Travel Guide Klepini - Arapköy

At 250 meters above sea level, Klepini is especially noteworthy for its location beneath the "five fingers" rock formation that gives its name to the Pentadactylos/Beşparmak massif. Higher up, the ruined castle of Buffavento offers grandiose views over almost the entire island. The village's Greek name means "hidden". It was founded in the Middle Ages to escape the Arabs who regularly attacked the coast. Wishing to remain as discreet as possible, the inhabitants thought their hamlet would be destroyed if... the population exceeded forty! Not only did this never happen, but the village is now made up of huge housing estates for expatriates and holidaymakers. The small historic center is home to pretty stone houses, a few shops and restaurants as well as the 18th-century Αpostolos Loukas church, transformed into a mosque after the 1974 invasion. Once populated by Maronites, it bears the old Turkish name of "Arab village" (Arapköy) for this reason. But its predominantly Greek-Cypriot population was expelled in 1974 and replaced by Turkish-Cypriot inhabitants from Nicosia and the neighboring village of Trapeza/Beşparmak (11 km to the east via the coastal road).