Troodos (sometimes spelled Troödos; el, Τρόοδος ; tr, Trodos Dağları) is the largest

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

( el, Όλυμπος), also known as Chionistra ( el, Χιονίστρα), at , which hosts the Sun Valley and North Face ski areas with their five ski lifts. The Troodos mountain range stretches across most of the western side of Cyprus. There are many mountain resorts, Byzantine monasteries, and churches on mountain peaks, and nestling in its valleys and mountains are villages clinging to terraced hills. The area has been known since antiquity for its mines, which for centuries supplied

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

to the entire Mediterranean. In the Byzantine period it became a centre of Byzantine art, as churches and monasteries were built in the mountains, away from the threatened coastline. The mountains are also home to RAF Troodos, a listening post for the NSA and

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Uni ...

. The name ''Troodos'' probably comes from one of two sources: either + ( + ), referring to the three roads that lead to the mountain, or + + ( + + ), meaning the mountains of

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...

Geology of Troodos

The Troodos mountains are known worldwide for their geology and the presence of an undisturbed

ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found ...

sequence, the

Troodos Ophiolite The Troodos Ophiolite on the island of Cyprus represents a Late Cretaceous spreading axis (mid-ocean ridge) that has since been uplifted due to its positioning on the overriding Anatolian plate at the Cyprus arc and ongoing subduction to the south ...

. These mountains slowly rose from the sea due to the collision of the African and European

tectonic plates Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...

, a process that eventually formed the island of Cyprus. The slowing and near-cessation of this process left the rock formations nearly intact, while subsequent erosion uncovered the

magma chamber A magma chamber is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock, or magma, in such a chamber is less dense than the surrounding country rock, which produces buoyant forces on the magma that tend to drive it up ...

underneath the mountain, allowing a viewing of intact rocks and petrified

pillow lava Pillow lavas are lavas that contain characteristic pillow-shaped structures that are attributed to the extrusion of the lava underwater, or ''subaqueous extrusion''. Pillow lavas in volcanic rock are characterized by thick sequences of discont ...

formed millions of years ago, an excellent example of ophiolite stratigraphy. The observations of the Troodos ophiolite by Ian Graham Gass and co-workers was one of the key points that led to the theory of

sea floor spreading Seafloor spreading or Seafloor spread is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge. History of study Earlier theories by Alfred Wegener an ...

Climate

Churches

The region is known for its many Byzantine churches and monasteries, richly decorated with murals, of which the

Kykkos monastery Kykkos Monastery ( el, Ιερά Μονή Κύκκου or [] for short, tr, Cikko Manastırı), which lies 20 km west of Pedoulas, is one of the wealthiest and best-known monastery, monasteries in Cyprus. The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of ...

is the richest and most famous. Nine churches and one monastery in Troodos together form a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, originally inscribed on the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1985. The nine

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

churches are: * Stavros tou Agiasmati * Panagia tou Araka * Timiou Stavrou at Pelendri * Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis * Panagia Podithou * Assinou * Agios Ioannis Lampadistis at Kalopanagiotis * Panagia tou Moutoula * Archangel Michael at Pedoulas * Transfiguration of the Saviour Palaichori File:Stavros Agiasmati.JPG, Church in spring

Villages of Troodos (selection)

* Platres * Galata * Evrychou *

Kakopetria Kakopetria is a town in Cyprus located southwest of the capital, Nicosia, on the north facing foothills of the Troodos Mountains. It stands at an altitude of 667 metres and it is the highest village in the Solea Valley. The community has about ...

* Louvaras * Palaichori Oreinis * Kourdali *

Pelendri Pelendri ( gr, Πελένδρι, tr, Pelendri) is a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus. Location Pelendri is located below the Troodos Mountains, in the region of Pitsilia. It is located on a barren hillside, at an altitude of 800 meter ...

* Kalopanagiotis * Moutoullas * Pachna * Dora * Malia *

Kyperounta Kyperounta ( el, Κυπερούντα) is a town in Cyprus. It lies at an altitude of 1,140 meters. With a population in approximately 1,500 it can be called the head-town of Pitsilia. The town took its name from the plant ''Cyperus rotundus'' (ky ...

* Farmakas * Prastio * Arsos * Pedoulas * Omodos * Phini * Kouka * Fikardou * Koilani * Agros * Prodromos * Marathassa Valley * Vasa Koilaniou * Lania * Spilia

Gallery

File:Cedrus libani brevifolia1.jpg, Young tree in Winter File:Troodos Mountains (Cyprus).jpg, Troodos Mountains File:Lazanias.JPG, Lazanias village File:Pinus nigra Troodos.jpg, Troodos black pines are 3,000 years old File:Cedars Tripylos.JPG, Forests in Troodos Mountains File:Pinus brutia forest Cyprus.jpg, ''

Pinus brutia ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey. Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturali ...

'', foothills of Troodos Mountains File:Troodos12.jpg, River tributary in Troodos File:PARAKENTRO 2.jpg, Parakentro is a non-profit cultural centre in Lemythou village File:Millomeris Waterfall - Καταρράκτης του Μιλλομέρη.JPG, Millomeris Waterfall, Platres File:Milia Bridge - Γεφύρι της Μηλιάς.JPG, Milia Bridge, Platres File:Kalidonia Waterfall.JPG, Kalidonia Waterfall, Platres File:Troodos Mountains 2.JPG, Part of Troodos Mountains File:Farmakas Mountains, Cyprus.jpg, View of Farmakas region File:Prodromos in Winter.jpg, Prodromos in winter File:Road through the woods (15425086000).jpg, Road through the forest

References

External links

Official Website of Troodos Region, by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation

Panoramic virtual tour of the Troodos Mountains

{{Authority control Cyprus Mediterranean forests Mountain ranges of Cyprus Troodos Mountains Mountains associated with Byzantine monasticism