All your relatives and friends are happy to review your vacation photos and listen to stories about conquering new lands after the next trip. Joy will be enhanced if you add a modest but valuable gift to the story. What souvenirs to bring to Cyprus family and friends if this island has become a vacation destination?
Commandaria
At the beginning of the 13th century, the ruler of Cyprus, Hugo I de Lusignan, endowed the Order of Hospitallers with the land where the Grand Commandaria was founded. This name also received a drink that local knights made from growing grapes of the Mavro (red) and Xinisteri (white) grades. Thanks to the refined and sweet taste with hints of ripe fruit, spices, honey and nuts, dessert wine with a strength of 15-16% was appreciated in Europe and even won first prizes in wine competitions in France in 1213 (known as the “Battle of Wines”) and England in 1362 ("Feast of the Five Kings"). “The wine of kings and the king of wines” - legends attribute this quote about Commandaria to Richard the Lionheart, who knew a lot about fine drinks.
In the Middle Ages, most of Commandaria was exported; today this wine is sold anywhere in the island, but knowledgeable people recommend purchasing it at Kykkos Monastery. Cost - 10-15 euros per bottle. The main wine company of Cyprus KEO Group produces a drink with the label Commandaria St. John
Zivania
The monastery also prepares and sells zivania. Men will appreciate Cypriot whiskey (or fire water) with a strength of 40-49%. Only at this place in the drink add a secret set of spices, which saturates it with a golden hue and original taste. Cost - 4-5 euros for a small bottle of 350 ml.
Beverage production started in the 14th century; technology has been preserved since then. Distilled and aged infusion of squeezed grapes and dry wines is distilled in a special boiler. Depending on the choice of one of the three processes, a drink of different quality is obtained. The tincture was also used for medicinal purposes: for treating wounds, rinsing with toothache, with hypothermia. But the best use is as an aperitif, cooled to a slight misting of the bottle.
Presenting such a gift, you present not just a strong drink, but a piece of the island’s history. Having decided that to bring a strong drink from Cyprus as a gift, this is the best option, but you need to remember the baggage allowance.
From authentic spirits it is also worth taking a look at the wines “St. Panteleimon "," Agios Onufrios. "
Halloumi cheese
Another useful souvenir from Cyprus that it is not difficult to bring is a traditional pickled halloumi cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk with a unique shade of dried mint, which is added when it is ripened. A minimum of fat (10%) will not increase the waist. Halloumi in Cyprus began to be produced since the time of medieval Byzantium, today it is produced everywhere by large enterprises and home farms.
Halloumi is loved by Cypriot cooks, and not a single feast is possible without his participation. Attach the preparation recommendations to the present: with fresh hot bread, fried until golden brown, on the grill, with aromatic herbs, baked in pitta, added to a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, capers or pizza along with slices of smoked pork - halumi will have to taste in any form. Cost - from two to ten euros.
Olive oil
With lemon, basil, oregano, organic ... Olive oil is the first thing that comes to mind when one wonders what can be brought from Cyprus as a gift.
Village oil mills are the place where you can get the highest quality olive oil. The locals thoroughly washed the collected olives, cleaning them of debris. As a result of grinding in a special tub with millstones, mashed potatoes are obtained, which are diluted with water and placed in an apparatus where oil is released. After filtering, it remains only to substitute jugs and taste the fragrant product of the first direct extraction (extra virgion), dipping fresh bread into it.
From 100 kg of olives, about 20 liters of oil are obtained, and the most valuable is from unripe fruits. In a creamery, fresh oil for bottling during the harvest season can be bought at a price of 5 euros per liter. Factory-made oil in the supermarket will cost an average of 8 euros per liter, a souvenir option - about 11 euros.
Carob Syrup
The carob tree, or leguminous ceratonia, is one of the ancient symbols of Cyprus. In the era of the Romans, carob seeds were used as a measure of mass, one seed - 0.19 grams.
Today, the tree is valuable in fruits - long pods of brown color about 20 cm long. Beans ripen inside, from the sweet pulp of which they make syrup, chocolate paste that tastes like condensed milk, and even liquor. And they are also very fond of raw donkeys.
If the question arises, what to bring from Cyprus, in Ayia Napa they organize excursions "Culinary traditions of the country", where they recommend buying carob syrup at Dipotamos Donkey Farm.
Carob syrup, in addition to excellent taste, has healing properties. Traditional medicine recommends using it for coughs, colds, to restore the nervous system.
Cypriot honey
Breeding bees in Cyprus is a craft that has been shaped for centuries. Until the end of the 19th century, hives were clay cylinders measuring 90 x 60 cm, embedded in the walls of residential buildings. The climate of Cyprus is ideal for beekeeping. Eucalyptus, carob, orange groves, lavender, almonds and thyme bloom all year round, replacing each other. The greatest demand is orange honey (orange), light and fragrant. What to bring from Cyprus to strengthen the body? For colds, it is better to take thyme honey to calm the nerves - honey from lavender. Aromatic honey, royal jelly, pollen and propolis can be purchased in Cypriot apiaries, travelers also recommend a glance at Cyherbia Herbal Park or at the Maheras Monastery.
