Cyprus Wines

 "The sweetness of your love is like Cyprus wine" wrote Mark Antony, offering Cyprus to Cleopatra as a wedding present.

Until recently, it was generally accepted that wine production in Cyprus began around 2000 BC. However, Italian archaeologists, who carried out a detailed study of 5,500-year old flasks excavated in 1930, discovered that the flasks contained traces of tartaric acid, a basic ingredient of wine, thus proving that the Ancient Cypriots were producing wine long before their Ancient Greek counterparts, possibly as long as 1,500 years previously.

Cyprus wines were in great demand in the ancient world and the island supplied the Pharaohs of Egypt. Most early wines are thought to have been sweet and, as sweet wines also travel well, the renown of Cyprus wines spread throughout the civilized world, with writers, priests, explorers, soldiers and rulers delighting in the Cyprus "sweeties."

One such dark, sweet, treacly wine, Commandaria, which got its name from the Hospitallers (the Order of St John of Jerusalem), had their headquarters, or Commanderie, at Kolossi Castle from 1210, where the wine was produced and from where it was marketed and exported.

The remarkable fame of Commandaria spread all over Europe and according to writers and travellers other countries tried to produce similar wine by importing vine cuttings from the area of Commandaria in Cyprus. One of these countries was the Madeira Islands where Cyprus vine cuttings were imported between the years 1420 and 1445 AD. 

But the prosperity of Cyprus in the Middle Ages was bound to suffer from the oppression and the disasters that followed the end of the Lusignan rule (1489). The decline started early in the 16th century under Venetian rule as a result of prolonged droughts, earthquakes and floods, attacks by locusts and other disasters that followed. The decline continued after the Turkish conquest with a severe deterioration early in the 19th century when heavy taxation was introduced.

The Turkish conquest brought an end to the flourishing trade with the West. The wealth which had been built up by the nobles and merchants under the Lusignans was dispersed and the industries neglected. However, despite the general oppression, the decline of Commandaria was not as rapid as that of other products and throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, interesting reports are found in descriptions by many travellers to Cyprus and the Holy Lands. After all, according to historians, one of the major attractions for the conquest of Cyprus by Sultan Selim II (1566-1574) was the fame of Cyprus Commandaria. At the beginning of Turkish rule, the production of wines and Commandaria was still of major importance.

The 19th and early 20th centuries saw the birth of the modern wine industry in Cyprus when the four big companies were created (ETKO, KEO, LOEL and SODAP).

Sources: Eyewitness Travel: Cyprus, Cyprus Tourist Organisation leaflet, Vines and Wines of Cyprus: 4000 Years of Tradition

Nicosia in Medieval Times

 Nicosia must have become the centre of administration and the island's capital in the tenth century. It had a castle and was the seat of the Byzantine governor of Cyprus. In later years, when Cyprus was captured by Richard the Lionheart and subsequently sold to the Lusignans, Nicosia became the capital of the Frankish kingdom and has remained its capital and administrative centre since.

The seizure of Cyprus by Richard the Lionheart in 1191 marked the start of an important period in the history of the island and centering on Nicosia. After a very brief rule by the Knights Templar the island ended in the hands of the family of French nobles from Lusignan in France, who established the Medieval Kingdom of Cyprus with its seat in Nicosia.

The period of Frankish rule and the Venetian rule that followed were important stages in the history of the island, linking it to a flourishing European civilization without cutting it off its Greek, Byzantine and Eastern roots. During this period the island gained its important role as economic, cultural and geographical bridge between east and west. 

The arrival of the Franks signaled Cyprus' entry into the western European world. The knights, nobles, tradesmen and artists who came to Cyprus settled mainly in the large towns of Nicosia and Famagusta, creating a new social class.

Cypriots were divided into three classes:

1. The Paroiki (serfs) farmers who were subservient to the feudal lords.

2. The Perperiarii: farmers who had the right to obtain their freedom and that of their family from the feudal lords for whom they had to work for three days a week.

3. The Lefteri (free) or Frangomates who owned their own land.

Another important class were the White Venetians who were made up of Venetians who were already settled on the island and who owned or managed large agricultural tracts and paid annual taxation.

The architecture of Nicosia changed radically when the town became the royal capital of the Lusignans. The small market town was transformed into a cosmopolitan capital with new walls, palaces, mansions, large houses, commercial streets and squares. The main, basic characteristic was the construction of a large number of churches in the Gothic style as well as monasteries that were home to various Latin ecclesiastical orders.

The town was the seat of the king, the Latin archbishop, the traders and consuls from other European towns. The Viscount of Nicosia was responsible for the smooth running of the town and its citizens. The town was surrounded by walls with nine gates and towers and crossed by the Pedieos River. The northern sides were joined by wooden or stone bridges.

Sources: A Guide to the History of Nicosia (Leventis Municipal Museum)