All you need to know about the Water Theme Park in Deryneia
The water theme park in Deryneia is located east of the Ayion Panton Church and the Second Primary School of Deryneia. It features a large amphitheater, a playground for children, a bar, cafe, kiosk, and an impressive exhibit on the methods of water extraction used by Cypriots in ancient times. Visitors of this theme park can see the traditional well (lakkos) where people used to draw water with a bucket, pulling it directly with a rope and later with a wooden wheel called “alakati”. They can also experience the method of water extraction using a zygos or “katia,” which was operated by a person moving it up and down. Another method of water extraction is the “Archimedes’ Screw,” an ancient invention of the famous Greek scientist and researcher who lived from 287-212 BC in Egypt. Visitors can also examine the traditional alakati, which residents used to draw water with the help of animals for irrigating their gardens. Another method of water extraction was the “pump,” or “touloumpa,” which sucked water from the well using a manual piston. The next human invention was the well know and traditional for Famagusta Region “windmill,” a mechanism powered by wind that could draw water from greater depths more easily.
Wells – “Lakkoi”
In Cyprus and areas without rivers, springs, or lakes, the most common way to find water was by digging wells. The depth of the wells depended on the depth of the underground water. Typically, wells for drawing water with buckets were cylindrical, about three feet in diameter, allowing a person to enter, and with the help of steps on the sides (ladders), they could go up and down in the well. For digging the well, it was essential to have an assistant who raised the soil to the surface with a bucket or sack, pulling it with a rope. Once they finished digging, they would build a stone wall around the well opening, one to two feet above the ground surface. They would also narrow the opening so that a person could enter and exit but could easily cover it with a flat stone to protect against animals or children falling in. Water was drawn with a bucket that was lowered into the well with a rope and slowly pulled to the surface when it was filled.
Wells for Animal Watering
Every household needed its own well for its needs, to water animals and poultry, wash wheat for milling, clean various vessels, water trees and flowers, for sprinkling, and various other uses. In fields, there also needed to be wells with stone troughs around them for watering farmers’ animals during sowing, summer, or threshing seasons. Each shepherd also needed to have his own well to water his flock after grazing in the fields. The shepherd used a special leather bucket for drawing water, which was light enough to carry, hanging it along with his crook on his shoulder.
The Zygos
In ancient Egypt, residents living near the Nile River applied the zygos method to easily draw water from the riverbanks to irrigate their crops. They would secure two crossbeams on the riverbanks and place another long beam on top, with one end hanging into the river and the other extending to the dry land. They tied a bucket to the beam with a rope, and when they raised the other end, the bucket would sink into the water and fill. By pressing down on the other end of the beam, the bucket would rise full to the surface, where a second person would empty it into a reservoir or directly into the furrows, irrigating their crops next to the river. This method allowed them to draw water more easily and in larger quantities. The zygos was also used in Cyprus in areas with shallow wells, and in Cyprus, it was also called “katia.” In our region, farmers used the yoke to irrigate small plots of crops, especially near the sea, where many farmers had small strips of land where they grew potatoes, onions, beets, watermelons, melons, and more. They usually dug wells where they found fresh water, which bubbled up from the dry land. The “katia” method was used in the “Palialakkoi” area of Strovolos, where there were shallow waters for watering small potato plots. Until 1960, such methods for watering vegetables were employed by Nikolakis Koullapis and lastly Andreas P. Koullapis.
Archimedes’ Screw
The renowned Greek mathematician, researcher, and astronomer Archimedes, who lived in Egypt from 287 to 212 BC, discovered a revolutionary method for drawing water from the Nile River. He constructed a manual mechanism consisting of a tube through which a shaft with a screw passed. When turned by hand, it would raise water upwards. The lower end of the tube was submerged in water, and the upper part extended to the riverbank. With the rotation of the screw, water would ascend and flow into containers or a furrow for irrigating crops and fields. This pioneering method is the precursor to the construction of modern turbines for drawing water from great depths using mechanical or electrical power. This method is also used for moving grain in warehouses or flour mills.
