September is already upon us, and as the month progresses, we’re hoping for a bit of a dip in the sweltering summer temperatures.

September is a beautiful month in Cyprus; cooler but still warm enough to sit out under the stars. What’s more there is still plenty going on for all ages and tastes.

Why not take a dip into our September Newsletter, where you can find news of the following:

• Featured Properties for September
• Limassol Wine Festival (includes information on Cyprus wines)
• What’s On in Cyprus during September
• Brief News on Cyprus Reunification Talks

Featured Properties for September

This month, we’re featuring two very different properties, but both of them are beautiful in their own special way! We have an exquisitely restored 2-bedroom bungalow in a tranquil location, close to Limassol at an unbelievable price and a stunning luxury, 5-bedroom villa in Paphos which has just been reduced.

Restored Village House

Our first property is in Monagrouli, an established inland village, just a short drive from Limassol.

In an elevated position, it enjoys wonderful sea and countryside views.

The house has been lovingly restored and tastefully designed using contemporary Mediterranean colours and wooden floors.

Features include:
• Large plot of 200m2 with lemon and orange trees at the front of the house
• Built area 110m2
• 2 bedrooms/1 spacious bathroom
• Enclosed garage
• Huge storeroom underneath house – perfect for conversion.

Price Guide – an amazing €200,000!

Luxury Villa on Golf Course – Just Reduced!

This spectacular villa has panoramic views of both the Mediterranean and one of Paphos’ most well-known golf courses in Hapotami.

Completed in March 2006, this villa has only been occupied for 4 weeks and has never been let.

Virtually as new it is being sold with all contents, so is ready to let, if required.
 
Features include:

• 5 Bedrooms, all ensuite
• Price includes Armani furniture package worth €119,600 and all white goods
• Full air conditioning and central heating and open fireplace
• Galleried living room with cathedral ceiling
• Plasma screen and satellite TV
• Extensive terraces and patio areas
• Stone car port.
• Infinity swimming pool, external shower, BBQ, extensive landscaping with computerised irrigation system.
• 1,924 m2 plot

*Price Reduced from €1,500,000 to €1,350,000!!

Limassol Wine Festival

Although we mentioned this in the August Newsletter, we thought we’d give you a few more details here because the Wine Festival is one of the most popular annual events on the island and continues until 7th September.

Limassol is known as Cyprus’ wine capital and the festival has been a regular fixture here since it was first launched way back in 1961. It’s held in the Municipal Gardens, just across from the seafront and it’s a fabulous opportunity to sample different wines from both large and small wineries in Cyprus along with some traditional Cypriot food.


Inspired by ancient festivals dedicated to the God of Wine, Dionysos and the Goddess of Beauty and Love, Aphrodite, the Wine Festival began as a tribute to the island’s long winemaking tradition and has now become a major event, attracting more than 100,000 visitors every year. Why not go along and try a sweet Muscat, a pine-flavoured Retsina and - not to be missed - the island's most famous dessert wine, Commanderia. You can watch the traditional pressing of the grapes and enjoy music and dance performances from local and international artists. There is a small entrance fee, but once inside all the wine is free.

More details are available on www.visitycyprus.com , where you can also find a full programme of what’s on each day during the Wine Festival.

Cyprus Wines

Cypriot wines may not be some of the best known in Europe, but they are certainly some of the oldest.

There is evidence that Cyprus has been producing wine commercially for about 6,000 years.

According to the Cyprus Vines website (www.cyprusvines.com), coins excavated from a site in Paphos which date back to the 3rd century BC, show a vine embossed on one side of the coin, and a wine chalice which dated back to the 6th century BC had an inscription on the base which read, ‘Be happy and drink well’ - clearly illustrating the importance of wine in the daily life of Cyprus all those thousands of years ago.

The most famous Cypriot wine is Commandaria, acknowledged to be the oldest wine in the world. Legend says that Commandaria was originally made for Richard the Lionheart and the Crusaders.

