The church of “Panagia tou Araka” is located in the northern edge of the community and it was built in the 12th century. Internally it is adorned by wonderful hagiographies of the Byzantine era, amongst them being the exquisite hagiography of the Almighty God, as well as a wooden iconostasis dated back to the 16th century. In 1985, the church was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Monument list.
According to a tradition, in the Byzantine period, a nobleman of the area named Leon Afthentis saw a hawk flying in circles while he was hunting and thought that there would be prey in the area. So, in his effort to catch the prey he found the icon of Panagia (Virgin Mary) and it was then when he decided to build a Monastery dedicated to Panagia.
For more information about the Church of “Panagia tou Araka”, visit the website of the Morfou Bishopric by clicking on the following link: http://www.immorfou.org.cy/unesco/mother-of-god-of-arakas.html