The location of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean gives it a special religious significance. The island is a treasure trove of religious icons, mosaics and artifacts as well as ecclesiastical architecture. The island has seen many important religious events, including the visit of Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas who converted the proconsul to Christianity during the Roman period.

See also the Cyprus’s famous ten Byzantine churches on UNESCO’s World Heritage List scattered throughout the Troodos mountain areas with their remarkable pitched wooden roofs, icons and frescoes.

Holy Monastery of Kykkos
The Holy Monastery of Kykkos was founded by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I in the 11th century AD. Situated in the Troodos Mountains of central Cyprus, it is celebrated for an icon of the Virgin Mary attributed to the disciple St Luke. The icon is so sacred in the Orthodox faith that when it was first brought to the island legend tells of trees in the Troodos piously bending their trunks and branches on its approach. The Virgin of Kykkos is reputed to possess healing powers and to be capable of making rain. It is always the first object to be removed if the monastery is threatened by forest fires. A superb museum within the building complex displays rare or unique religious reliquaries made from gold, ivory, enamel, silks as well as rich brocades. Early Christian exhibits include oil-lamps, censers, candlesticks and a collection of silver gilt vessels - communion cups, monstrance’s and gospel covers used to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. Ingenious lighting brings to life other items such as pearl-studded crosses, embroidered vestments and a fine collection of Byzantine icons. Of special note is a copper engraving from 1778 featuring the Virgin of Kykkos distributing alms and surrounded by panels featuring scenes from the monastery at that time.

ICORET 2006 - Purpose & Scope
“Cyprus was the ideal staring point for ICORET 2006. The Byzantine churches of Cyprus with their important architecture, iconography, mosaics, murals and rare icons, the chapels and shrines of the countryside, the monasteries speak for the intense dedication to traditions and the close interconnection of art with religious worship through the centuries. Visitors also had the opportunity to come across buildings and places of worship belonging to other doctrines and religions which co-exist in a continuous dialogue promoting the rare historic and cultural palimpsest of Cyprus. The underlying perspective of ICORET 2006 is global, but with a particular focus on similarities and differences between regions of the world, representing various phases of development, systems, cultural, societal and environmental conditions. The expected outcome of ICORET 2006 is to build stronger ties between tourism authorities, travel agents, communities and religious sectors, and to devise approaches to move towards a more truly integrated way of thinking about religious tourism; a holistic approach to a complete offering with sustainability at the center. This is an approach that will help policymakers and business professionals, religious authorities and civil society to address the complex issues around them more effectively.

The subject of Religious Tourism is very high on everyone’s priority list. It is therefore a good sign that interest in religious tourism and cultural tourism is increasing throughout the world. The case studies that were presented at the Conference highlighted the vast diversity of Religious Tourism destinations and resources. The value of Religious Tourism in social and economic terms is invaluable. Religious tourism is interrelated with alternative forms of tourism such as natural and cultural heritage tourism, rural tourism and like many other forms of tourism must be based on quality respect and cooperation. Religious tourism coincides in time and place with non religious cultural tourists that takes place in religious buildings or sites, which can be generally considered to be one  of the varieties of the segment usually called cultural tourism. The cultural routes are a concrete application of the trans-boarder cooperation and dialogue between cultures and religions. They overcome distances, borders and incomprehension. The cultural routes are a place of tolerance, mutual acquaintance and solidarity. Religious tourists are becoming more sophisticated in their demands for travel and are interested to pay more for quality experience. Communities around sacred sites are no less in need of jobs, revenue, and public services. Religious tourism is an opportunity for them to benefit economically and socially from the development of this form of tourism. The economic benefits are obvious, and many communities rely almost entirely upon the religious and spiritual tourism product of services.

Religious tourism should: Protect the physical integrity of the religious sites and respect its religious significance. Ensure the host community wellbeing and preserve its priority right to use the religious places to ensure the visitors fulfillment. Reconcile the commercial needs of the tourism industry with the spiritual and religious needs of pilgrimages and worshipers since among the many different kinds of religious tourism; the spiritually motivated pilgrimage is the oldest one. This kind of tourism stands for respect of local beliefs and traditions, as well as care for the environment. Spiritual pilgrimages encourage understanding and dialogue between different churches, faith communities and religions, different nations and civilizations, and may promote peace and bridge building. All human beings are connected at the same spiritual level. Religious Tourism has the potential to create understanding and tolerance: “through the wisdom of knowledge”. Networking and linkages are critical in Religious tourism, just as with other segments of cultural tourism. Linkages between nations, governments, national and European organizations, destinations, attractions/sites administrators   help to maximize economic returns and support the principal of sustainable development. The conference web page www.icoret.org is considered to be a useful networking tool (internet)” (Source: CTO)

Search for our sight seeing excursions, which include some of the most important religious places of the island. Also, Tecoma Travel & Tours Ltd may organize for your group requests special cultural and religious tours. Contact us for more information.