At a distance of only four kilometres from the seashore of the ancient settlement of Amathounta, behind a green hill the village called Parekklisia is found. Even though its area reaches the sea, its settlers preferred to build far away from it thus saving it from raiders. This reveals that Parekklisia is a village which has “roots” far back in time.
It probably got its name from the fact that many years ago before the village was even built, the areas of land that today are on its periphery, belonged to residents of nearby villages that lived in mountainous areas. They descended to the fields and cultivated them in the winter and returned during the summer to harvest. As time passed by, the village began being built. In the centre and on the peak of the small hill, a church that is still saved today was built, dedicated to Timios Stavros (Holy Cross). Due to its position it was considered “Panoklisia” (church on the top). Years later, “Panoklisia” became Parekklisia.
There are two churches in the community. One of them is dedicated to Timios Stavros and the other one to Archangel Michael. They are both old constructions. The first one is dated in the 12th century and it is a very beautiful one that should have been decorated on the outside with carved ornaments. There are remains on the belfry as well as on different other spots of the Church.
The second one is built on the ruins of an old Church of the 17th century. From its dimensions it is clear that Parekklisia had always had many settlers. The south part that ends up in the sea has been built with a series of tourist hotels and accommodation with many facilities. A marina welcomes hundreds of yachts all year round.
The community beach in Parekklisia is one of the best and cleanest beaches on the island and it offers all kinds of facilities to its visitors as well as to those who like sea sports.
All of this could not be done if the community was not governed by progressive people with visions.
The visitor that will stop at Parekklisia, either for a single-day or long-term stay, has a lot to gain from such a visit. He may even use the huge quarry spaces on the north of the village (that need endless and rapid development in order for necessary building materials to be extracted from earth) to comprehend the morphology of the ground of the area.
