Monastery of “Melandrina”

The monastery of Melandryna ( Melandrina) is situated in the village of Agios Amvrosios at the province of Kyrenia. The name Melandryna dirives from the combination of the Greek words, ‘Meli ” which means honey and “dryes” which means oak tree, a tree which thrives in the region. The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and celebrates on the feast day of the Virgin Mary, on the 15th of August. The church was built in the 14th century and it’s of simple basilica style. Inside the church there is holy water. Farther down the church, some of the cells of the monastery survive where monks lived until the late 19th century, the last of them being Father Anthimos who died in 1940.
During the Ottoman Period, a valuable school was founded in the monastery where the Greek Letters were taught. It is indicated that up to 1878 the children of Agios Amvrosios village as well as the neighboring villages of Kalograia and Trypimeni, were taught by monks of the monastery of Panagia Melandryna.
The monastery might administratively belong to the village of Agios Amvrosios, but it was operated by the priests of the village of Kalograia who also took care of it. Apart from the 15th of August ( inauguration of the monastery) the monastery also celebrated on February the 2 sec(The Presentation of the Lord). It was also used for liturgy during times of drought, when there were prayer for rain.
After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 the church of the monastery of Panagia Melandryna was loοted and destroyed by the Turkish invaders. The icons were stolen and the iconostasis was removed and destroyed . All religious instruments were stolen, or destroyed as well. In the photo you can also see a ladder used by the Turks to climb on the top in order to reach everything, and complete the looting of also this church in occupied Cyprus.