The Alakati “Manganopigado”
“Alakati” is a mechanical system of toothed wheels and a hydraulic wheel used to draw water from wells (lakkoi). The system, internationally known as “Naria,” is rotated by animals. It was known to ancient peoples as the “periaktion pump” of the ancient Greeks. In ancient times, alakati was constructed exclusively from wooden wheels—one turning horizontally, known as the “cage,” and a larger one turning vertically inside a rectangular pit, called the “water wheel.” The axles on which they turned were made of durable wood, likely the “pernari” type. The vertical axle turning the horizontal wheel was based on a large stone with a hollow to support it. At the top, the axle was supported by a wooden beam with a socket. This beam was supported by two walls on either side of the pit, called “piliarka.” The vertical wheel also turned on a wooden axle, had a larger circumference, and had clay buckets hanging from it with two ears at the top, tied with a rope that moved up and down to fill with water. As they ascended on the water wheel, they would tip over, releasing water into a wooden trough, from where it would flow into a stone channel draining into a large reservoir. With the turning of the alakati, the empty buckets descended, filled, and ascended to the surface to empty. The turning of the alakati was done by mules or donkeys pulling a long wooden beam, called the “zarouti,” which moved the horizontal wheel, which with protruding teeth moved the vertical wheel and the buckets with the rope. The buckets were spaced about a foot (30 cm) apart, and the ropes supporting them were made from flexible reeds or fibrous river plants. The animal was tied with a rope to a long pole in front of it, and blinders were fastened around its eyes to prevent it from looking sideways. It turned around the “Alakati” pit on a flat surface known as the “Trapezia” under the supervision of its owner, who did not allow it to stop turning. This way, a sufficient amount of water could be drawn for irrigating trees and vegetables. Later, with human progress, metal alakati were made with metal ropes and buckets and steel axles moving on bases with bearings or bushings that were lubricated. The pits for modern alakati were smaller, rectangular, about two meters long and one meter wide. Alakati could draw water from depths of about twenty to thirty feet. In our area, alakati were used until around 1950, as there were wells with shallow waters. Alakati were found in the coastal area of Derinya, where there were shallow waters, as well as in the region of Ouzoum Laxias and Palialakkoi in Strovolos. Many alakati were also found around the village, such as in the areas of “Kolympos,” “Landa,” “Pervolia,” etc. Until shortly before 1974, near “Gyros” beach, the alakati of Foutoulli from Paralimni still existed. In Agios Memnon, until recently, a huge wooden alakati, half-destroyed, was maintained in Mr. Fotis’ garden.
The Pump “Ttouloumpa”
The manual pump “pump” or “ttouloumpa” is a type of pump with a mechanism for drawing water and discharging it from a relatively shallow depth. It consists of a vertical pipe, about five centimeters in diameter, inside which a steel rod moves up and down with a manual tool, at the bottom of which is a metal cup surrounded by a fitted leather (piston). The cup moves inside a brass tube located at the bottom of the vertical pipe. With the reciprocating motion up and down, the cup with the leather, which fits in the brass pump, draws in water that rises in the pipe through a ball (valve), which opens and closes with water pressure and draws in more water with the ascent. Thus, with the upward motion of the pump, the pipe fills with water, which exits through a small horizontal pipe, and the water runs into a trough or fills the clay pots of the residents. This method allowed residents to draw water more easily and avoid the ropes and buckets. In our community, the “ttouloumpa” pump was used for several years after it was installed in the central well of the village, near the church of Saint George around 1930. Ttouloumpes were also present in Agios Antonios, in the well of the First Primary School, and elsewhere. When a borehole with sufficient water was discovered in 1956, the village used it until 1974, where it filled wells, irrigated gardens, and cultivated fields. Many “ttouloumpa” pumps were located in areas with shallow waters, such as the coastal area of Ayia Napa and the region of Paralimni, where farmers used them to draw water for their fields until recently.
Windmills
Windmills are powered by wind and can draw water from deep wells. They consist of a tower with a rotating horizontal sail system. The wind rotates the sails, moving a shaft that draws water through a rod with a small cup similar to the touloumpa, which extracts water and discharges it into a reservoir. In Cyprus, windmills were found in mountainous areas where wind blew regularly. They allowed farmers to draw water for their gardens, fields, and irrigation. They operated with little supervision, drawing water at no cost and easily transporting it for irrigation.
