Kataklysmos Festival-22 - 24 May 2010 (annual ]

This Superb and unique Cypriot celebration, Kataklysmos, the Festival of the Flood, coincides with (Greek) Pentecost and is marked by festivities at all coastal resorts. The most popular custom involves throwing water at one another, symbolising the purification of the body and soul.

The festival begins with an ecclesiastical ceremony. The priest hurls a cross into the sea and the diver who brings it up receives a blessing and a sovereign, which marks the start of the rest of the festivities.The marinas in Ayia Napa,Larnaca, Paphos Fort, Limassol,are very busy during this time,and we advise to get to the locations early for the best views.

Events in Agia Napa, Limassol, Paphos and Polis are among the most popular and may well last for a few extra days - depending on the town. Expect folk dances, boat and swimming races, swimming competitions, wrestling, canoe-races and the bellowing of songs such as tchattista, which are improvised verses sung by competing parties