KOKKINOPEZOYLA

Kokkinopezoula is a special – not so popular – area of ​​environmental interest located in the village of Mitsero, 28 kilometers southwest of Nicosia. The red lake is a result of the mining of minerals in the area of ​​the Kokkinozouloula mine located next to it which the water has been red colored. After a downpour, streams are created by changing the red color of the lake creating yellow and orange shades. Due to the high acidity of water, no living organism can be developed. Fortunately, however, in the last few years, trees have been growing around the lake, creating a lung of green.
In the 1950s, although working conditions in coal mines were exhausting and dangerous, it was a solution for many people who even wanted a payday to live their family. Since then, the proverbial phrase ” hastized in Mitsero ” – but still used up to now – has been recorded for the first time, stating the urging to find a job in the village’s mines or the desire of someone to pay for something more valuable than the real one. Many miners, due to their lung contamination by dust (pneumoconiosis), found a terrible death.
This message aims to attract local and foreign tourists to visit and see the Red Lake and the Mining and to get to know the history and the environmental specificity of the area.