The village in the Nicosia district, called Potamia, is a good example of the way of life of the Cypriot people, which was violently changed in 1974. In Potamia, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, live and work and have fun together.
Even though in Potamia there are two community councils, everything runs smoothly and there is great collaboration. All the services function harmonically. The village itself is proof of this. The visitor that comes will see clean streets. The different religious background of the residents did not create problems in the past nor does it do so today, and it is not a cause for separation.
The main church of Potamia can be easily found. It is build on the east side of the village, on an elevated location, you can see it from afar. As we have been told it belongs to Timios Stavros. We did not find the Mosque. We searched for it, but did not find it. We looked for and found the Turkish Cypriot president of the community, Mr Hassan. Where is the Mosque? we asked him. He took us to it. It is a simple construction with no Minaret, and it is the Mosque of Potamia.
We walked about the whole village. On the north side and a few hundred metres out of the village, there is a halfway built church. Next to the monument for the dead people of the area. Opposite it there is a very old construction, almost demolished. We were told it is from the Middle Ages. A mansion perfect architecture-wise. It could be the only sample of a medieval mansion in the whole of Cyprus. Someone should get interested by it. To restore it. To exploit it for tourists. The area is beautiful and your arrival is accompanied by feelings, on seeing the nobility of a crumbling building. The benefits for the community and the government would be quite significant.
In Potamia the fields are always green. The laborious residents plant them all year round. There is a lot of water. Moreover the name of the village recalls to water “Potamia”.
We noticed that there are many taverns. During night hours we receive many visitors from the surrounding villages and even from Nicosia, we were told that the ‘kleftiko’ here is the best.
Finally, yes, Potamia, despite all the evolution and development it has, it remains a community that is a good example for the coexistence of Christians and Muslims.
