Casino

The first casino in Cyprus operated in our village, Kritou Terra. It was housed in a building which had been constructed between the years 1860 and 1870, and which is located east of the school. The casino began operating during the Turkish occupation, in particular in 1878, and stopped operating at the beginning of the 20th century. The maintenance of the building has been undertaken by the Department of Antiquities.     

This pioneering idea at the time belonged to our fellow villager, Savvas Makrides, who also managed the operation of the casino. Describing this special venture, the following words were written about Makrides: “He dared to do the unthinkable for the time by bringing women from Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, who did belly dancing at the casino while the customers were playing cards and gambling in general”.  

As it is distinctively mentioned, the visitors of the casino were mainly Turks, as well as the “elite of the Middle East”. Among those who added a special glamour to the casino with their presence was the king of Egypt, Namouk.

What is one worth noticing are the frescos on the internal walls of the casino, whose themes are inspired by history and tradition. One of the frescos depicts scenes from the arrest of the Greek Revolution hero, Athanasios Diakos. In particular, one can notice the arrest of the hero and two armed Turkish soldiers. Depicted on the other fresco is the well-known popular hero, Koutalianos, and this fresco was made in his honour when he visited the community in 1896.   

KefalovrysoandWatermills

The Kefalovryso (fountain) of Kritou Terra was built in 1908 and it was actually the fourth biggest “kefalovryso” of Cyprus. In particular, the ‘kefalovryso’ was classified fourth behind the ones of the villages Kythrea, Lapithos and Karavas, whereas it was classified third as far as the volume of water was concerned.

What is noteworthy is the fact that the water of the “kefalovryso” could irrigate the large gardens of the village at the time. Unfortunately, however, as Arkadiou notes, the water of the “kefalovryso” was lost once the new road and bridge were constructed in 1967. The possible causes for the reduction of the water amount, according to Arkadiou, were the multiple explosions caused by dynamites which had been set for the construction of the road, whereas at the same time, the construction of the new bridge eliminated some of the springs. Therefore, the level of the water decreased to such a degree that the present residents are forced to pump water, as Aristeidou correctly observes. At this point we need to mention that some researchers claim that the flow of water seized due to the earthquakes. This claim is confuted by Arkadiou by noting that the flow of water continued normally up until 1970. This claim is also supported by the fact that 40 years after the flow of water decreased, this resumed during the rainy months of 2009 and continues up to the present when an abundant amount of water flows from all six exit pipes of the “kefalovryso”, something which proves that the water has changed course due to the fact that its route was blocked by the construction of the road.  
Additionally, it must be noted that the “Kefalovryso” of Kritou Terra is located on an altitude of 450 metres and that the average flow of water during the period of 1966-1973 was approximately 1.120 cubic metres of water. 

Kritou Terra was also distinguished for the number of watermills in the village which amounted to approximately fifteen, this way classifying the village as second in watermills after the village of Kythrea. These water-operated mills would grind wheat and barley, whereas they used to serve both the residents of the village and the ones of the neighbouring villages. Nowadays, the existence of the watermills is indicated only by their ruins, which one can encounter north of the “Kefalovryso” and north of the rivers Kremmiotis and Mylari.  

Laundry  

The village’s laundry, an area especially shaped for washing the villagers’ clothes, consisted of six circular cavities in a rock. The women of the village would gather there to wash the clothes up until the 1960s. In addition, as Arkadiou remarks, the women of the village would even bathe there and more specifically in a cavity that had been carved on the rock. On that day, as Arkadiou also notes, men were forbidden to walk by the road bordering the laundry area.   

It is worth mentioning that the stone water channel and the underground tunnel, which provided the laundry and two other mills in the south of the area with water, are still preserved today. 

Kremmiotis Waterfall

Located at the northeast part of the community is the river of Kremmiotis, through which plenty of water used to flow in the past throughout the year, whereas today water only flows mainly during the winter months. The water-flow was quite powerful and therefore there were two watermills in the area. Also situated at the same location is the well-known Kremmiotis waterfall. An idyllic scenery covered in green has been created around the river Kremmiotis, which is in fact the nesting point of many birds. 

Watermills of Tzimenos

They are located in the area of Tzimenos, approximately 100 metres from the chapel of Agia Paraskevi. The watermills were restored in 1992. 

Cave of Kefalovrysos

Located near the Kefalovryso and by the entrance of the community is the Cave of the Kefalovryso. It is 50 metres long and its lowest height is half a metre, whereas its interior reaches a height of 2 metres.  

As Arkadiou preserves, it is said that a large amount of water used to spurt from there and that the cave was connected to the cave of Agios Efsevios which is located approximately 2 kilometres in the east.  

Primary School

The Primary School was built in around 1850 and is located next to the church, at the northern edge of the community, whereas it is one of the first primary schools of Cyprus. Presently, the Environmental Studies Centre (ESC) is housed in this building.

Sources:
Savvas Arkadiou, Vice President of the Kritou Terra Community Council
Dr Christou G. Aristeidou  
http://www.ikypros.com/cgibin/hweb?-A=51461&-V=villages&w=
http://www.ikypros.com/cgibin/hweb?-A=51462&-V=villages&w=