Enjoying a meal in Cyprus

The taste of vacation? By the sea, savoring a sea bream caught that very morning while admiring the view. In a mountain village, tasting a kleftiko simmered in an oven improvised on a wheelbarrow. Starting your aperitif with an ouzo while nibbling on almonds and olives... Too bad for the tourists who prefer to stick to "all-inclusive" meals; they miss out on excellent food and, sometimes, wonderful encounters with Cypriots who can spend hours at the table.

It's impossible to leave the island without trying a mezze , an assortment of numerous small—and large—dishes meant for sharing. These mezze include meat and fish, and sometimes even vegetarian options. To truly enjoy them, only order them when you're hungry, very hungry indeed!

Among the specialties are kleftiko , lamb or kid marinated in lemon and then slow-cooked (sometimes in a clay oven); sheftalias (grilled pork crépinettes with local spices); and stifado (beef stew simmered in wine vinegar). Along the coast, one can enjoy grilled, baked, or fried fish (sea bream, sea bass, octopus, cuttlefish, barbouni).

For a light snack, we will choose a grilled halloumi , the island's emblematic sheep's cheese, or a souvlaki , skewers of meat marinated in lemon served with pita bread.

In mountain taverns, a simple village salad is often served as a starter. Sometimes there isn't even a menu: you simply follow the daily specials, which range from grilled meats and vegetables to slow-cooked dishes. Often, you can eat all afternoon, and the owner won't hesitate to relight the fire to serve at least a few grilled items to travelers who might have gotten lost on the mountain roads.

For dessert, after meals that are generally quite hearty, fresh seasonal fruits are preferred. Those with a sweet tooth can try loukoumades (honey doughnuts), daktyla (almond and walnut dough fingers), shiamali (orange semolina cake) or loucoumia , these colorful cubes flavored with rosewater.

Cyprus wines: a thousand-year-old heritage

Dionysus, the god of wine, is never far away in Cyprus: he appears on numerous ancient mosaics and evokes a winemaking tradition that is thousands of years old. According to legend, the first mortal to learn the secret of winemaking was Icarus, under the tutelage of Dionysus, the very god of wine. This scene is depicted on one of the magnificent mosaics in the archaeological park at Kato Pafos.

After the abandonment of terraced vineyards, difficult to cultivate with the methods of the time, and the marketing of low-quality wines by large wineries, a new generation of winemakers is revitalizing the vineyards established on the slopes of the Troodos Mountains and in the coastal plains between Limassol and Paphos . The diversity of the terroirs allows for the production of a wide range of wines.

To accompany fish and seafood, dry white wines made in particular from the local Xynisteri grape variety are preferred .

Seven wine routes invite you to discover the beautiful wine regions, to stop in rural guesthouses, typical taverns, to visit small monasteries, to stop in traditional villages.

The wine of kings and the king of wines

But the undisputed star remains Commandaria , one of the oldest wines in the world. This naturally sweet wine is made from the Mavro (red) and Xynisteri (white) grape varieties, which thrive on the southern hills at the foot of the Troodos Mountains. After harvesting, the grapes are sun-dried to concentrate the sugars. The subtle blending of these two grape varieties is the foundation of its incredible aromatic complexity.

Commandaria is the oldest wine appellation in the world. Its name comes from the Great Commandery, a vast estate in Kolossi that belonged to the Knights Hospitaller between the 12th and 14th centuries.

A legendary wine, still difficult to find outside of Cyprus, which is said to have even captivated King Richard the Lionheart, who called it "the wine of kings and the king of wines." The gods of Olympus would certainly have appreciated it just as much.