Kato Drys Cyprus Traditional Village

The Village

Kato Drys [Kato Dhrys] is a small traditionnal village in Cyprus located southwest of Larnaka.  It is situated very close to the villages of Pano Lefkara, Kato Lefkara and Vavla and it stands in the middle of Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaka at 500 meters above the sea.

Kato Drys [Dhrys] village, with its 150 inhabitants, is nestled on a hilly terrain that is characterised by beautiful deep narrow valleys.  Through these valleys flows the Agios Minas River.

The Name

How Kato Drys [Dhrys] got its name has been whittled down to two stories centred on the famous oak tree.  The first is that it was so named because of the many oaks (Drys) that once grew there.  The second is based on a supposed oak tree that used to stand in the middle of what were once Pano (Upper) Drys and Kato (Lower) Drys.

The history of Kato Drys [Dhrys] stems back many years.  It is said that it existed under its current name at a time when the Franks dominated the island.  There are many who also believe that Kato Drys [Dhrys] is one in the same village as “Kakotrygitis” that had once been handed over to the nobleman Maurizio di Constanzo by the King of Cyprus Jacob II when Constanzo became the Admiral of Cyprus.

The Churches

Kato Drys [Dhrys] is also renowned for being the birthplace of Saint Neophytos in 1134.  The house in which the saint was born still exists today and there is a small church on a hill of the village that has been dedicated to him.  There are other well-known churches in Kato Drys [Dhrys] dedicated to significant religious figures and that are visited by many.  These include the Old Church of the village dedicated to “Virgin Mary the Almsgiving", the Church of St Charalambous, the Church of St George and the Church of John the Baptist.