It’s a sweet dessert wine which is made from large grapes grown in the Troodos mountains which are picked late in the season and left in the sun to dry to enhance their sweetness. If you prefer white wine, one of the top labels in Cyprus is Ayios Andronicos, produced at the beautiful Chrysoriatissa Monastery, which is in the Paphos area, about 40km inland form the main road between Paphos and Polis.

Vineyards in Cyprus tend to be small and in rural areas in the south of the island and in the foothills of the Troodos mountains. If you like the idea of a wine tour, most of them take place in in Limassol and Paphos, but tours and wine tastings are available at all wineries.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation has details of tours (www.visitycyprus.com) and the Cyprus Vines website (www.cyprusvines.com) has details of many of the wineries on the island.

What’s On in September

One of the great things about Cyprus is how it effortlessly combines traditional and modern and the range of events in September is a good example of that. During September, there are a number of traditional Cypriot festivals, jazz music nights and …. the world famous DJ Tiësto who is performing in Limassol for one night only. Read on….

3rd Mediterranean Festival of Traditional Dances (Sept 13th-15th)

This is traditional Cyprus at its best – a wonderful festival of traditional dances and parades along the seafront at Larnaca. Starts at 7.00pm, Entrance Free
For further information please contact: +357 24 657 745.

Jazz Music Nights in Agia Napa (1st, 8th and 15th Sept.)

Enjoy Jazz under the stars with music and dancing next to the beach in Ayia Napa. Music starts at 9.00pm and entrance is free. More details on www.visitcyprus.com

DJ Tiësto Live in Cyprus (21st September)

For those of you hip enough to have heard of Tiësto – this is an event not to be missed. No ordinary DJ, Tiësto is something really special.

One of the world’s most famous personalities on the electronic dance music scenes, he played live in front of billions of people during the Parade of the Athletes at the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens back in 2004 and travels the world delighting his fans.

He will be performing for one night only, on 21st September, at the Spyros Kyprianou Arena (Palais du Sport) in Limassol.

The show begins at 6.00pm and tickets start at €40. More information from Moonlight Endless Productions (http://moonlightshow.com)

Ayia Napa Festival (26th, 27th and 28th Sept.)

A festival of traditional music and dancing which will take place in Ayia Napa square, with a puppet theatre and exhibitions of Cypriot arts, crafts and painting. Entrance Free

September 26th at 9.00pm - a music concert with Marios Frangoulis
September 27th at 9.30pm - a dancing show with the Russian Cossack Ensemble of Moscow
September 28th at 9.40pm - a Greek music concert with Despoina Olympiou and Gerasimos Andreatos. For further information, contact +357 23 816 307.

And Finally….Cyprus Reunification Talks

We wanted to mention this, because it’s a rather momentous occasion for Cyprus and the first stage in the possible reunification of this beautiful island. For those not familiar with the political situation, we have a small section called The Division of Cyprus on our website.

On 3rd September, Greek Cypriot leader, Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, will start full negotiations to find a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict which has separated the two communities since the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974.

A joint statement issued by the two leaders said that the aim of the negotiations was to “find a mutually acceptable solution…which will safeguard the fundamental and legitimate rights and interests of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.”

The four-year deadlock between leaders of the two communities, which following the rejection of a UN reunification plan in 2004, was broken when people of the Republic of Cyprus voted in Dimitris Christofias as their new President in February of this year.

One of his stated aims during his election campaign was to revive relations between the two communities and restart reunification talks.

In April, Christofias and Talat jointly opened a crossing point between the north and the south of the island in the heart of the capital, Nicosia, and the two leaders have now also agreed to establish a secure hotline to facilitate direct talks between them. Both things are an illustration of their commitment to find a solution.

The 3rd September meeting is real progress for the reunification of Cyprus and we’ll be keeping you up to date with any significant progress.

On that positive note for Cyprus, we hope you’ve enjoyed the items we’ve included in this newsletter and if you have any comments on information you’d like to see included in future newsletters, we’d love to hear from you, just email us on info@cypruspropertyworld.com.