Ayia Napa Aqua Duct

Ayia Napa Aqua Duct is a historic monument located at the west of the Ayia Napa Monastery. The aqua duct was the means of transferring and supplying with water the monastery of Ayia Napa as well as the surrounding region of Ayia Napa for hundreds of years.

There are several archaeological ruins found close to the monastery and the chapel of Ayia Thekla, which indicate the existence of an aqua duct that was built earlier during the Roman period. The monument as it is preserved today is an alteration of the Roman aqua duct. The reconstruction and alteration of the aqua duct is estimated during the Frankish period when the Ayia Napa Monastery was built. Ever since water from the hills between Ayia Napa and Protaras was carried through the a 2 kilometers long, subterranean rock cut channel to the region. Three barrel - shaped structures, known as the House of the Greeks, used to mark the original route of the channel. Excavations brought the monument to light during 1974 at a location known by the locals as "Mana tou Nerou", meaning "source of water".

Ayia Napa Aqua Duct is a complicated construction and it is obvious that it needed expertise to be built as well as a well organised system of maintenance on a regular basis. The construction shows the existence of people who constantly repaired any breaches, cleaned the debris, The constructors of the Ayia Napa Aqua Duct seem to have taken advantage of the principle of gravity to achieve delivering water to the monastery. There are also two spots along its route, where the constructors incorporated monolithic troughs in the channel to act as settling chambers and collect all heavy impurities of the running water. Additionally those two chambers helped smooth the running of the water right before each curve.

The water delivered to the monastery was stored in a large reservoir built under the enormous sycamore tree located at the monastery's courtyard. Some water was also diverted through a pipe to the Venetian fountain in the courtyard of the monastery. Ayia Napa Aqua Duct is probably one of the most important monuments that are preserved within Ayia Napa municipality. The construction of the Ayia Napa Aqua Duct was very important for the people of the region as water scarcity and lack of rivers was always a problem for them. The Cyprus Department of Antiquities and the Municipality of Ayia Napa have undertook a project of conservation of the aqua duct and in 2008 another 100 meters of the aqua duct were brought to light. The project continues in order to uncover the monument in its full length.