Troodos

The Troodos mountains are located in the center of the Greek part of the islands. They are covering most of the central mass of Cyprus and their green slopes, dotted with tiny villages, the forest paths, the cool weather and, last but not least, the ancient monasteries, attract many people to leave the beach areas of Cyprus and to discover this beuatyful and still wild landscape. The locals are very proud of their cultural heritage: some of the monasteries date back to the Byzantine period. People here are very hospitable and friendly. All in all is a very beautiful region, with great hiking and walking opportunities. The main highlight is the Kykkos monastery, that dates back to the 11-th century.

Troodos mountain range stretches across most of the western side of Cyprus, offering cool sanctuary and idyllic hours spent in long walks in its scented pine forests in summer and winter sports and skiing in winter. There are many famous mountain resorts, Byzantine monasteries and churches on mountain peaks, and nestling in its valleys and picturesque mountain villages clinging to terraced hill slopes. There are 9 churches in Troodos that are counted among Unesco 's World Heritage Sites and several monasteries, of which the Kykkos monastery is the most famous and rich. The nine Byzantine churches are:

Stavros tou Ayiasmati
Panayia tou Araka
Timiou Stavrou at Pelendri
Ayios Nikolaos tis Stegis
Panayia Podithou
Assinou
Ayios loannis Lampadistis
Panayia tou Moutoula, and
Archangel Michael at Pedhoulas

The area has been known since ancient times for its mines, and in the Byzantine period it became a great centre of Byzantine art, as churches and monasteries were built in the mountains, away from the threatened coastline.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

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The white flag was chosen for the young Cyprus as a sign of peace among the two communities living there (Greeks and Turks). The map of the island is golden/yellow , for the sake of easier reproduction of what was originally intended to be a color of copper (symbol Cu ), a metal that got its name from the island name. Most probably, since there is no brownish-reddish-copper color in heraldry, the map was changed to golden. Green olive tree branches stand for peace, again.