Alevkaya, Herbarium & Historical Remains

Alevkaya is connected to the forestry administrative office of the Ministry of Forestry (Orman Bakanlığı). Along with its perfect natural beauty, Alevkaya with its clean view consists of various picnic areas. Besides this, being connected directly to the Ministry of Forestry, Alevkaya also provides employments to people living in surrounding villages.

Click to See Large Photograph of Alevkaya Picnic Area

Found at Alevkaya, approximately 1089 types of dried plant types are being sheltered since the date 09/10/1989. 17 types of these plants are peculiar to Cyprus. Besides this, 4 of the 33 monument trees in Cyprus are in the borders of Esentepe. In such cases of visiting this area, even though there aren’t any experts to see or speak to upon this subject, sources of directions and information for those interested can be maintained from this place.

The Melendirina Church is situated at 4km. North-east of the village, 500 meters away from the shore. It is a place where both Orthodox and Catholics can use the church. When it was first constructed, it was addressed only to the Orthodox. When the island was ruled by the Venetians, it was a place where the Orthodox secretly went to pray. The reason for secretly going to the church was that they were reluctant of the Latin’s.

The Antifonidis Monastery is 4.5km. away from the center of the village, towards the south east side. It is only 1km away from the Tirmen mountain pass. The word Antifonidis means for the voice to make an irritable ‘echo’. All three sides of the monastery are covered with high hills and the north side of the monastery looks towards the sea. This monastery was built in the 13th Century and it is known as the finest buildings of the Christians in the whole of the island. It belonged to the Luzinyan family. Before 1974 it was affiliated with the Cikko Monastery. With its Byzantium architecture it is made of a tower which sits upon 8 columns.

The Abadi Monastery is the oldest of the monasteries in the area and it is ruined. Later on, a small Church was constructed in its place. 2km. to the east of Antifonidis Monastery towards Esentepe, it is situated at high place covered with olive and pine trees. Unlike the other valuable historical remains, this Monastery has also been neglected.

The church was built by the Byzantium’s in 1867, and then was used by the village people as a mosque in 1978. The doors of this church were made in the second half of the 19th Century and it was affixed to the church in the 20th Century. Made from yellow stones, this church is another great example of Byzantium architecture.

At the east side of Esentepe, the Makaria tomb houses can be found on both sides of the coastal road. In the 10th Century during the Byzantium period, the reason why they carved these rocks was to hide themselves from the Arab pirates. Just like the other historical remains, these tomb houses are left neglected and in time they have been filled with soil. Those that are clean from the inside have remained clean by chance. Even the majority of people living in Esentepe do not know anything about these houses.