The village
Located in the Pafos District, the beautiful village of Kallepeia spreads on gorgeous scenery divided by the River Ezousas.

It is a semi-mountainous village built on an altitude of 590 metres. It is only 13 kilometres northeast of the town of Pafos, in the geographical region of ‘Ampelochoria’ (vine villages) of Pafos and Lemesos.

Historicalfacts
According to Mas Latrie, during the Frankish period, our village was divided in two villages named Pano (upper) and Kato (lower) Kallepeia. Pano Kallepeia, as he also remarks, was a medieval fief of Calopes, whereas Kato Kallepeia was one of the estates of the Cypriot Royal family.

What is worth mentioning is that remains of the ancient Greek religion of the shepherds’ god ‘Panas’, have been discovered in the village. According to the Great Cyprus Encyclopaedia, these are various shepherd oblations, such as ‘flutes, sheep bells and shepherd sticks.

One of the worst moments the village has experienced was the catastrophic earthquake that struck Pafos in 1953. Kallepeia suffered severe damages that day.

Naming
With regards to the naming of the village there are the following versions:

• The dominant version concerning the village’s name is linked to an etymological explanation. In particular, according to the magazine ‘Voice of the Communities’, the name ‘Kallepeia’ derived from compounding the words ‘kallos’ and ‘peia’ which mean ‘beauty’ and ‘good words’ respectively because its residents spoke with fine words.

• According to the Great Cyprus Encyclopaedia, the name of the village is linked with the adjective ‘kallistos’ which means gorgeous.

• Some researchers believe that the naming is of ancient Greek origin and connect it, as the Great Cyprus Encyclopaedia writes, to the remains of the ancient worshipping of ‘Panas’, god of the shepherds.

Professions
Kallepeia, as the magazine ‘The Voice of the Community’ distinctively writes, is one of the first vine villages of Pafos. During the decade of the 80’s, the village was the sixth vine village of the Pafos District. In 1983, 528 hectares were covered with vineyards. Nowadays, although viticulture has been reduced, it is still one of the basic professions for the residents of Kallepeia. At the same time, they deal with the cultivation of apple, almond, lemon and orange trees as well as with the cultivation of grains.

Some of the village’s residents also deal with live stock breeding. In the past, in 1983 in particular, 114 sheep and 1143 goats were raised in the village. Nowadays, in the village, there are farms that fulfil European specifications.

Population
From 1881 until 1960, the population of Kallepeia was constantly increasing. Later on, however, it started to decrease gradually. The decrease of the population in the 60’s, as the Great Cyprus Encyclopaedia remarks, is a ‘phenomenon that was observed in all the villages of the region as a result of rural depopulation that began to develop since then’. Nowadays, an increase of the population is observed. In particular, while the village numbered 216 residents in the year 2000, it has now got 300 residents. The president of the community mentions that today, in a total of 350 residents, 200 of them are local, whereas the rest of them are European citizens. The following chart presents the course of the population, starting from 1881 until today.

*This number has been provided by the Community Council.

Education
Ieronymos Peristanis remarks that the first letters in Kallepeia were taught by teachers of the surrounding villages, as well as by the village’s priest before 1870. These were Kyriakos Gerodkiakos from the village of Tala, Georgios Philipou from Pegeia and Priest Christodoulos, who, according to the Great Cyprus Encyclopaedia, ‘taught while he was working in the fields followed by his students who would repeat the lesson loudly’.

Churches
Two of our village’s churches are dedicated to Agios Georgios. Situated on the one side of Kallepeia is the small chapel of Agios Georgios, built on the foundations of an older church, whereas in the centre of the village stands the larger church of the Saint.

Moreover, there are the churches of Prophet Elias, of Agia Eleni and of Agios Theodoros, which was built on the foundations of an older church. There is also the church of Timios Stavros, an ancient monument of the Department of Antiquities in addition to a deserted chapel in the Turkish village Mwro-Nero, which is located southeast of the village and is today under the jurisdiction of the Kallepeia Community Council.

Sources:
‘TheVoice of the Communities’, vol.9, October 2007.
Great Cyprus Encyclopaedia
Kallepeia Community Council