Fancy a guided village walk learning about Cyprus’ mining and industrial past? An upcoming event by the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation and Bahçes Histories of Cyprus is coming up this weekend, in English!

This collaboration is a series of walks and the first one takes place this Saturday at Katydata village in the Nicosia district. The walk is titled Mining the Past: From Slag to Capitalism and will begin at 11am from the village’s community council building.

Setting off from Katydata, the walk will take participants to Skouriotissa, one of the island’s oldest and most intensively used mining sites. “Along the way,” say organisers, “we will discuss how the Romans exploited the deposits of copper pyrite found in these northern foothills of Troodos, leaving behind the largest ancient slag heaps known in Europe.”

The history of the American-owned Cyprus Mines Corporation will also be discussed, a significant moment for the island as it brought Cyprus into a rapidly expanding network of industrial capitalism in the early twentieth century. The corporation was also a way for Cypriots to gain access to decent housing, good wages, schools and a railway.

Though the walk will be held in English, simultaneous translation in Greek will be offered to welcome all participants.

Mining the Past: From Slag to Capitalism

Interactive walk on the history of mining in Cyprus. January 11. Katydata village, Nicosia district. 11am-1pm. In English with Greek translation. Free. Registration needed. Tel: 22-128175