#Cyprus Kykkos Monastery 🌎 Place of Wonders! #Κύπρος DJI #Drone Air 2S 4K

Kykkos Monastery, Troodos Mountains, Cyprus. Aerial view. Drone: DJI Air 2S. May, 2022. Kykkos Monastery (Greek: Ιερά Μονή Κύκκου or Κύκκος, Turkish: Cikko Manastırı) lies 20 km west of Pedoulas and is one of the wealthiest and best-known Orthodox Christian monasteries in Cyprus.

The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos was founded around the end of the 11th century by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081–1118). The monastery lies at an altitude of 1318 meters on the north west face of Troödos Mountains. There are no remains of the original monastery as it was burned down many times. The first President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III started his ecclesiastical career there as a monk in 1926. He remained fond of the place and returned there many times. His request to be buried there materialised after his death in 1977. His tomb lies 3 km west of Kykkos monastery and remains a popular visitor destination.

The origin of the monastery’s name is linked to several legends — according to one, a small bird let out a chirp predicting that the monastery would be founded, while another states that the name is linked to the “coconut” shrubs sprouting in the locality. There is also a parable relating to Duke Manuel Boutomites, the governor to the Byzantine Emperor. One day, while out hunting in the forest, he lost his way and stumbled across a cave, where the hermit Esaias was taking shelter. The governor began to bombard the old man with questions about the way back, but Esaias kept silent. Enraged by this, Manuel severely beat the hermit, but soon after his return home, he became seriously ill. Having remembered his cruel deed, the Duke requested the old man be tracked down and then apologised to him. Esaias prayed for Manuel to get better and soon after the Duke began to recover. As a sign of gratitude, Manuel promised to fulfil any of the hermit’s wishes, so Esaias requested the miraculous icon of the All-Holy Virgin Mother be brought from the imperial palace temple in Constantinople to Cyprus. Emperor Alexios Komnenos, whose daughter had been cured by Isaiah’s prayers, gave the icon to Cyprus as a gift.

The monastery’s main object of worship — the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mother of Kykkos the Gracious — was then set in the iconostasis of the main church. By Emperor’s decree, the icon was covered with a velvet curtain so nobody could see the faces of the Virgin Mother and Son. A multitude of stories exist concerning miracles performed by the icon: it has cured the sick, made mothers happy again and sent rain during droughts. The church houses the bill of a swordfish which almost sunk a fishing vessel, the crew of which were rescued thanks to their prayers to the merciful Mother of God.

According to another tradition, still preserved by the people, a bird with human voice was flying around the area singing:

Kykkou, Kykkou, Kykkos' hill
A monastery the site shall fill
A golden girl shall enter in
And never shall come out again

The "golden girl" is, without a doubt, the icon of the Virgin while the monastery is the Holy Royal and Stauropegial Monastery of Kykkos which has been sheltering the icon for over nine hundred years.

Kykkos Icon of Virgin Mary

Throughout the centuries locals have revered the icon and have attributed miracles to its presence. In 1760 a success in the struggle against locust devastation, a frequent problem of the time, was believed to be the work of the icon. The icon has also served as a template for other paintings depicting the Madonna in eastern Orthodoxy. The icon is never looked at, and its top half remains hidden behind a protective covering as it is said that whoever looks at it will be blinded. The last person to have seen the icon is the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria Gerasimos, in 1669. The icon is rarely uncovered, although this happens on occasion. In recent years there had been a drought affecting Cyprus, in response to which the fathers took the icon to her throne, and read special supplications for rain, whilst looking away from the uncovered icon.

Other relics

There are placed to the right of the icon a bronze arm, and a sword fish saw. Regarding the arm, this serves as a reminder the story of a Turk who tried to light a cigarette using one of the vigil lamps and he was cursed and suffered a gangrenous arm. The saw from the sword fish represents the gratefulness of sailors who prayed to Our Lady of Kykkos to save them from the storms of the sea.

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[ivycantu]

I wished youd went by that water area, seemed so odd there like that🤔👀👂

[agremlin]

Nice video😉, liked & subscribed, thanks for sharing ‼️

[sunsetlights]

Nice, Is the pool for water storage

[gonefishing]

Hi there, glad you’re home safe. I’ll have to replay the first video because all I could stare at was the windscreen wipers and kept thinking ‘ they’re going a different way’. Is it just the make of car? I’ve not seen it before. Beautiful countryside. Just glorious 👵👵👵🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🙏🙏🙏

[mikekirk]

If that's a monastery, it must be a 5 star one. Thanks for the look at an interesting part of Cyprus Roman.

[cyankirkpatrick]

Is it wrong of me to pray for the people of Ukraine that is with strangers that might try to change their beliefs because, I just left a certain group that thrives on doing just that for 8 years they've tried to get me to join them I didn't and now the people of the Ukraine are displaced and I m worried about them really worried.🙏🏼🙏🏼😓😢