Location: | Ayios Sozomenos, Dali |
Open: |
All year daily. [2020] |
Fee: |
free. [2020] |
Classification: | Cave Church |
Light: | bring torch |
Dimension: | |
Guided tours: | |
Photography: | allowed |
Accessibility: | no |
Bibliography: | |
Address: | Ayios Sozomenos Cave Church. |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
12th century | Ayios Sozomenos arrives and dugs hermitage. |
If you search for Ayios Sozomenos on google, you will find the town Ayios Sozomenos, which is not far from the cave church. Or better: is was there. This was once a small town where Greek and Turrkish inhabitants lived peacefully together. This ended with the occupation of northern Cyprus by the Turks, the following civil war and the creation of the buffer zone. Today the town is gone, only some walls of the church still exist. Its a monument to the stupidity of nationalists.
The Εκκλησία Παναγίας Αγίου Σωζόμενου (Cave Church of Ayios Sozomenos) is located nearby at the foot of a cliff. The small chapel was dug into the rock and the cavern then closed by a whitewashed wall. According to legend the Saint dug the cave himself and used it as a hermitage. It is also the place where he is buried, the Τάφος Αγίου Σωζόμενου (Táfos Agíou Sozómenou - Tomb of St. Savior) is located in the rear of the chapel.