news

31/05/2019

When Tata Harper set out to create a skincare line sourced entirely from natural ingredients, she noticed a trend in the industry: brands tend to focus on a single ingredient, touting its unique restorative powers. As she surveyed the wide range of botanicals and their clinically proven benefits, she came to believe that the most effective and targeted treatments would result from complex formulations. Drawing on over 300 raw ingredients sourced from over 68 countries and her organic farm in Vermont, Tata Harper’s skincare line mixes high concentrations of multiple ingredients through painstakingly engineered chemical formulations. Indeed, each product is rated with a High Performing Ingredients number to indicate how many have been packed into it. Anassa’s Thalassa Spa now carries Tata Harper products and offers an array of treatments with them. The Intensive Multi-Masking Facial, for example, helps you discover your best skin as the therapist caters to your skin’s specific needs; a customised cleansing is followed by a series of masks and a vitamin-rich facial massage, leaving your skin balanced and radiant. The Detox Body Wrap delivers a complete body refresh, as your skin is polished, then clarified with a toxin-purging wrap, and finally soothed with an application of body oil. The Body-Shaping Massage tones and tightens your skin, giving it a more youthful appearance; the therapist uses a complex blend of rich Murumuru butter, vitamins, and antioxidants throughout the massage. Contact Thalassa Spa’s reception to discover the full range of Tata Harper products and treatments available.

Create Your Own Tennis Clinic

29/05/2019

An extended holiday offers an opportunity for rest and relaxation—and, for the devoted tennis player, a chance to focus on improving one’s game. At Anassa, tennis coach Adam Rounthwaite can help you create a bespoke clinic running through the course of your stay. In the first lesson, Adam will evaluate your game, exchanging strokes with you as he eyes your forehand, backhand, serving, and volleying. After discussing goals with you, Adam will propose a series of lessons to help you meet them. You may, for example, want to set up a daily lesson of one or two hours each; lessons can also be combined with workout sessions in Thalassa Spa’s gym. Adam is no stranger to tennis clinics—he started playing when he was eight years old, began competing when he was twelve, and graduated from the Sutton Tennis Academy just south of Wimbledon. He began coaching kids at the age of nineteen and can now coach players of all ages and abilities. Having taught in England, France, Spain, and the United States, Adam is available throughout the season at Anassa. He can arrange a group lesson for all the family—and he is also available if you just need someone to play points or a match with. Anassa has two lighted tennis courts recently upgraded with a fast, artificial grass surface. Bring your own equipment or use ours; we offer restringing service and Wilson racquets for sale. To arrange a lesson or reserve a court, contact reception at Thalassa Spa.

Spend a Day on a Yacht

15/05/2019

Have you ever wondered about life on a yacht? You can find out what it’s like by spending a day cruising the crystal-clear waters of Chrysochou Bay. Anassa’s beachfront partner, Latchi Watersports Centre, added a new Jeanneau NC33 motor yacht to its fleet this year. Its main cabin has a generous seating area, a kitchen, and the captain’s seat. Below, you’ll find two bedrooms and a full bathroom. The yacht accommodates up to ten passengers and comes with a captain. It’s easy to enjoy the sun, as the bow sports two built-in sun loungers and the stern has a partially-shaded area that can be configured for dining or sunbathing. Step down to the stern’s swim platform and enjoy easy access to the sea. Latchi Watersports will develop a bespoke programme with you. A typical outing includes a cruise along the Akamas coast and anchorage in a secluded lagoon for swimming and snorkelling. Other options include fishing and use of jet skis, paddle boards, kayaks, and more. Anassa provides catering service: order up a selection of chilled beverages along with a deluxe picnic hamper filled with gourmet delights, a spa picnic hamper with lighter fare, or even a custom meal with cook and waiter on board. Because of its exceptional fuel efficiency, the Jeanneau NC33 motor yacht is an economical alternative to other boat rentals. Chart your course and enjoy the yachting life.

A Visit to the Basketry Museum

15/05/2019

The village of Inia on the Akamas Peninsula is home to the only museum devoted to basketry in Cyprus. Housed in a renovated schoolhouse next to the village’s main church, the museum displays a wide variety of objects woven for agricultural and domestic use. Over the centuries, villagers shaped materials available in the area, such as rushes, cane, straw, wheat, palm leaves, and branches of the turpentine and wild olive trees, into useful and attractive implements. One basket is arched to fit over the back of a donkey; its two sides feature containers for carrying grapes or carobs during harvest. Another, oblong basket has a round opening with a lid in the centre and grates at both ends—perfect for carrying chickens to market. Others are used to form and drain cheeses. Basket makers follow a few common steps. First, they gather, trim, and split canes using a knife, hammer, and wooden wedge. Next, they soak the canes in water to soften them. Then, they form the base and frame of a basket and weave the sides. In creating the coiled baskets known as tsestos, women artisans create bold geometric patterns using coloured pieces of cloth and dyed reeds; these baskets are used for exhibiting wedding and christening gifts and decorating walls. In addition to baskets, you can see a tool for making rope, a loom for weaving matts, and a chair made from mulberry wood with a rush seat. The museum is just a fifteen-minute drive from Anassa.

Photographer Compares Visual Cultures of Pafos and Jerusalem

13/05/2019

In an exhibition at Anassa, photographer Michael Kouloumos presents black and white images of his native Pafos with others taken in the city of Jerusalem. ‘From Pafos to Jerusalem: Stone, Cloth, Flesh, and Water’ draws the viewer’s attention to the contrasts between the two cities. In Jerusalem, stone is a constant backdrop for the images, with structures such as the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the souks of the Muslim quarter figuring prominently in a city that is sacred to three major religions. Cloth, too, makes a persistent presence, as portraits of people in Jerusalem show how clothing expresses religious identity. In the coastal resort of Pafos, by contrast, water is an enticement, as locals and vacationers alike are drawn to the balmy waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The photos portray bathers entering the sea, resting on the shore, and rinsing themselves off in communal showers. Flesh is more exposed here, suggesting a different way of figuring cultural identity. Kouloumos aims to develop our visual literacy through the juxtaposition of the images and seeks to project a dignified image of each person depicted in the photographs. His goal is to cultivate tolerance and respect, transcending the taboos and boundaries that are set before us. The exhibition runs from 8 May to 1 June 2019.

The Gardens Are Blooming

18/04/2019

After an especially rainy winter, the hills of Cyprus are green, and the island’s chronically low reservoirs are mostly full for the first time in years. The bright yellow flowers of the prickly broom can be seen throughout the maquis, whilst meadows of red poppies and orange crown daisies bloom in abundance. Inside the grounds of Anassa, the gardens are also vibrant with new life. Near the entrance court, orange trees are replete with fruit, and the sweet scent of orange blossoms sends their promise of future harvests. Inside the court, trellised and potted bougainvillea are showing their first bursts of pink flowers. Though the shrubs of the hillside gardens are cut back severely every winter, new growth is already in evidence. Lantana is forming its small domes of flowers in white, pink, yellow, orange, and red. Herbs like lavender and rosemary are flowering, their aromas wafting in the wind. Neapolitan garlic sends up a starburst of white petals and the sword lily forms its pillar of jack-knife shaped scarlet blooms. Several varieties of daisies add clusters of purple, white, and yellow flowers. Along the walkway by the cliff overlooking the sea, a hedge of mimosa is ablaze with fragrant yellow blossoms. Cyprus is on a major flyway for birds migrating from their winter homes in Africa to their summer homes in Europe; migrants can be found throughout the garden now. Spring has certainly sprung at Anassa.