Souskiou - From Wealth To Pig Farm

The dark rainy clouds are gone and even though the dust have not settled yet we hit the road again to explore more the region we recently moved to. This time we chose Souskiou, another deserted village in Diarizos valley not too far from Foinikas.

I believe if our car could speak she would beg us to avoid the narrow, bumpy dirt tracks, dried out riverbeds and rocky mountain roads and stay on the safer motorway for once.

We didn't grant that wish today either and after leaving Kouklia we drove across carob tree fields, up the hill on dusty abandoned road until we finally had the valley formed by the river Diarizos in sight.

We carefully descended to the ruins of the village and parked near a the first building where a curious goat welcomed us.

Souskiou was built during the Ottoman Empire by Turks who usually to build their villages in areas with fertile plains that where crossed by rivers. The old Mosque still stands untouched in the middle of the settlement, curiously enough the only building which is not in ruins after decades of decay.

Just like many other villages, Souskiou's entire population has fled in 1975 however in the first years of independence it was a place of training for the TMT terrorists since it was well hidden in the valley.

The first thing we noticed was the high density of the water features, almost every neighborhood had one which was clearly a sign on wealth, giving irony to the name Souskiou which comes Suzus meaning "without water"

The cobbled stone roads were built according to Roman architecture zig zagging around the houses. The further we walked towards the center of the village the older settlements appeared.

The houses were built entirely from stones covered by mud and whilst I could rarely see outdoor ovens, every building had indoor fire.

There were many traces of a once wealthy lifestyle there but who would have known back then that Souskiou's last days will be spent with sheltering pigs and goats. Today they are the only residents of the village, wandering in and out of the houses, taking naps in empty living rooms. The stench was unpleasant but not as much as the flies.

Haystacks were stored in the abandoned buildings, farming tools and rubber boots were left behind all around the village.

In the center we walked by a deserted and locked down Mosque. The windows were covered but I could peek in between the gaps. There was no sign of life, the writings on the wall were faded but I was still amazed the condition of the building. It didn't look the any other ruins, the half a century negligence did not destroy this sacred home of God.

We walked further up the hill to the other end of the village between the multilayered houses. One building still had some sort of interior decoration but I couldn't tell what that was supposed to be, and another one looked more sinister with some hanging ropes from the wooden beam.

Eventually we turned back and said good bye to the sleeping houses. Even though Souskiou's name and history is almost forgotten by now the village's importance very much present in our day to day lives. If you take a look at back of the euro coin you'll see a primitive figurine. These cruciform figurines were produced in the area in 3000 BC and were excavated only recently by Scottish archaeologists.

We learn new things everyday...