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Solomon in Ayia Napa August 2000 - London, England - Official Report
1. History of Ayia Napa - "When I say: 'Ayia', you say: 'Napa'!"
2. How the locals view the Ayia Napa tourists - 'Slapper Napa'
3. Ayia Napa, is it the new Ibiza?
4. Clubbing Tour
5. More Than Just 'Napa' - some info on the rest of Cyprus
1. History of Ayia Napa - “When I say ‘Ayia’, you say ‘Napa’!”
That is the popular catch phrase probably started off by MC CKP, which
is heard in all the clubs in Ayia Napa and on the many Uk/2-Stepgarage cds bearing the resort’s name. However few people actually know the meaning of the name Ayia Napa. In fact none of the tourists and clubbers I spoke
to knew.
Ayia Napa is a small fishing village and off season has a population of only
1200 people. It is named after the ancient monastery adjacent to the
square.
‘Ayia’ in Greek means "saint" and ‘Napa’ means "wooded valley" which
surrounded the area in ancient times.
In the 11th century, an old
painting or Icon of the virgin Mary was found hidden in a nearby cave,
which soon became a shrine and the said monastery was built nearby.
The shrine attracted pilgrims from surrounding areas and was important
to the early Christians of the Greek Orthodox Church. The icon became
known as ‘The Icon of Ayia Napa’, - In other words: the icon of the
saint of the wooded valley. The said shrine became known as ‘Ayia Napa’.
The ancient monastery now disused is open to tourists and a new church
has been build nearby, which houses the said sacred icon. The church is
an attraction in itself, not just for people of faith. The walls and
ceilings are covered in fine religious paintings similar to the famous
Sistine Chapel in Rome. It is very impressive and worthy of a look from
an artistic point of view.
2. How the locals view the Ayia Napa tourists - 'Slapper Napa'
As you can see the area historically has religious and sacred
traditions. The village has become a tourist resort with beautiful
beaches nearby. It is of course popular among the clubbing holiday
makers. The impact of these tourists has attracted a lot of criticisms
among locals and the religious fraternity. The press has dubbed it ‘the
town of sin’, due to well documented cases of illicit behaviour, drugs
and violence, which is a stark and ironic contrast to the area’s sacred
and religious holy traditions.
The church held a week of fasting and
prayers during the start of August, with special services in view of the
goings on. Local priest Father Papageorgiou is a strong critic of
impact of the clubs and music. Speaking in the Cyprus Weekly the cleric
said,
The church of course, also overlooks
the main square, a place where many have also been seen having sex in
public.
The services are for the
sinful resort to be delivered from the evils of sex, drugs, drunkenness
and crime and for the lord to have mercy on the souls of the clubbers
Press commentators have dubbed the ‘sinful’ resort, “Slapper Napa” in
view of the lewd goings on. (*please Add that Link Here)
It has now taken off big time and has
attracted far more tourists than before and the make up has changed,
they are more younger, rowdy and loutish, the 18-30 crowd who have given
Ibiza a miss this time round believing Napa is the new Ibiza.
The manager of the Pizza Inn restaurant, told me how it has gone crazy this year.
The Minister for Tourism of Cyprus, Mr.Nicos Rolandis came down to the Square on 24
August, 2000 to see for himself and hear the criticisms of the locals. He was
himself criticised, because he forewarned everyone about his intended
visit.
The atmosphere in the bars, clubs and in the square was subdued
on the nigh. Some bars even played documentary videos of the church and
monastery! This outraged some parishioners as would be expected. The
restaurant manager said, “he came after the peak season anyway so he
missed everything!”
Local criticism of the new type of tourists, is centred on the
assumption that they are were younger and only interested in partying
and spending as little money as possible. The minister defended them
saying that only a few tourists were bad, and that some of the press
reports were exaggerated. He said that the resort should be grateful
for the large numbers who choose to visit.
Mr Rolandis said on TV
However some locals have mixed views on the goings on in Ayia Napa, Cyprus .
A taxi driver told me:
Local djs said to me:
One press commentator speaking on the
recent arrest of two English twin sisters who were swimming in the nude
at their hotel just before dawn, criticised the action of the police.
Mr.George Lanitis writing in the Cyprus Weekly, said that women are not arrested for topless sunbathing with very little else on during the
daytime, .
It should be noted that following the tragic rape and murder of a
Scandinavian tourist by English servicemen during the early 90s, Ayia
Napa almost sunk has a holiday destination. English squaddies were
banned from the resort and Military Police patrol there making sure none
sneak in. It was the unexpected rise of the Uk/2-Stepgarage music scene which saved the
resort following that incident.
The flood of ‘Ayia Napa’ garage
compilation cds gave the resort more free advertising and promotion
that no amount of money could possibly buy.
Also the popularity of the
‘Fantasy Island’ TV documentary, (which was modelled on the ‘Ibiza
uncovered’ documentaries, LWT, London, England) put the place firmly on the map.
These factors
led led to so many clubbers from the UK coming over in droves. This has
caused many to dub it ‘the new Ibiza’.
Wanna read more?
Please click here.Solomon Malcolm(London, England) visit to Ayia Napa, Cyprus - August 2000
“I have just seen a couple having sex on a hotel balcony on my way
to church. What more can I say?”
“We’ve got a problem with drugs which is most prevalent in the
clubs it’s absolute chaos”
, he continued.“From the 1st of July to 14 August, those 6 weeks were wild. Drugs were
on sale in the square and everybody was taken them in the clubs. For the
first time we had people coming in and running off without paying. They
think this is Ibiza but it is not.”
“like
it or not, it’s these kids who are paying the bills and propping up the
local economy. We are a Mediterranean island with high temperatures and
and beaches. We are not going to attract people who will travel to
Vienna to listen to a concert in black tie attire”.
“they want it both ways. They want the tourists to
come and spend the money which they benefit from. But when they come
things are going to change and they don’t like it. You have to learn to
live with it. The church people are hypocrites”
“Ayia Napa always had a reputation. In the days before the garage crowd came and the squaddies were here, drunken brawls and other goings on
like we see now, were not uncommon. The only difference is that the
press are now reporting it.”
“but 2 bathing in the nude in private in the early has
annoyed a peeping tom. The policemen should be transferred to an inland
police station in Pitsilia taking care of shepherds who might harass
their goats”
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