The Cloisters

G.H. Gray travelled in the Near East in the 20s and 30s and produced a series of topographical watercolours. He lived in Cyprus for a while and gave painting lessons to British expatriates in Kyrenia. He was one-eyed and impoverished. He was forced to leave Cyprus in 1956. This is one of a pair of watercolours most probably depicting the village of Kalopanayiotis in the Marathasa region. The guiding signposts as to the location depicted are the mountain of Kyparissovouno as well as the bay of Morphou in the background. A second village, Pedoulas, adjacent to the one at the forefront also points in the direction of Kalopanayiotis village. The humble houses are sunk into a fertile valley surrounded by hills. The steeple and the dome of the relatively new church of the village can also be distinguished. The monastery dates back to the 11th century and consists of three small chapels one of which is dedicated to St John the Lambadistis, another to St Herakleidios and the third, of the 15th century, is known as the ‘Latin chapel’. The latter attests to a rather unproblematic relationship between Greek and Latin folk in the village. The watercolour is an interesting panorama of the area that thrives on a successful play of colour and light.