Europe

[Visited: August 2020]

After visiting Kolossi Castle, I am driving further south, into the southern tip of Cyprus: Akrotiri. I am looking forward to visiting what seems like a special place: the monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats. When the monastery was constructed in 327 CE, the island was suffering from a serious drought. A plague of snakes drove off not just those constructing the monastery, but also other islanders. The patron of the monastery, Saint Helena, decided to ship cats from Egypt and Persia, and trained them to fight the snakes. They eventually did, but at a high cost: many of them ended up missing eyes or were otherwise wounded. The monastery has been rebuilt several times since, and in 1983, a group of nuns took over, who still reside in the monastery. There were no more cats back then; when snakes returned to haunt the monastery, they decided to bring them back to fix the problem.
So, as a cat-lover, I am looking forward to seeing the monastery, and much more, the cats. I have been warned that I might not get a warm welcome, and I decide to park at a distance, under a tree. Construction is going on, and I find the open space in front of the monastery empty. I walk towards the main building, and when I come closer, see an old woman, clad in black, bent over a walking frame. I watch her as she moves, step after step, towards a bench. I feel pity for her, the compassion you can feel for an old person who wants more than the body can handle. I wait until she reaches the bench, and see a few cats following her. She takes her time to get settled, slowly looks up, and then, sees me. I smile, and greet her with a soft voice, in Greek. I get a faint smile, and she starts talking rapidly. When I tell her I don't understand, she asks if I am English, and even when I say no, I notice a change in her face, and see hostility.
Above the door of the church, I see a mosaic depicting Saint Nicholas, but when I make a move towards the door, the nun moves her arm, in a clear gesture that entrance is not allowed. I walk around the church, see the courtyard of the monastery, and signs indicating entrance is not allowed. I see no other entrance to the church, so I come back to what is the only entrance. The nun is still there, and I just open the door. She comes after me, now without her walking frame, moaning at every step. She switches on the light. I donate some money in a box, and take a small candle, which I light for a dear friend. When I walk towards the door, I see that she extinguishes the candle and throws it away, switches off the light, and with her arm, makes gestures as if to send me away. I take a few steps, but then feel so bad, that I stop. I see no more than six cats, all of them in a bad state, missing an eye, or otherwise wounded, and I wonder if the wounds have been inflicted by snakes or by neglect of the nuns. I remember I still have apricots in my bag, and decide to give them to the nun. She is surprised, I put my hand on my heart, but am not sure she appreciates the gift. When I drive away, I just feel bad, also for the poor cats, and I wish they would just close the monastery for visitors, and take away the signs pointing to it. The nuns seem better off without.

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Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats (Cyprus). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats.
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Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats > Cyprus > Europe

[Visited: August 2020]

Around the World in 80 Clicks

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