In 2015, the Troodos Geopark was officially included in the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. Located in the central mountains of Cyprus, the Geopark covers an area of about 137,000 hectares or 1,147 km2 (443 miles2). It occupies about 45% of the total area of the Troodos mountain range and 15% of the total area of Cyprus. Elevations range from 300 m (984 ft) to Cyprus’ highest peak—Hionistra (Olympus) at 1952 m (6400 ft).
UNESCO Geoparks aim to connect a region’s geological and cultural heritage. They strive to enhance awareness and understanding of key societal issues such as: sustainable resource use, climate change mitigation, and reducing natural hazards. In accordance with these principles, the Troodos Geopark not only showcases the unique local geology, but also includes other environmental characteristics and the long history of human societies with their customs and traditions.
The fundamental reason for the Geopark is Earth’s most complete exposure of an ophiolite sequence. The park encompasses almost all of the ophiolite—shown on the map as the green circular area and the shades of pink that surround it. Because of the island’s uplift, the deepest part of the sequence (upper mantle rocks) is at the highest elevation (green circular pattern), and the shallower parts of the sequence (ocean crust above the mantle) are at lower elevations (pink colors). The top of the sequence was at a depth of about 8 km (4.8 miles) where this new ocean crust was being created at an oceanic spreading center. In the next post, I’ll include diagrams to explain this.
The Visitors Center
Our first stop in the park was the Visitors Center that opened in 2015. It is located in an old asbestos mine that only closed in 1988. After scientific research showed that asbestos caused a variety of cancerous and non-cancerous diseases, countries such as the U.S. banned its use, causing demand to fall and the mine to close. Both workers and their families lived in the town built around the mine. You can imagine that many people suffered health issues while the mine was active.
The town’s primary school was converted into the Visitors Center. Inside is a wealth of information about how the ophiolite was formed and subsequently uplifted to high elevations. In this photo, some members of our group are examining labelled samples of rock types found in the ophiolite, and plant types that live on different rock types.Here are two examples of rocks in the garden. Left-side photo: asbestos veins in serpentine, a rock type found in Earth’s upper mantle. Right-side photo: another serpentine sample. The light green is a type of serpentine called picrolite. It is a relatively soft mineral and was used by the ancients to carve small figurines.
Mines in the Troodos
Ophiolites have great economic value. For example, they are rich in chromite that is used in stainless steel production; they can host significant amounts of nickel, copper, and cobalt, essential for modern technology; and they contain valuable gemstones, such as jade and certain types of serpentine. There is also asbestos, a mineral once widely used in construction, but now mostly banned from use.
For more than 4000 years, people have realized the value of minerals found in the ophiolite complex and have worked to extract them. The copper found in Cyprus was the foundation for the Bronze Age (about 3300–1200 BCE) after the Cypriots found tin in the Near East and combined it with copper to make bronze. Cyprus became very rich at that time, as people from around the known world came to purchase their copper.
This is a photo of the now-closed asbestos mine where the Visitors Center is located. The lines of trees on the right side are where park personnel have planted trees in the mine pit in their effort to reclaim the land. There are many old mines in the park that are being reclaimed. Some mines are important, but hard to reclaim. We visited two mines in the Mathiatis community. The most ancient one was a gold mine that dates to 600 BCE, whereas the newer one was a gold, silver and iron mine. The Mathiatis mines are part of the World Cultural Heritage because of their archaeological significance. More recent activity enlarged the mine and resulted in significant environmental impact. For example, the lake on the left side of the photo has a pH of 2.5, which is highly acidic. This is the level of the groundwater, but unfortunately it would be extremely difficult—and expensive—to remediate.We visited another mine—Almyras—that has not been exploited in modern times, but that was an important copper mine in 600–150 BCE. Archeologists have found evidence for all parts of the process, from tunnels to smelters. Here is our local geology guide—Ifigenia Gavriel—in front of a tunnel in the mineralized rock.
