Filenews 27 April 2025 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Cyprus was destined to emerge from the sea and be inhabited millions of years later, but the processes that took place from the depths of the centuries were such that some parts of it were placed on solid subsoil, while in other areas the rocks were so composed that they did not have the coherence required to withstand buildings or natural phenomena. One of the most "sensitive" areas in terms of its rocks is Paphos, whose history would have looked like a fairy tale if it had not come from the Geological Survey Department, which over time has studied in depth the geology of Cyprus and of course of this province.
According to what is recorded by the Geological Survey, "in the province of Paphos, large areas are covered by a series of alien and transformed rocks of Triad to Cretaceous age". In simpler words, Paphos, in terms of its creation, has a history of about 70 million years behind it. The above rocks, also known as the "Mamonia Complex", were transferred to their current location from areas south of Cyprus, although they attract their original origin from Africa.
It is worth noting that the "recrystallized limestones" also known as the Petra tou Romios as well as the lavas, which are exposed on the cliffs of the homonymous bay, according to research, "are in fact alien rocks of the Mammonian Sequence".
As for the coloured mosaics, which were used by the creators of the mosaics of Curium and Paphos, they came, according to the Geological Survey, mainly from the erosion of the multicoloured rocks of the Mamonia Sequence. This Sequence, with the complexity of the geology that characterizes it, is considered (along with the Cannabis Formation) to be responsible for the problems of landslides from which various areas of the Paphos district suffer.
Regarding the geology of Paphos, we also read that "it is generally accepted that the alien rocks of Mamonia were deposited during the intrusion of the rocks of the African plate on the advanced end of the Troodos ophiolite complex, during its northward subsidence, under the Eurasian plate, during the Maistrichtian period, about 70 million years ago".
Landslides, therefore, and unstable rocks on which the inhabitants of Paphos built their homes millions of years later, obviously without knowing at the time, what is known today through the investigations that intervened.
The rocks on which some communities were built were problematic and this was the reason why communities, such as Pentalia, Choletria, Melamiou, Agios Fotios, Statos, Fasoula, Finikas, Korfi and Kividas, have moved to new fixed locations.
In addition to the above communities, another community was moved. It is Theletra, whose residents, in an "informal scheme" with the government of the time, invoked the instability to justify the relocation, but the real reason seems to have been the fact that on the one hand there was no space for the expansion of the community and on the other hand the EAC could not supply electricity to the entire village.
We visited the old abandoned Theletra a few days ago and saw the situation up close. When someone leaves the Paphos-Polis road and heads towards the village, some plants and crops do not give the image of abandonment. On the outskirts of the community one can see rocks and large stones (about the volume of a large barrel or larger) at the side of the road. At the entrance of the community, two building columns are lost in the sky and next to it is a stone-built house, one of whose walls is built with cement blocks. On the opposite side of the road there are houses that "step" on a retaining wall.
The EAC poles in their place as well as the overhead cables. Wild vegetation almost everywhere. Several houses without doors and windows with obvious damage and lack of decades of maintenance. A reed tree was harvested towards the outside of the village and a beautiful arch hidden behind a prickly pear tree or more familiar to us, a shoe fig tree. There are other houses on an elevated point that, as Odysseas Elytis would say, look like beautiful ruins. And towards the end of the village, four more consecutive arches. And also wild vegetation. It is also the road that leads to the old church and a date written on a wall. And quite paradoxically, two pieces of graffiti on the walls.
Apart from the abandoned houses, there are also some preserved ones that seem to be inhabited, if we judge (even as holiday homes) by the cars that are outside. There is also an old concrete fountain, with the emblem of the Republic of Cyprus engraved on the front.
On one side of the community, on the left as the visitor enters, there are mountains, which theoretically threatened the inhabitants with landslides, falling rocks, etc. And indeed, the whole picture is awe-inspiring.
From the village's website, the online visitor reads that "the Republic of Cyprus under the government of Archbishop Makarios III, decided to relocate the village. The reason for the move (as it had been officially promoted) was mainly because the old Theletra was built on a steep slope that was considered dangerous due to landslides and earthquakes. When Makarios III visited the village for the first time by helicopter and saw from the opposite slope the village literally buried in the mountain, he likened it to pigeon nests or as it is otherwise written, Makarios gave the characterization "dovecote nests".
The state may have allocated land and cash in order to create the new Theletra, but the properties in the old village belong to the residents who also own the titles. The land on which the new village was built belonged to the inhabitants and the plots were expropriated for 25-50 pounds at the time.
A former community leader, whom we asked as to whether the old Theletra was indeed in danger from landslides or earthquakes, had mentioned that not a single property fell in the earthquakes that occurred, so, according to him, there is no danger for those owners who return.
In the old Theletra, the restoration of houses began some years ago in order for some people to return or to use them in another way. As the community leader had mentioned, about half of the 200 houses in the old village were in a correctable condition. He had also mentioned that most houses are connected next to each other. Almost all of them are stone-built and this was one of the main reasons that kept them standing.
One of the negatives in the old village is that the coefficient is zero, so no additions can be made to existing buildings.
In the past, companies had shown interest in using the old Theletra for agrotourism, but the government referred them to the owners, who were not interested in giving up their homes. It is true that if the houses were repaired, Theletra may not be the most beautiful village, but it would have its own grace and would obviously attract visitors. Even if today seems to come from yesterday, even if it seems that time has stopped, even if its main road can only hold one car. Even if the line of an old visitor to Paphos in the 1970s is true, who, when he had visited some communities, had described the image that remained in his mind as follows: "There they live secretly from God" or at least "they live secretly with God".
It is noted that the decision to carry out the study was also helped by the receipt of several letters from the Department of Urban Planning, the District Administration and the Department of Public Works describing problems of landslides and cracks. The help of the Department was also provided by owners who saw their properties, for which large sums of money were charged, suffer major cracks and movements. In the past, major problems have also occurred in swimming pools that either moved to the sloping terrain on which they were built or suffered cracks, or parts of them remained suspended when part of the subsoil on which they were "sitting" landed.
As we were informed by the Geological Survey, mormorillonite (found in some areas) leads to the swelling of the clay up to nine times, while in times of drought it shrinks. Both buildings and roads, when constructed on clay that is wet, suffer cracks and subsidence. As explained to us, the unstable rocks were transferred to Cyprus from Africa in the context of the rearrangement of the geological plates.
Clay, with the changes it undergoes in its mass, also creates cracks in the sediments that are on its surface and which also undergo cracks. However, in order not to burden them all on unstable rocks, it seems that many of the problems created in buildings are due to the fact that they were not properly founded. That is, in many cases, the problems could have been avoided or at least could have been less extensive if a proper foundation method had been applied. Of course, there are also areas whose subsoil is of such a form that, whatever design was followed, there would still be problems, but usually in these cases, white zones are declared, so the construction of any building is prohibited.
Communities in the Paphos district, which are built in clayey areas and in which there are problems with construction, include: Episkopi of Paphos, Choletria, Nata, Armou, Marathounta, Foiti, Lhasa, Agios Dimitrianos, Kritou Marotto, Mamonia, Statos, Pentalia, Koilinia etc. Landslides in all these villages are mainly related to the clay-bentonite layers of the Kannaviou and Mamonia Formations. In West Paphos, Arodes and Drousia are mainly affected, where there are many developments with problems. In the central area of Paphos, Stavrokonou, Episkopi, Filousa and Salamiou are affected, while to the north, Drynia, Peristerona (Paphos) and further north Maunda are affected.
