April 2002 edition

As mentioned in the letter written to our readers and advertisers, we are continuing with renewed enthusiasm. We have persuaded three eminent residents of the village to join the committee of Tony Barron and myself, David Bryant. Our Chairman is Mimis Neocleous, our local Co-operative Bank Manager, whose input will be most important on local matters generally as will another of our new Editorial Committee, Father Gregori, whose knowledge on matters relating to the Church and local families is of great interest to us. The third member is local farmer, Makis (Mike) Demetriou, who serves on the Maroni Village Committee. His contribution is vital, in that he can speak fluent English and will be our communicator between Mukhtar Neoclis, the Village Committee and ourselves. Another bonus is that a number of readers have agreed to distribute the newsletter, proof read and write articles, which makes my job much easier and having an outside printer will help with Tony’s workload. We have set up a system, which we hope will run smoothly, but it depends on all our helpers co-operation especially on timings. It is not perfect and I am sure it can be improved, therefore any constructive comments will be welcomed, also we hope to include a letters section, so start writing. We must give a huge thank you to the Co-operative Bank which has made a substantial donation and also to the support of our advertisers and the kind donations from our readers. We still need more to cover our printing costs and our Village Committee still hopes to donate a sum, so please give generously.

In this issue we have articles from Alison South on “Maroni Archaeology : a visit in August 1888”, Gerry Barron on “Tails from the Surgery”, Brian Lait on “Cypriot Taxation”, plus our usual “Pecks Boy”, an article about Father Gregoris, Mukhtar Neoclis “Comments”, Roger Langford’s “Quiz”, Jane Langford on “Green Monday”, plus another recipe and something we would like to continue, a list of events not only in Maroni, but also the surrounding villages. In this issue we have events in Khirokitia. We are using the last batch of our printed adverts and our June issue will include the amended telephone numbers of 24 and 25 instead of 04 and 05, with a new image of some adverts.

You will have seen a large notice around the village and it asks all residents to put their rubbish, including debris, broken appliances and, in general, anything not collectible from the cleaning crew in the depository provided at the end of Synergatismou Street, a very long street, past the supermarket behind the antenna north of the community and not dispose of it in the normal dustbins. The penalty for ignoring this instruction is prosecution.

We congratulate Mukhtar Neoclis and our Village Committee, whom we will describe in fuller detail in future issues, on sending out notices in English, so that our non Greek readers can understand, as also they have with the change in water rates. The calculation of your water bills has been amended and the rates are now 10-50 cubic metres at 50 cents per c.m., 51-100 cubic metres at 60 cents per c.m. and over 100 cubic metres 70 cents per c.m. Also there will be a fixed charge of £5 per quarter, if less than 10 cubic metres are used. Swimming pools can be filled at £1:00 per c.m. The readings will be taken on the 30th March, June, September and December and if not paid within thirty days of these dates interest of eight per cent will be charged. Village Committee Office 0900-1200 & 1800-2000 Mon- Fri. ' 24-333111.

Who “Pours a Map” ? - Mine Host at this local taverna, what a treat to be regaled with old fashioned Cypriot hospitality, when your table is yours all night and coffee and dessert are often “on the house”. The menu is based around the charcoal B.B.Q. making the mezze from the grill a delight, but each of these tasters can be ordered on its own, to be served as a main course, which are regularly eaten as a supper by the many ex-pats who frequent this local hideaway. The unique flavour of the village salad is due to Sotiris Dressing, which, despite many requests, he is unwilling to divulge and this secret alone is worth a visit to this family run taverna.

Given prior notice, fresh fish and home cooked local dishes are always available, as proven by a special lunch held here recently by a visiting party of twenty-six Finnish archaeologists. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 1900 hours to finish, but as previously stated, special arrangements can usually be met. Once you have visited this typical village taverna, you will want to return time and time again, where you will become a friend of the whole family. If required, an excellent take away service is available on:- TEL : 24 333270 / 332124. Epicurian Yours, Pecks Boy.

