Xylofagou (; ) is a village in the

Larnaca District The Larnaca District, or simply Larnaca (also Larnaka), is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital is Larnaca. It is bordered on the east by Famagusta District, on the north by Nicosia District and on the west by Limassol District. A sma ...

of Cyprus, situated close to the A3 motorway between

Paralimni Paralimni () is a town within the Famagusta District of Cyprus, situated on the island's east coast. Since the Turkish invasion in 1974, it has increased in size and status, primarily due to the migration of refugees fleeing from the north. Ma ...

and the British military base Dhekelia.

Overview

Xylofagou's name roughly translates to "wood eaters". It lies on the northern flank of a hill, on the edge of a group of several similar villages collectively known as the ''Kokkinochoria'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Κοκκινοχώρια) which translates to "red villages" due to their abundance of nutrient-dense

red soil Red soil is a type of soil that typically develops in warm, temperate, and humid climates and comprises approximately 13% of Earth's soils. It contains thin organic and organic-mineral layers of highly leached soil resting on a red layer of alluv ...

in which vegetablesespecially the extremely popular potatoes that are eaten island-wideare grown. Xylofagou is the site of the oldest known dwarf elephant fossils in Cyprus, assigned to the species '' Palaeoloxodon xylophagou'' and dating to around 200,000 years ago. It is also home to a medieval Venetian watchtower. Near Xylofagou is the Cave of the 40 Martyrs, where Christian soldiers sacrificed their lives in the 16th century to evade capture by the Ottomans. In 2021, to commemorate the role played by locally grown potatoes in the community's growth, a 16-foot-tall

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

potato statue nicknamed the " Big Potato" was erected in the village. It proved controversial, with some

viral video Viral videos are video, videos that become popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, primarily through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhon ...

s mocking its phallic shape. Statue designer George Tasou said of the mockery, "I'm not bothered because it's brought publicity to our village, and I'm hoping it will promote the Cyprus potato around the world."

References

{{Larnaca District Castles in Cyprus Buildings and structures in Larnaca Medieval architecture Geography of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Communities in Larnaca District