and it covers a plain-full geographical region. The road network connecting the Municipality with the rest of Cyprus is considered to be of excellent convenience, as Livadia are close to the highways of Rizoelia-Paralimni and Nicosia-Larnaca.

Naming

• The Municipality was named Livadia thanks to the ground of the region, on which is built. It is a grassland, in other words a flat place with running water and abundant vegetation for grazing. The word "livadi – λειβάδι" comes from the ancient greek word "limon - λειμών".

Regional High School of Livadia

• It is a two-floor complex, with a tiled roof that adds a unique beauty and an architectural originality to the building. The first phase of the building construction was completed in February 2007. At the same time the construction of the second phase started, which included a multipurpose room as well as a fitness studio. In May 2008, the school facilities were delivered and put into operation.

Architecture

The District Gymnasium of Livadia is to the north-east side of the Municipality. It is a modern building covering a relatively large space and including many teaching classes, offices, workshops and a playground. It started functioning since 2002. Not only students from Livadia study there, but also teenagers from Oroklini, Troulloi, Kelia and Pyla. There are twenty to twenty-five classes every year and a total of 550 students.

The Operation of the Regional High School

Education• The District Gymnasium of Livadia, aiming in encouraging

closer relationships with Greek Schools, has developed a "twinning partnership" with T.L. Antiparos Gymnasium. Also is situated within the same region and in short distance from the Gymnasium. It is a two-floor building complex of special beauty and architectural innovation thanks to its roof tile. Throughout the schoolyear 2005-2006 the District High School of Livadia functioned for the first time. Students from Livadia, Oroklini, Troulloi, Kelia, Pyla, Xilotympou, Ormidia, Dasaki Achnas and ECA settlement of Dekeleia study there; they are around 700 in total.

Residents Professional Involvement

• Since the founding of Livadia residents were engaged in various professions. Initially, most of them were either owners or simply taking care of sheep, thus some were shepherds, others farmers or workers, while a portion of them chose to occupy with basketry art. Later, during the interwar period (1920 – 1930), the number of professions increased, for instance coachmen, truckers and traders, as it is mentioned on Livadia Elementary School students' notebooks. In the years after the Second World War, villagers started engaging with other professions in order to meet the requirements of the new era. These new occupations were related to the supply of services, tourism, branch operation, trade, crafts and industry.

Culture - Sports

Cultural movement observed in Livadia from 1940 onwards, when a portion of young forward-looking people, engaged with theatrical performances with the intention of entertaining their fellow villagers. As it happens everywhere within Cyprus, young men are mainly occupied with football. It is an exciting, group sport, loved and watched by the greatest portion of male population. Football became famous in Livadia when Sport Associations were created all around the Cypriot cities and especially in Larnaca. Head members within the Associations founded football departments and teams, which were crewed by young men of the community. Among the Popular Organizations "Anagennisi" was included, which was later renamed to A.O.L and then to "Levadiakos". It was, lastly, merged with the refugees' team "Salamina" and it was then called "Levadiakos-Salamina". The Nationalist Associations of Livadia created the team of "TH.O.I.". Many talented football players were emerged by Livadia football academies and they have achieved to play in First Class teams, mainly within Larnaca. Petros Armenis, Paraschos Kimonos, Georgios Miristis and Charalampos Amerikanos were players of Pezoporikos team. Antonis Skouris, Lefteris Panai, Kostakis Katsis, Kokos Mouyias, Louis Tziotzias and Nikos Skouris played for Alki, whereas Paris Savva for E.P.A.a

The Cypriot Team

• My name is Louiza Christodoulou. I am 15 years old. I am from Cyprus and I live in Larnaca. I am student of Livadia High School. My favourite subject is Modern Greek. I have two brothers and one sister. In my free time I like to play tennis, listening music and read books.

• Hi!!! My name is Andria Vorka. I am 14 years old and I am from Larnaca, Cyprus. I go to High School Livadia. In my free time I like to dance, to sing and surf the internet.

• My name is Anna Lambrou. I am 15 years old. I am from Cyprus. I live in Ormidia Village. I go to Livadia High school. I love to read many books and listen to music.

• My name is Maria Michael. I am 15 years old. I go to Livadia High school and I live in Oroklini Larnaca, Cyprus. My hobbies are music, I play guitar , piano and I sing.

• My name is Chris Vasiliou. I am 15 years old. I go to Livadia High School and I live in Livadia, Larnaca, Cyrpus. My hobbies include watching the newly arrived episodes of my favourite TV series, watching movies and hanging out with my friends.

• My name is Maria Kyriakou. I am 15 years old and I live in Troulloi, Larnaca, Cyprus. I go to high school in Livadia. My hobbies are listening music, hang out with my friends and play volleyball at my school team!

• Hello ! My name is Denis Mavromichalis. I am from Russia but now I live in Cyprus, in a village named Oroklini, in Larnaca, Cyprus. I am 16 years old and I am studying in Lyceum of Livadia. On my free time I am reading poems and drawing pictures of Japanese (anime) style! .

• Hello!!!My name is Anastasia Andreou. I live in a small beautiful village named Livadia in Larnaca, Cyprus. I am 15 years old and I go to Livadia High School in the first grade. I actually don't do any sports, in contrast I use to read books and hang out with friends and family in my free time. To conclude, I like listening to my favourite singer all the time no matter where I am.