Alona is a village in the Nicosia District

Nicosia District

For the district of Northern Cyprus, see Lefkoşa District.Nicosia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is the island country's capital city, Nicosia...

 of Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

. It is a relatively high up village on the Troödos mountain range.

History

The population of Alona, and surrounding villages of the Pitsilia locale, like Platanistassa, have traditionally been Greek-speaking and Christian. Moslem Turks did not live in the area between 1572 and 1964, although lots of Turks would holiday there. There have been periods of Catholic and Venetian domination, however, with the Church of Cyprus becoming dissolved.

Culture

Alona annually hosts a festival to mark the feast day of the Dormition of the Mother of God, on the 15th of August. This event involves traditional Cypriot music and food. There are two very old churches, the main one being St George, which houses an exceptional ikon of the saint. The village has a library, and a Co-operative. The Cypriot modern painter Telemachos Kanthos

Telemachos Kanthos

Telemachos Kanthos was born in Alona, a village in the highland Pitsillia area of Cyprus. He was the son of Christodoulos E. Kanthos, a prominent local teacher, and his wife Evgenia Aravi. He is regarded generally as a Father of modern Cypriot painting. His work is varied but his favorite subjects...

had a house in the village and many of his oils are of the surrounding mountain scenery.

Annual Drinking Games

As of 2005, the upper-middle class youth of the Country's capital gather in the majestically quiet and solitary village of Alona in order to escape the scorching heat and entertain themselves. This involves drinking games with heavy consumption of alcoholic drinks such as Vodka, Whiskey and home-made Zivania. This is often associated with the cooking of traditional dishes such as Souvla and Canellonia. These games have been hosted by the 'crème de la crème' of the villages' families - The Petrakas. Notable guests include ESL2006 Drinking Society chief Wingy, as well as one of the founding members Cotsios of Coventry, Anastas, Tofas, Dickys, Joseph, Christina, Pipis, Markos, Xenios and Karas.