The abandoned and ruined village of Souskou that is found on the southeast side of the valley formed by the river Diarizos, used to be fully inhabited by Turks of Cyprus.
At the time of the Othoman Empire, the Greeks of the island were obliged to live in unapproachable and inaccessible places and Turks chose to build their villages in areas with fertile plains that where crossed by rivers. Thus the beautiful valley of Diarizos with its great areas of arable land, was fully inhabited by Turks.
In the village of Souskiou, even though it is abandoned, you can see the wealth and the prosperity its residents had. In each neighbourhood there was a faucet with potable water. Their great number prooves the big number of the residents that exceeded four hundred. The roads are built according to Roman architecture, where the foundations are made of stones elaborately placed one next to the other and to pave it they placed clay, a material that exists in plentiful quantities on the surrounding hills.
The architecture of the houses differs accordint to the period in which each house has been built. The older ones that are in the centre of the settlement, are built with huge irregular stones and are covered in clay.
The houses that have been built after the period of the Othoman Empire, are built with square plinths that were made by the residents themselves, out of clay, mixed with straw.
The years that followed the island's independence, the houses were built with bricks that were made clearly out of a different material, that was a mixture of different kinds of clay.
The village was abandoned by the settlers at intervals. At the first years of independence, Souskiou was a place of training for the terrorists of TMT. On the earth of a fertile valley that for many centuries gave products to feed the people that lived in it, is where the seed of division was planted.
The village being well hidden in the valley of the river, away from the eyes of the authorities of the government, helped the disruptors train themselves with weapons which they then used against the legal authorities of the island.
The year 1963 was the beginning of the village's abandonment. Until 1974, no one walked along the streets of Souskiou. Its four hundred settlers were scattered into the four points of the horizon, most of them migrating abroad.
Today, the only living beings circulating in the beautiful, paved streets of the village are some “families” of pigs. The pigs go in and out of the ruins as ghosts, followed by dozens of small ones. Others lay down under the shades of the huge fig trees, enjoying their afternoon sleep.
Even though we were given the information and the warning that the pigs are at a semi wild condition and we were told to be careful for a possible attack by the pigs, we approached the “families” at a smaller distance than a metre. The pigs were not in an attack mood. On the contrary they were very “friendly” and very, very curious.
In the centre of Souskiou, there is a building that is in quite good condition. It is a Religious place of the muslim ex residents of the village, the Mosque.
South, far away from the ruins, in a fenced area, there is a small Christian Church, dedicated to Agia Marina. It may have been built in the village to embellish with its presence, the bad that the village and its settlers brought with their actions to their own Fatherland.
The ruins of the village of Souskiou are found 5 kilometres northeast of the village of Nikoklia and a kilometre from the asphalt road that crosses the valley of Diarizos. In order to reach the ruins, you will have to pass the river and walk for about 500-600 metres. There are also other accesses.
Prefer to walk a few minutes instead of getting lost in a labyrinth of narrow and dangerous for your cars dirt roads. Special care is needed if you try to pass to the other side with your vehicle. The water of the river may seem little to you, but in reality it is deep since most of it runs down from the thin pebbles and this makes it dangerous and insidious.
If you are planning to travel to Souskiou, do not forget to take some bread with you. The pigs will be very happy.
