Agros Christmas village ready, but nervous over virus measures

The mountain village of Agros, with its cobbled streets and stone houses, is setting up to become Cyprus’ first ‘Christmas village’, drawing from the European recipe but with a distinct Mediterranean flavour – if the pandemic allows.

President of Agros’ community council Michalis Constantinides told the Cyprus Mail that the Christmas market houses are currently being installed and that the village will be ready to welcome the first revellers on December 10.

“The community is thrilled to be able to put on such a show, and to have people from across the island visiting us up here,” he told us.

The deputy tourism ministry has high hopes for the project and previously told the Cyprus Mail that it will be “along the lines of what people find in destinations like Vienna and Budapest”.

And there certainly will be some similarities, not least the preparations taking place in the shadow of the pandemic – which Constantinides said may impact the scale of the Christmas village.

“We’re preparing as though there won’t be too many restrictions, but we’ll have to see what is decided on Monday and anytime after that,” he said.

The government is set to meet then to discuss potential further measures to stem a rise in Covid-19 infections.

“Hopefully it goes according to plan, there will be stalls with gifts, decorations and other arts and crafts – hopefully food, too, if the measures permit,” he said.

The traditional restaurants in the village will be up and running, he assured us, with the Christmas village open until 4pm on weekdays and 6pm on weekends – with the overall project running until January 6.