The Larnaca tourism board has devised new ways of bringing the city into people’s homes as restrictions on movement continue, namely videos posted on social media highlighting crafts and traditional places to visit in the area.
And then, by the end of the summer when people are hopefully able to move completely freely seven ‘talking’ statues will be installed around the town, each with their own Larnaca tale to tell.
Each week a new Larnaca-related video will be posted on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the latest newsletter of the board announced.
The series was kicked off by local basket weaver Petros Nicolaou of the Basket Workshop & Museum in Choirokoitia village introducing the type of baskets he weaves with wheat sticks, reeds and bamboo, and what they are traditionally used for in the Cypriot home.
“Our second video was courtesy of Golden Donkeys Farm in Skarinou village – a donkey sanctuary and themed attraction that welcomes visitors to meet and feed the furry inhabitants and also holds various traditional festivals during the year. The video highlights the superior nutritional qualities of donkey milk,” Larnaca tourist board said.
By the end of the summer, the tourism board will unveil another project, the ‘storytelling’ statues of personalities linked to Larnaca.
Each of seven historical statues around Larnaca will be fitted with a QR code enabling it to recount its history.
“Scanning the code with a mobile device, you can select your language, English or Greek, and the statue then ‘calls’ you! When you answer the call, the statue will tell you its story,” the newsletter explained.
“Each of the texts is about two minutes long,” tourism official Nana Asmeni explained. “A historian from the Phivos Stavrides Cultural Foundation has been asked to prepare the texts, and then we will look at them together.”
The first one, which has already been finished, is about the life and philosophy of Zenon of Kition near present day Larnaca and includes quotes highlighting his philosophical stance.
Three of the statues are of Zenon, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy who was born in 334BC. Another one is a bust of general Kimon, who is said to have defeated his enemies even in death in the fifth century BC, one is of Apollonios Kitieas, a physician of the Empiric school of thought.
The other two are artist Michael Kashalos, a self-taught painter who began his career in his 70s, and the Winged Lion of Venice – a gift from Venice to mark the twinning of the two cities.
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