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Ammochostos, Cyprus

Sotira Ammochostou (Greek : Σωτήρα Αμμοχώστου) is a community of the District of Famagusta .

Sotira is a coastal town with a blue flag at Ayia Thekla beach. Sotira is famous for its Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Christian Orthodox churches. According to the census of 2012, the town has 5,589 inhabitants, number which has risen rapidly over the last 5 years. Sotira is the third largerst town in the unoccupied area of Famagusta district. Sotira was converted into a Municipality in January 2012 which gave to the town more autonomy and self governing.

Location

Sotira is located about 10 kilometers south of Famagusta city.
Geography
Geomorphology

Sotira is built on an average altitude of 75 meters above the sea. Τhe landscape is as a plain and has a little inclination to the sea.
Flora and fauna

A piece of Paralimni lake belongs to Sotira. That means that there is a great flora and fauna which has to be protected by international organisations. A type of snake called "nerofido"(Greek: Νερόφιδο) exists in Paralimni lake and it's protected by the Cypriot government.
Occupations

The main occupations of the people who live in Sotira is agriculture and livestock. In addition, Sotira is famous for its plant called "kolokasi"(Greek: κολοκάσι), which in English is famous as "Jerusalem artichokes". Since 2009, there is a festival held every year dedicated to "kolokasi", usually on October. The last years there is observed a small industrial development which is expected to have a further development the next years, after the conversion of Sotira into a Municipality.
History
Name origin

The name of Sotira means "Savior" in Greek. Some of the legends about the creation of the village says that an ancient settlement used to live near the costal area of Ayia Thekla. After a pirate attack, the group was forced to move to a more secure zone, so they did. They moved to the place where Sotira exists till today, and they gave that name to the village because of their salvation from the pirates. Another legent says that the name of Sotira came from the Church of Transfiguration (Greek: Ιερός Ναός Μεταμορφώσεως του Σωτήρος) which was built in the 12th century by the Byzantines.
Inhabitants

Sotira's inhabitants over the last century are configured as follows:
Year Number of inhabitants
1946 1.037
1960 1.515
1982 3.015
1992 3.553
2001 4.259
2012 5.589
Local government

Government of Cyprus decided to convert Sotira into a Municipality after a request from the Community Council of the village. Thus, residents of Sotira voted on July 3, 2011 and a percentage of 90,35% said yes. The conversion of Sotira into a Municipality will be on 1 January, 2012.
Coastal area

The coastal area of Ayia Thekla is just 5 kilometers west of Ayia Napa, the most famous summer resort of Cyprus and across Europe. Also, it is located 8 kilometers south of Sotira and 50 kilometers east of the airport of Larnaca. Ayia Thekla has evolved due to the property boom which has occurred since Cyprus joined the EU in 2004. The last 6 years Ayia Thekla had a development on properties and villas and it also had a blue flag for Ayia Thekla beach, after a movement of Sotira's community council.