The picturesque village of Khirokitia is located 25 km from Larnaca, 32 km from Limassol and 40 km from Nicosia and 6 km from the S/E coastline of Cyprus. It is at the heart of the island and at the centre of the highway that connects Limassol with Larnaca and Nicosia. The village is built in an elevated position south of the Troodos Mountains to the N/E of the river of St Minas. Khirokitia’s character has been established by its wealth of history, which dates from the earliest known civilization in Cyprus.

To the east of the village on the side of a hill (Khirokitia is built on several such hills) can be found the ancient archaeological Neolithic village of Khirokitia which dates back to 6000 B.C. The site was discovered by an archaeological search team in 1934 and this find has made the name of Khirokitia famous throughout the world, because of the information that has been obtained with reference to the Neolithic age. The archaeological site in Khirokitia in 1998 was entered into the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.

To the west of Khirokitia the church of The Virgin Mary tou kambou (meadow/field) and the remnants of the castle (serai) are significant remains from the Middle-Ages and are proof of the village’s existence during the Middle-Ages and Byzantine period. The population of Khirokitia today is about 600, there is a full time junior school which employs 6 teachers and there are 70 pupils and a nursery with attendance of 25 children. There is a youth centre run voluntarily by its committee, which has about 100 members, which organizes various cultural and educational events all through the year. The main occupations of the people in the village are farmers and agriculturalists, but due to its central positioning (between Larnaca and Limassol) many of the villagers work in the nearby towns in the tourist and business sectors.

Future imminent cultural events are :- 1st May Springtime morning walk in the picturesque village of Khirokitia. Commencing from the village square, the tour will pass through part of the old village on our journey to the nature trail and on to our final destination, the oldest archaeological Neolithic village in Cyprus. TIME 11:00 Village Square. 1st June A). Liturgy at the chapel of The Virgin Mary tou kambou (field/meadow) built in the Middle-Ages. Time 07:30-09:30 B). Guided tour of the surrounding area including the chapel and the remains of the castle (tower) with a historical account of the battle of 1426 A.D. Time 10:00 Village Square 27th July Artistic Festival Youth Centre Khirokitia. A festival encompassing artistic displays, Greek, Cypriot and Modern dance, as well as food and beverages. Entrance Fee will be shown in our next issue. Time 8:00 pm Village Square.

For Information Tel: 24-322033 or 99-466689.

One of the most rewarding and interesting aspects of working as a veterinary nurse for me was and still is the treatment and release of injured wildlife. Working in a country practice brought in many different cases, one of which caused havoc as well as much delight to everyone involved in its return to the wild. The animal in question that we named as Rosie was a young female badger. Rosie was the victim of a road traffic accident and was brought to the surgery by the local R.S.P.C.A. inspector. She was unconscious and had horrific wounds to her back legs and pelvis and a huge gash along her rib cage, exposing torn muscles in some places down to the bone. Our first priority was to treat her for shock and stabilize her, while she was still unconscious we took X- rays of her legs, pelvis and spine which revealed no fractures much to our relief. If we could repair the torn muscles and suture all her wounds she had a good chance of a full recovery.

