If you have read an extraordinary book by Lawrence Durrell, who lived in Bellapais during the war of independence against the British colonial power in the 1950s: Bitter Lemons of Cyprus, then you will certainly be in the hills of Bellapais looking for the tree of idleness.
It is a mulberry tree to which Durrell gives this evocative and very apt name. In the book, the idle tree is described as the favourite place of the villagers. Under its shade there was always someone who loved to spend long hours talking (and gossiping) about his fellow villagers, including Durrell. The writer, during his stay, tried to buy a house right here.Durrel’s idle tree has obviously become an attraction. With a name like that, it couldn’t be otherwise. So where is this tree and how do you find it? The inhabitants of Bellapais have given travellers directions.
First of all: how many idle trees are there? In his book Durrell speaks of only one.
In reality, however, also because of the fame acquired by the book, there are two plants competing for the title.
The first contender is a locust tree that overlooks the corner of the Huzur Agac (Idle Tree) restaurant with its outdoor tables above an inviting terrace.
The second contender is a mulberry tree grown together with a fig tree: at a distracted glance it looks like a single plant, but a closer look and a large sign explains that it is two trees of different species intertwined. The beautiful foliage covers the tables of a kiosk run by two elderly owners. Even today many groups of people come here to shelter from the summer heat, to chat and drink a coffee.
