Upon travelling from Choirokoitia and when ascending towards Ora going to the village of Odou, I had the image of a neglected and abandoned mountain village in mind and this is what I was expecting to see. Thus, I concentrated on the beautiful journey that begins from the outskirts of Ora and continues until the highest mountain peaks of Papoutsa and Madari.
It is a journey with comfortable roads and very intense uphill ones that take you through landscapes of unique beauty. The “strange” and “weird” forms of the ground, as well as the beautiful geological forms with mountain peaks that “seem” like castles and some others that are like vertical, inaccessible cliffs that “reveal” the violence that prevailed in nature at the moment of the island’s emersion from the sea.
When passing through these unique landscapes and when reaching the end of a journey that "tests" both the driver and the vehicle, you will see the village of Odou perched on the rugged, southwest slope of the green ravine.
Upon arrival at the central square of the village, the first thing you realize is the wrong impression that you had from the beginning. The village is "alive". Full of people of all ages. The houses have two storeys and most of them have tiles. The older ones are made of stone. The roads are narrow and steep, leading you to small neighborhoods.
The people are polite, cheerful and hospitable. They will speak to you and will answer to all of your questions. Everyone, no matter how hasty they are, or how occupied they are with their fields, they will stand with you and talk to you about their village. The fruit trees "dominate" in the ravines and on the slopes of the mountains, no matter how much vineyards compete with them.
The existence of a fruit production company and its facilities in the region of Odou, contributed to the growth and prosperity of its residents. New homes and huge mansions "grow" everywhere on the surrounding slopes, featuring bold economic boom in the region.
Each neighborhood has a vine covering the street, as if they want to prevent the sun from seeing their land. Each house with its own vine. The bunches of grapes, scatter their odours making their neighborhoods to smell wherever you pass from and each neighborhood has its own faucet. Natural sources of water flowing underground. You hear water flowing impetuous but you do not see it, except if you come to the edge of the ravine.
In most homes, but also in open spaces you will see huge earthen jars, remnants of an era where the village produced huge quantities of wine. The once productive vineyards were uprooted and their place orchards with fruit trees were created, which thanks to the multiple shades of green, make the village "seem" like a colorful kaleidoscope.
The Church of Agia Marina is built on a slope on the other side of the village, with its high, ancient belfry, thus completing its beautiful image.
In a central location, there is a monument with two flags and a picture, as least tribute in the honour of Sophronios Georgiou Sophroniou, missing person since 1974 after the Turkish invasion on the island.
When leaving from Odou, and upon arriving to the level of the river where the picnic area of Odou is found, after you stop for a rest in the coolness of the ravine which is covered with the high platanus trees, you bring all those experiences and the knowledge you got from your contact with the settlers in your mind, and along with that you have the impression that Odou looks like it has been taken out of a fokltale. A tale that no matter how much it was modified by the people, it proves to be very true.
