Celebrate a Greek Orthodox Easter in Cyprus

Celebrate Greek Orthodox Easter in Cyprus in Pissouri Bay and stay at the five star Columbia Beach Resort – a luxury hideaway situated on a 2 km Blue Flag beach surrounded by rugged cliffs and acres of vineyards in the valley behind.

April is a wonderful month to visit Cyprus for warm weather and the island full of spring flowers. Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday falls this year on April 27 and there are a host of festivities to see and join. Visit the beautiful churches across the island to see the icons covered in flowers. On Good Friday there are processions in the villages with fireworks en route.

Food is a very important part of a visit to Cyprus with speciality treats for each season and event. Cypriots end the period of Lent after Midnight Mass on Easter Saturday with a special egg and lemon Argolemoni soup. Easter Sunday is for celebration when everyone enjoys eating and drinking until late in the afternoon on long tables in the villages with all invited. The Columbia Beach Resort offers guests Flaouna, a traditional Cypriot pastry baked especially for Easter. An aromatic lamb cooked on the spit is also part of the Easter tradition as well as eggs dyed dark red and yellow.

In most villages on Easter Sunday and Monday traditional games take place in the square, a practice that has taken place over centuries. It’s common for relatives to gather in places like Pissouri Village, perched high on the cliffs above the Columbia Beach Resort, and for those who have left the region to return especially for this celebration.

Aspire Holidays offers 7 nights in a Junior Suite with Sea view at Columbia Beach Resort, Cyprus in April from £1030.00 pp. Price includes a 10% discount for bookings made before March 31. Includes direct flights with Cyprus Airways into Paphos and private car transfers to the hotel.

Visit Aspireholidays.co.uk for more information.

A break at the Columbia Beach Resort promises pure pleasure and positive recreation. This is the chance to experience gourmet food, especially the Cyprus meze served in the Apollo Taverna, the meal with an endless variety of salads, dips, and meat and fish dishes.

Then there’s the Resort’s highly regarded Columbia Spa that offers five treatment rooms, a spa bath, plunge pool, sauna and steam room as well as a hair salon. The heated swimming pool that dominates this intimate and welcoming spa is flanked by relaxation beds and areas for quiet consultation. Molton Brown spa “journeys” are exclusively available in Cyprus in this hotel and the recently added marine-based Phytomer spa range is popular for body contouring and detoxification. This is a paradise for the body and for the soul.

For a more active Easter break the Columbia Spa offers squash and a flood-lit tennis court, a first class gym and an aerobics hall with regular workout sessions and yoga classes, many of which are held on the landscaped lawns outside.

The water-sports season starts in April in Pissouri Bay where reliable mid-strength winds every day until November provide the ideal situation for both beginners and the more adept, plus clean warm water and a 2km Blue Flag beach. A great range of water-sports is available in the bay including kite-surfing, wind-surfing and Hobie Cat sailing. Or for golfers there is regular complimentary transport provided by the Beach Resort to the Aphrodite Hills championship course in the vicinity.

The distinctive architecture of the Resort is inspired by local Cypriot villages featuring low rise buildings in local stone. The sloping roofs furnished with reclaimed terracotta tiles and shutters on the windows and abundance of natural wood give the Resort a discreetly aged and traditional look, landscaped so that old and new blend together. The 94 suites in this all-suite hotel are arranged in 'villas' clustered around the 80m lagoon style pool which flows into the acclaimed Columbia Spa.

For more information, visit Columbia-hotels.com and Visitcyprus.com.