GeroskipouGeroskipou or Yeroskypos derives its name from the Greek ieroi kepoi, meaning Holy Garden. Little now survives to remind us of the pagan era, except for a few tombs and caves.  In the ’60 and’70, the archaeological excavations revealed that Geroskipou has been inhabited from at least the Late Bronze Age (1600 – 1050 B.C.). A collection of funeral gifts has been found which show likeness to Mycenaean pots. These archeological finds are found today in the Cyprus Museum and in the District Museum of Pafos.

The village boasts a grand Byzantine church dedicated to Ayia Paraskevi, a saint born in the second century who was a martyr in the time of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The five-domed church was built in the eleventh century, with some interesting wall paintings and a very beautiful portable icon probably from the 15th Century which depicts on one side the Virgin with Child, and on the other the Crucifixion.

GeroskipouOpposite the central village square display tables line the street where producers show their particular speciality of Turkish Delight. If you are fortunate, you will be given an in-house tour. Don’t miss it! There is also a small folk art museum in a house that once belonged to Andrea Zimboulaki, who in 1799 was appointed British Agent in Paphos by Commander Sir Sidney Smith, who successfully defended Acre against Bonaparte in the same year. Zimboulaki became locally known as Hadjismith.

Geroskipou is a dynamic village today and the place to visit if you are looking for the local basket-ware or traditional Cypriot pottery. Camera in hand, follow the meandering narrow streets of the charming ‘old village’, there are many interesting things to see!

Kato Vrissi Fountain Is the biggest fountain in Geroskipou and it has exceptional water quantity and tradition has it that is has been referred to as ‘Holy Water’ in reference to Goddess Aphrodite. It is believed that that kato Vrisi water comes from Aphrodite’s Baths via an ancient aqueduct. Kato Vrissi funtain as the main source of water for the village.  Neromilos water mill Short distance from “Kato Vrisi’’ there are ruins of a Neromilos, a water powered flour mill dating back to 14th century. The water come from the fountains near Geroskipou.

The Folk Art Museum  Is sheltered in the mansion of Andreas and his son Smith or Hadjismith Zimlboulakis who from the end of the 18th century even till 1864 served as Vice-Consuls of England in Pafos. The stone-built mansion of Zimboulakis, two-storied mansion id a fine example of the Cyprus traditional architecture during the 2nd half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The house has been proclaimed as an “ancient monument” by the Antiquities Department, it has been converted to a Folk Art Museum in 1978. There is a great variety of ethnographic crafts from different areas of Cyprus.