The Holy Royal and Stavropigial Monastery of the Icon of the Mother of God of Kykkos, or Kykkos Monastery for short, is considered to be one of the richest monasteries in Cyprus. It is nestled amidst lush greenery on a hill near the Troodos Mountains, 1318 metres above sea level.
The monastery was built specifically to house an icon of the Virgin Mary, painted by the Apostle Luke himself. It is believed that this icon was brought to Cyprus from Constantinople after the daughter of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus fell ill with a fatal disease - then the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and asked him to deliver the original icon to a specified place in Cyprus, then the girl would recover.
This miracle-working icon is honoured by locals and pilgrims as one of the greatest shrines. People believe that it protects the island and spares it from all sorts of misfortunes, such as the locust invasion in 1760. To preserve the image, in 1795 it was covered with a silver frame. Since that time the face of the Virgin has never been seen again. But the icon is still kept in the monastery of Kikko, and pilgrims from all over the world come to it.
Now the monastery also houses a museum, where you can see many valuable exhibits that tell about the history of this place and the whole island. Thus, there are church utensils, ancient icons, works of art. But the building itself is also of great interest - with its stone walls, red tiled roof and rich decoration, it also deserves the status of a work of art, not without reason Cypriots themselves call it the "golden Christian heart" of the island.
One of the attractions of the monastery is also considered to be the tomb of the famous Makarios III - the first president of independent Cyprus, who was once a novice in Kikko.
