The modern city of Limassol was formed during the Ottoman era, and began to acquire its European appearance under the British. This happened very slowly, and in old photographs you can see what familiar areas were like before they were modernized. We collected several such frames.
If a modern resident of Limassol found himself in the city from 1945 to the 1980s, he would have great difficulty recognizing familiar areas. Where Archbishop Makarios III or Griva Digeni avenues lie today, there were fields with country paths suitable only for bicycles. Trading took place at the municipal market, which today has become a fashionable public space. There were coffee shops and small shops around. Life was simpler and the inhabitants poorer.
Old photos of Limassol can be viewed in the Facebook communities Κάποτε στη Λεμεσό / Limassol old times and Η Λεμεσός μιας άλλης εποχής.
Buildings in the Molos area in the 1940s. Photo from the Maria Evripidou archive.
Coffee house on Molos 1976, photo: Tony Phylactou.
Molos, 1967, photo: Marios Kosta.
Molos before the creation of the embankment, photo: Tony Pilachou.
Embankment, 1980, photo: Maria Eliodromitou Papamoiseos.
Kastella beach in the village of Agios Tychonas in the 1960s, photo: Marios Kosta.
Celebrating the Cataclysmos, photo: Skevi Panayiotou.
Celebration of Kataklysmos in the 1960s, photo: Μαργαρίτα Πετρίδου.
Archbishop Makarios III Avenue in 1960, photo: Tony Phylactou.
Work on the embankment in 1975, photo: Panicos Lofitis.
Tsirion Stadium, photo: Marios Kosta.
Old Municipal Market, photo: Tony Phylactou.
Old port of Limassol, photo: Efi Constantinou.
Tourist area of Germasogeia, 1985, photo: Ανδρέας Δρουσιώτης.
Enaerios, 1985, photo: Ανδρέας Δρουσιώτης.
Tourist area of Limassol, 1980, photo: sigmalive.com.
This article was first published in the Cyprus Herald on 13 August 2023. Some information may be out of date.
