Larnaca, Cyprus

Sister Cities

Relationship with Marrickville

Larnaca and Marrickville became sister cities in 2005.

Marrickville has more than 5000 Greek-speaking residents and many of these people were either born in Cyprus or have Cypriot ancestry.

Geography and Climate

The Municipality of Larnaca is located on the south east coast of Cyprus. It is Cyprus’s second largest port.

Larnaca is known as a gateway to Cyprus and has an international airport.

Cyprus has a Mediterranean climate, with long dry summers and mild winters.

Local Life and Traditions

• Larnaca is dominated by an historic fortress castle, which is now used as a summer cultural centre.
   
• Larnaca has a number of museums, including Larnaca District Archaeological Museum, a Museum of Palaeontology, and a Medieval Museum.
   
• The Church of Ayios Lazaros is built on what is believed to be the empty grave of Lazarus, who lived in Kition (Ancient Larnaca) for 30 years after his resurrection by Jesus.
   
• Larnaca also has several mosques, including Hala Sultan Tekke, the Touzla Mosque and Beyuk Mosque, the latter of which was perhaps the first Ottoman mosque in Cyprus.
   
• Larnaca’s ruins of ancient Kition feature the remains of five temples dating back to the 13th century BC.

Festivals

Larnaca holds a number of festivals throughout the year, including the Festival of Classical Music in April and the Flower Festival in May.

The Larnaca Festival in July includes modern and classical dancing, performances of ancient tragedies and comedies, singing, poetry and Cypriot and Greek films.

Food and Wine

Safita is home to many olive trees.

Syrian food is a mixture of southern Mediterranean, Greek and southwest Asian dishes. There are also some Turkish and French influences.

Click here to show a recipe for halouvas/halvas

Ingredients:

• 100mL sunflower oil 
• 250g coarse semolina 
• 225g sugar 
• 400mL water 
• 75g blanched almonds, sliced 
• 1 tbsp blanched almonds, sliced (for decoration)
   

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the almonds, semolina and sugar. Cook until the semolina is golden.
2. Add a little water and keep adding, stirring slowly on a low heat until the semolina doubles in volume.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and cover the mixture with a towel for 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the mixture into a pudding mould and let it cool completely. Remove from the mould and decorate with almonds.
5. Keep leftover pudding in an airtight container in the fridge.

Fun Fact

Larnaca is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, with more than 4000 years of continuous history. In fact, legend has it that the first settlement was founded by Noah's grandson Khittim.