Traditional sweets for small and large sweet tooth - what to bring from Cyprus? Reviews of tourists all suggest that they take one of the culinary creations as a sample, whether it is honey-baked baklava or the closest relative of churchkhela suzuko - thickened grape juice and honey with almonds inside. Turkish delight with a Cypriot accent, generously flavored with pistachios, bergamot or mint, and nuts in honey and sesame. Pastelli, or pastelaki, from carob beans and kataifi from the finest threads of dough with nuts, syrup. Green walnut jam, coconut sweets and halva. A sufficient list to think about purchasing a large suitcase on the way back.
Spice
Mistresses will be delighted with a set of fragrant spices and spices. Thyme, mint, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, all kinds of pepper. The packaging usually says which dishes are best used. Their weight is small, the price is pleasant, 5-12 euros.
If the question of what to bring from Cyprus from the food department is still relevant, then you can add delicious smoked almonds, herbal teas with a rich taste and aroma (rose, mint), dried and salted olives, traditional tzatziki sauce (zazzyki), a snack to the proposed list. from fish roe called teramosalata.
Stocking up food is great, but it’s worth considering things that are more durable. What to bring from Cyprus as a gift, if we ignore the theme of gastronomy?
Lefkaria lace
In the foothills of the Troodos, the small village of Lefkara, which is known for embroidery and lace weaving, is comfortably located. The tradition dates back to the 15th century, when Doges ruled in Cyprus and the visiting Venetians taught local girls the art of embroidery. The Cypriots turned out to be good students and, having contributed to art, created a whole trend - lefkaritik. In this type of needlework, Cypriot folk motifs are performed with special skillful stitches. Painstaking work is not for the lazy - on one thing the craftswoman works from three to six months. Therefore, the price of a small napkin is 20 euros, and a tablecloth can cost up to 900 euros, depending on size. The colors of the Leftcritic are exclusively white, beige and pistachio shades. Stunning shawls, fans, handbags and even umbrellas will be an excellent solution when answering the question of what can be brought from Cyprus for a woman of any age.
Leonardo da Vinci himself at one time was a buyer of this beauty, he acquired an embroidered canvas for the altar of the cathedral in Milan.
Silver
Not only lacemakers are famous for Lefkara, products of local craftsmen made of silver are no less in demand. Light and durable, with delicate patterns, the items are made of the finest silver thread. This is the secret of jewelers who make rings, earrings, brooches, pendants, chains, frames for dishes and much more in this technique. Resisting buying such a thing that will please you for more than one year is simply impossible. The average price of a bracelet is 20 euros, earrings - 40 euros.
Pafitika
Another way to please loved ones is to purchase textiles, if the question is what can be brought from Cyprus, Paphos (where the name of the products came from). Clothes, curtains, bedspreads, tablecloths are decorated with bright geometric ornaments, their price is more affordable - from 5 euros.
Greek cosmetics in olive oil
It would be a crime to have olives in the resource and not use them for the manufacture of cosmetics. Based on olive oil and other natural ingredients that grow near by, the Greeks produce products whose quality will satisfy the most fastidious buyer: shampoos, balms and hair masks, soaps of various types and varieties (with honey, herbs and essential oils), for babies and I will give you "Balzac age", therapeutic agents for healing burns, cuts, insect bites.
What to bring from Cyprus? Reviews on the side of natural cosmetics. It is difficult to meet a woman who refuses funds that preserve youthfulness and smoothness of the skin, the beauty of hair, and olive oil and derivatives are the best assistant in this matter.
Pythagoras bowl
People with a sense of humor will be amused by the Pythagorean circle (a fair bowl, or a circle of greed). This is a special container with a column in the middle, which allows you to get drunk only if it is filled to a certain level. If there is more fluid than necessary, it will spill out. Legend claims that Pythagoras invented this cup in order to save drinking water on Samos. The price is 10 euros.
Collectible Figures
All souvenir shops sell figures of the symbol of Crete - a donkey. From clay, textile or wood - funny, charming, cost from 3 euros. This clever independent animal at all times was an indispensable assistant for the housework, a donkey lived in every house. Today, donkeys are under state protection, it is not worth offending him, a fine and imprisonment are provided for this.
Good luck in love that bring from Cyprus does not hurt, will bring the figurine of Aphrodite, made of alabaster, clay, porcelain. Just a couple of euros.
Replica with terracotta figurines.
This jewelry is shaped like a cross. The original is in the Cyprus National Museum. It is not a symbol of existing religions, but it refers to the idols worshiped by the first inhabitants of the island. Price - from 5 to 15 euros.
What do tourists bring from Cyprus besides this? Sea sponges, magnets, linen bags, bottle gourds painted with an archaic pattern, T-shirts with inscriptions (and even not always censored), tunics with Greek and Cypriot symbols, beautiful ceramics (door signs, dishes). And also great impressions, a bronze tan, a good mood and vivid emotions that just need to be shared with loved ones.