Cyprus Landscapes Video No 102 Panagia of Sintis Monastery

Описание: If you like this video please subscribe to:    / @cypruslandscapes6501  

Panagia of Sintis Monastery
Μονή Παναγίας του Σίντη

The monastery of Panagia tou Sinti is located in the Paphos, southeast of the village of Pentalia, and is accessible by dirt roads from the neighboring villages of Salamiou, Pentalia, Agia Marina, Kelokedara and Nata. It is built on the western bank of Xeros river, at its confluence with the Argaki of Sintis. The last name of the monastery came from this Argaki. Sintis is mentioned as a Homeric word, and is etymologically derived from the verb sinomai, meaning to damage/damage.

The monastery is one of the most authentic examples of monastic architecture in Cyprus (without modern interventions) with significant archaeological, historical, architectural and aesthetic value. Also noteworthy is its perfect integration and harmonization with the environment of the area, in terms of volumes, materials and colors. As a whole, this area constitutes for Cyprus a remarkable and unique cultural landscape.

Historical sources regarding the establishment of the monastery are scarce. The oldest written reference to the monastery is in a Venetian manuscript. The monastery is also mentioned in Ottoman documents, found in the Kykkos monastery archives. According to a document from 1603, at the beginning of the 17th century the Turks tried unsuccessfully to turn the church into a mosque.

The monastery of Sinti was probably originally an independent monastery, but later it became a member of the Kykkos monastery. This is also reported by the Russian monk Vasilios Barsky, who visited it in 1735. He mentions that the monastery then had three monks, who cultivated the estates. It still commemorates the well in the middle of the courtyard and the two neighboring water mills, which belonged to the monastery and which are preserved to this day.

The monastery was visited at the beginning of the 19th and 20th centuries by several travelers. According to the testimonies of the monks of Kykkos, the monastery functioned until 1927. In the early 1950s the property was sold to residents of neighboring villages and the large courtyard was turned into a paddock. Thus the monastery was deserted and the buildings were heavily damaged by the earthquakes. In 1966, the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus declared the monastery Ancient Monument II, but without carrying out any maintenance until 1994. Restoration work was completed three years later (1997). The interventions mainly concerned the support, fixing and maintenance of the entire monument.

Local tradition refers to the building of the church of Panagia of Sintis by a builder, who was a student of the craftsman who built the neighboring small church of Agia Paraskevi. After finishing his work, the proud student called his teacher to admire it. They went up on the roof, to see the dome. When the teacher realized how much poorer his own congregation was, envied that his pupil had surpassed him in art, he pushed the student, who fell down and was killed.