Later that afternoon she started regaining consciousness so we kept her mildly sedated to enable us to continue to give her fluids by drip and to prepare her for the surgery she would need. The following morning she was much improved so we prepared her for surgery, she took the anaesthetic well and was stable throughout the two hours it took us to clean, debridement and to suture all her wounds. When we had finished we counted the sutures there were 136 in all. Back in her kennel she slept soundly stirring occasionally and gently snoring. By the evening she was back on her feet and managed a little to eat and drink, all was well so she was left to settle down for the night. The following morning I arrived at the surgery very early so that I could check Rosie and give her some food before the morning appointments arrived. On opening the kennel room door I was greeted by sheer devastation, Rosie had already helped herself to breakfast by eating our supply of dried cat food; shredded newspapers and blankets all over the floor were her new bed. Her kennel door was hanging off its hinges; she had chewed through the wooden frame with great ease leaving the steel mesh of the door intact. Having had her fill of cat food she was now curled up asleep in the corner of the room. The vet had now arrived at the surgery ready for morning appointments. What to do with her next was our first problem; clearing up the mess would come later. We decided to try and trap her in a large steel cat trap we used for trapping wild cats. If we put food in it would she take the bait so to speak ? Handling a wild badger can be quite a risk and being bitten a likely and very painful outcome. But Rosie had no fear of the cat trap and happily wandered in to devour the vet’s lunch a ham sandwich. The door of the trap closed behind her, so now the mass clean up campaign could begin. The vet contacted the R.S.P.C.A inspector who came and collected Rosie very pleased that she was already caged, he took her to their nearest centre where she would stay until well enough to be released. Rosie continued to gain her strength and recovery was straightforward. Ten days later she was back at the surgery for the removal of her sutures, which we did under sedation. She looked wonderful not at all like the poor creature we had first seen. Rosie went back to the centre and was released back to the wild four days later. We became quite attached to Rosie during her short stay with us and at the R.S.P.C.A. centre she had become quite a favourite among the keepers. We all hope that she is now enjoying life back in the wild where she belongs.

This is one day of the year when we normally stay at home, because of the volume of traffic on the roads and all the tavernas are really busy.

This year however we were invited to Phillip and Ellie’s orchard to celebrate with their family and friends. The day started cool, grey and windy, but by lunch-time the sun was out and despite the wind, it was warming up.

Down in the orchard, long tables were set out under the grape vines, which were starting to come into leaf. The tables were loaded with the sort of food I love (I am almost a vegetarian) broad beans, tomatoes, potatoes, salad stuff, bread etc. etc. and Ellie’s wonderful vegetable “hot pot” of aubergines, tomatoes, etc. was truly delicious. All this was happily washed down with copious amounts of wine, brandy and coke. Phillip and Ellie are wonderful hosts, they make you so welcome and the company was great.

Later on came the lovely halvas, tasty strawberries, fruit and a tasty honey flavoured “cake”. What a delightful way to spend a “Green Monday”.

Brian Lait has kindly passed on information about the taxation of U.K. pensioners living in Cyprus under the current tax system and the proposed tax system, which is as follows :-

Current Tax System		Proposed Tax System
Remittance basis		No specific reference on tax reform paper
Tax Free £2000		Possible alternatives:-
Flat rate of 5%		Taxed at normal rates
Option for normal rates		Current system to be retained
		Grandfather clause
		Option to choose between
		current/proposed system

Tax liability (personal deductions/allowances ignored)
	Current Tax System		Proposed Tax System
	Flat Rate	Normal Rate	Normal Rate
	£	£	£
Pension Remitted	12000	12000	12000
Tax Free Amount	2000	6000	9000
Taxable Amount	10000	6000	3000
Tax Thereon	500	1500	600
Personal Deductions/Allowances	Not Entitled	Entitled	To be abolished
Tax Liability
	Current Tax System		Proposed Tax System
	Flat Rate	Normal Rate	Normal Rate
	£	£	£
Pension Remitted	12000	12000	12000
Married Persons Allowance	-	500	-
Interest for Main Residence	-	500	-
Over 65 Allowance	-	500	-
Tax Free Amount	2000	6000	9000
Taxable Amount	10000	3500	3000
Tax Thereon	500	750	600
Adjustment for over 65 allowance restriction	-	150	-
	500	900	600

It is understood that reform will be enacted during the coming year and Brian will keep readers informed on these matters.

Lemonokipos in Greek means garden of lemon trees. The Lemonokipos Restaurant started operating in 1983, the owners Christina and Gregoris Charalambous ( Father Gregori). The restaurant is situated in the Maroni area, 300 metres from the sea in a lovely, romantic area. In summer time it is an ideal place offering excellent food in the cool evenings under the beautiful vine arbour.

