Karousos opens zivania festival in Alona

Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos on Sunday opened the start of the Zivania Festival in Alona village in the mountain area of the Nicosia district on Sunday.

Alona, he said was famed for its grape vines from which wine both and zivania are produced.

“Zivania is a trademark of Cypriot tradition and culture,” he said, adding that it was among the most famous traditional Cypriot products.

“The history of zivania goes back centuries as we first encounter it in Homer’s Odyssey, where it is referred to as ‘Zivanon’ a drink consumed by the Cyclops,” he said.

Karousos said that around one firth of the annual production of grapes on the island are used to distill the strong alcoholic drink.

He also said his ministry was preparing projects that would contribute to Alona in terms of access, with new roads and the widening of roads planned in the coming years as part of the national plan 2020-2024 for mountain areas of the Troodos at a cost of almost €15 million.