Villages, food and wine
The Geopark includes 110 villages with a total population of around 25,000. These villages have long histories and are important places for both locals and tourists, who enjoy the rich variety of traditional food products. Wine grapes are grown in the mountains, and the park includes various “wine routes” that encourage visitors to sample the local varietals. My second post described some of the Cypriot wines that are grown throughout the island: https://landscapes-revealed.net/nearly-6000-years-of-cypriot-wine-making/.
Here is a typical village within the Troodos Geopark. The architectural style is mostly buildings made of rock with red tile roofs. Each town typically has a Greek Orthodox church.You can imagine that many of these mountain villages have lost population, as young people move to more urban areas in search of improved economic opportunity. We visited the village of Fikardou, which has been completely abandoned but that is still maintained as a village museum. Left-side photo: traditional oven that was used to prepare many types of food. Right-side photo: typical wall of a house in the village. I enjoyed seeing the variety of local rock types in the wall, including some sedimentary limestone rocks (light colors). Photo courtesy of Tom Brocher, fellow group member.Our group had many opportunities to sample the local food. This was our most exceptional meal—a meze with 30 courses! First there were various types of salad, followed by a series of cooked vegetables, pasta dishes, plates of grilled meat, and dessert. We were a congenial group of geology aficionados, led by Chris Darmon and Colin Schofield, owners of GeoSupplies in Sheffield, UK. They have been leading field trips in the UK and abroad for many years and have a loyal following. Their web site has links to their newsletter “Down to Earth”, which describes upcoming field trips (www.geosupplies.co.uk). Photo courtesy of Neil May, fellow group member.
Byzantine-Era Painted Churches
An important part of the religious and artistic heritage of the park are Byzantine Era painted churches that date from the 11th–16th century. Ten of these churches are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List for their architecture and wealth of frescoes. There is a strong geologic connection since the churches were built with local rocks. In addition, the artists used various local pigments found in the rocks, such as umber, ochre, green earth (celadonite), copper minerals such as malachite and azurite, and iron oxides such as hematite.
It was difficult to see some of the original church shapes because they had been covered with wooden structures to protect the ancient stone walls. And it was forbidden to take photos in many of the interiors. But I’ve included photos of various churches that provide a flavor for the Byzantine art style that continues to be used in interiors of Greek Orthodox churches.
Top row, left to right: Troodos church with paintings and wooden protective cover; painted interior of a Troodos monastery; painted exterior of a Troodos church. Bottom row, left to right: interior of church in the Fikardou “museum village”; exterior of a Troodos monastery.Top row: newer paintings in Greek Orthodox churches done with purchased paints rather than natural pigments. Bottom row, left to right: church in Larnaca with 9th century core (round part in the center) that was added to in subsequent centuries; Byzantine-era church in “old Paphos” next to archeological site of town that—because of the copper trade—was one of the richest in the world around 1000 BCE.
Geosites and hiking trails
Troodos Geopark contains 50 Geosites where visitors can learn about the ophiolite geology. There are also many hiking trails, some of which are geotrails that highlight specific features in the ophiolite sequence.
This is a typical sign marking a Geosite. Each sign, in both Greek and English, contains information about the geologic significance of the site. On the sign, Hermes the traveler and Gaia the geologist discuss the site in an effort to make information more accessible to visitors. The bottom of this sign (not included) has a map of the location and a description of plants in the area. The “near vertical rocks” are sheeted dikes that were conduits enabling magma (liquid rock) to travel up toward the seafloor. This geotrail goes through a striking exposure of the “sheeted dikes” referred to on the Geosite 12 sign (above).
Cats
No post about features in Cyprus would be complete without an image of cats. They are everywhere! All seem to be independent and living outdoors, but people feed them and even sometimes take them to the vet. We saw cats in the mountains, in the villages, and in the cities.
Here is a cat posing in front of an ancient church in Paphos. Photo courtesy of Jay.
In my next post, I’ll explain how the famous Troodos ophiolite sequence formed on the seafloor and was uplifted to where we see it in the Troodos Mountains today. We are now in Crete and heading out for four days of hiking, so the post won’t appear right away.