During the Spring months again, the orange blossom smells from a distance. During the first years of the restaurant, life was not as easy as now in this agricultural area, with no electricity, drinking water and telephones. But because of Christina’s smiling face and pleasant manners, together with Father Gregori’s efforts, this unique restaurant remained open offering excellent home-made food, fresh fish and other Cypriot meze in a peaceful family way. Father Gregoris, who knows the human nature well, always gives his counsels in a really nice way. His customers are people from all over the world. Many times they come back to enjoy the good food and the quiet family atmosphere. A lot of his customers become good friends. Father Gregoris takes this opportunity through the Maroni Newsletter and its publishers to express his thanks to all his friends who, since 1972 when he came to live in Maroni, have supported him and his family all the way, through the good and bad times.

Since he became a priest at St Georghios Church in Maroni, he promised he would love and support everybody, locals and foreigners in this small village, everybody who needed his guidance and help. Father Gregoris assures all the people of Maroni, that he will be at Lemonokipos any time , day or night, to offer his services. The reason that Father Gregoris loves this village so much, is because of the respect the people have for each other, they are proud of their village and their hospitality is well known. During the last few years many foreigners have come to Maroni to work as agricultural helpers for the Maroni people. There are no serious problems and mainly they are treated and respected in a proper way. Many times they participate in the various religious and social events and the small community of Maroni sees them as locals.

Four hundred metres south of the village at the Petrera location, there are the ruins of an old church. Old people of Maroni say that this church was dedicated to St. Nicholas. Rumours say that one day in the old days, a shepherd was at the area with his cows, when one of his animals stepped into the old church ruins and died instantly. Since then nobody has dared to go there. Later archaeologists discovered ruins of an old settlement at that area. Father Gregoris and the ecclesiastical committee of Maroni, thought to try and rebuild the old St. Nicholas Church. For the moment this is an idea, but a lot of people show great interest in the subject. There has to be much effort to see this dream come true. Anyway things are positive and we will see in the near future.

The archaeologist D. G. Hogarth (1862-1927) studied at Oxford and later became Director of the British School (of archaeology) at Athens, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, and director of numerous excavations in Crete, Melos, Anatolia, Egypt, Cyprus and Syria, where he excavated at Carchemish on the Euphrates, assisted by the young T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). In 1887-88 on behalf of the Cyprus Exploration Fund, which had just been organised in Britain, he carried out research and excavations in Cyprus, including extensive excavations at old Paphos (the Temple of Aphrodite at Kouklia). When the summer became too hot for excavation, he continued to prospect for ancient sites and inscriptions, accompanied always by Gregorio Antoniou of Larnaca, “who had acted as our foreman at Kuklia, and to whose intimate knowledge of his fellow-islanders (gained both legitimately and illegitimately) and extraordinary intelligence I largely owe my fortune in discovering as much as I did in so well-worked a field as Cyprus. Native hospitality was always extended to me, and the wilder the district and poorer the peasants, the pleasanter is often my recollection.”

Hogarth wanted to investigate Maroni because of the possibility that the famous ancient city of Marium might be located here (however, actually Marium is near Polis). The Paraskeve pottery which he mentions refers to the mainly red-brown Early and Middle Bronze Age wares, such as had been found at the site of Ayia Paraskevi (now the Hilton and Bank of Cyprus HQ area in Nicosia). Cippi are cylindrical-shaped Classical period gravestones with inscriptions. The place where the villagers used to find big stones to build their houses is Vournes, recently excavated by Gerald Cadogan (see Maroni News Vol. 1 no.3). Ten years after Hogarth’s visit, the British Museum excavated at Maroni (Maroni News Vol. 1 no.6), and Gregori Antoniou, who had assisted Hogarth, again acted as foreman, as he was to do on many other British excavations in Cyprus and elsewhere. Hogarth describes his visit: “But nevertheless the persistence of an ancient name is not to be lightly disregarded, and my reason for bringing up this subject of Marium again is to place on record that remains do exist in the neighbourhood of Mari and Maroni of a town, whose tombs contain objects ranging from a very early to a very late period - in fact, quite compatible with an old and a newer foundation.

My attention was first directed to the neighbourhood by Mr Cobham, Commissioner of Larnaca, who told me that reports had reached him of continual finds by the villagers of Maroni and Psemmatismeno, and acting on this I made a journey thither in the middle of August. I visited first Maroni, and found the villagers, as I had expected, extremely reticent; but promises, bribes, and assurances that I was no detective, so far opened their hearts that I was conducted to a series of graves freshly opened in a hillside south of the village and looking towards the sea.

The fragments of Graeco-Roman glass scattered about their mouths sufficiently indicated their character, and near them and subsequently in the village I found four inscribed cippi, whose lettering was of a very late period: like most of their class in Cyprus, these inscriptions are badly cut and spelt. On returning to the village I found that my character had been cleared of suspicion, and I was shown a private hoard of pottery which must have come from quite other graves than those which I had just visited, for it was of the true Paraskeve type, i.e. unglazed ware, buff ground with hatchings in black or red, very thin, and rude in design; and this, I was informed, had been found nearer to the sea. I was further shown a Phoenician cylinder, but the jealous owner would neither permit a near inspection nor sell his treasure. I then tried Psemmatismeno, and found there red glazed ware with incised patterns of cross-hatching and wavy lines, also a Paraskeve type: and next morning was conducted to the graves where the Maroni pottery had been found, all comparatively freshly opened in several localities in the charub-groves which stretch down to the sea. Corresponding to the large necropolis which had evidently been tapped only in haste and fear, I felt sure that there must be a city-site, and at last, after many questions, elicited from my guide the information that there was a place in the grove where big “tetragones petres” were always to be found when any native of Maroni wished to build himself a house. To this spot he conducted me, and we emerged at last upon a tract of undulating mounds from which peeped here and there the corners of squared blocks, one as much as 5 ft. x 2.5 ft.: a second had a chisel-draft around the edges, as in the second period of old work at Kuklia; and I further picked up one of the convex stones with flat under-side which are supposed to indicate an early site. Buried under the hillocks and arable land, appeared to lie remains of a town to which the graves, both early and late, belong. General Cesnola is said to have found Phoenician pottery in a knoll overlooking the sea, south of the site, but not to have seen the site itself; and Sakellarios rested his conjecture that the site of Marium was in this vicinity on a ruined church nearly a mile away. The site is near Maroni, but nearly three miles from Mari, where there are no ancient remains whatsoever; and it is with much diffidence that I suggest that Marium, and later an Arsinoe, stood here, and that the earlier name has survived in those of the two villages.”

(From D.G. Hogarth, Devia Cypria, London 1889, pages vi, 106-8)

	£(cyp)
Balance at 1st February 2002 brought forward	NIL
Advertisements for the year	410-00
Donation from the Village Committee	NIL
Donation from the Co-operative Bank	100-00
Donations from Readers ( 7 )	130-00
	640-00
- Less -
Cheque Book	2-50
Printing costs for April	150-00
Stationery & Cartridges	88-55
Balance at 20th April 2002 carried forward	398-95

Mar 3 Anafotia (H) LOST 4-1	Mar 10 Tersephanou (A) WON 5-0
Mar 17 Pirga (A) WON 5-1	Mar 24 Psevdas (H) WON 2-0
Mar 31 Kalo Chorio (A) LOST 3-0	Apr 7 Ayios Theodoros (H) LOST 2-1
Apr 14 Kalavasos (H) WON 2-0.

Our New Team

Volume 4, Issue 1