Our cultural inheritance includes all forms of expression of art and life itself, as these were developed through the centuries. Architectural monuments as well as art pieces, but generally the traditions, the customs, the language etc, are elements that were inherited by us from the generations that lived before and reflect the course of our people in time. The continuation of all these forms of cultural expression, that evolve as life itself evolves, is called tradition and one of its basic elements is our architectural inheritance.
Lefkara is one of the most important rural centers of Larnaka. It’s a community whose historical proofs are much older than the Frankish rule, and it has the undisputable advantage of historical evolution, which is long and simultaneously rich in images and experiences.
Starting from the years of Frankish rule, during which Lefkara became very wealthy, we find through written documents several construction rules that describe the architectural development of Lefkara during that era. Today in Lefkara, there are no such buildings left from the medieval ages other than some churches. Time and events and the mere evolution of the community did not allow for those buildings to be conserved to the present day. This is true not only for Lefkara but for many communities all over Cyprus. 
Lefkara is not constructed out of a specific plan but out of the needs of the people, the lifestyle and the lessons learned through time. Experts say that it obeys a basic medieval form. The houses form groups that develop around a center such as a church.
The streets develop circularly round the center. This gives the illusion (to a potential conqueror) that, because of the increase in length of the streets, the community is much bigger and consequently mightier. Furthermore, the street plan protected the inhabitants from the Mediterranean sun and winds.
The community is built in perfect harmony to the natural environment. However, nature was not very generous to Lefkara. The area was never famous for its forests or its waters. The rocky soil and the morphology as well as the poor cultivating land did not allow for any profitable crops to be cultivated.
One of the basic elements of the architectural style is the dense and continuous constructions. The stone-built walls rise tall with few openings. They look like fortresses with the older houses remaining hidden behind them. Some of the streets are made of stones as well, creating a perfect harmony.
All the characteristics of the evolution and modification of architecture have as a starting point the needs of man of every Age. The constructor builds by following the needs of the village family. He does not try to achieve a picturesque construction. At least this is not the main goal. The main goal is taking care of the personal needs of every family.
The house of a village inhabitant is an extension of his agricultural activities. The polymorphy, which characterizes these activities, created a rich spectrum of architectural solutions. These aim not only in serving the family’s basic social needs but furthermore, its needs that originate from the agricultural lifestyle. Such could be the storage room, the stable, the workspace, the kiln, as well as the kitchen and the bedroom.
One of the main features of traditional architecture is the use of gray-white flat stones to conserve both the color and the texture of the ground. Lefkara houses make extensive use of this stone since the resources for wooden homes were not sufficient.
Several times, especially in the case of poor families, the main room was both for humans and animals. Sometimes to increase the space two rooms were merged into one and were separated by an arc. This arc is one of the most common characteristics of Lefkara traditional architecture and we see it both inside and outside the house as an entrance to the main yard.
Very common in Lefkara houses is the horizontal roof. The red inclined roof is a modern feature that was developed in the beginning of the twentieth century. In older houses, even if the inclination of the roof exists, the roof is usually white to match the stone used for the walls and the streets. The modern houses have bigger openings towards the street and are found towards the center of the village, in contrast to the older houses.
Usually there is a roof over a portion of the yard known as the ‘portio’. That’s where the master of the house usually left his tools when returning from the day’s work. Towards the portio opened a couple of the rooms of the house. In the older days these rooms were usually the storage room and the stable but in more modern houses these rooms are rooms intended for social gatherings. 
The extension of the basic house to include the portio and several rooms for social purposes was a natural follow-up of the need for new spaces and the socialization of the family.
The geomorphic limitations force the builder to adjust the techniques for dealing with weather conditions. Wherever the sun may be a problem, a shade is built between the main house and the yard. This shade provides a safe place both against the summer heat and the winter cold. Furthermore, the spaces intended for family use have high ceilings to provide coolness in the summer.
One of the most admirable facts is that in Lefkara there are no fireplaces intended for cooking. Instead there are kilns that were mainly used for baking bread.
The temple is the most important construction of the community, which develops around it. It’s the last shelter in cases of great need. Inevitably the central square is close to the church. That’s where people gathered to learn the news, to sell and buy products, to celebrate or to mourn. Consequently, the square is the basic place of expression of the medieval society.
In the last years of the Turkish occupation, a feeling of insecurity is very distinct in the architecture of the houses. There is a tendency towards isolation and securing the family honor and the material goods inside the house. For these reasons the houses are built at the end of the yard, away from the street.
After the English occupied the island and up to the first decade of the twentieth century, the trade of embroideries started becoming more organized and the scene at Lefkara started changing. The houses lose their isolated form and reflect more of a ‘city’ character.
Neoclassic style starts affecting the architecture toward the middle of the twentieth century. Houses closer to the street with windows and balconies that face the street started becoming common. The materials that are still used are the traditional materials and colors that blend with the environment.
Special interest draw the lion, eagle and cross shapes that are found over the arcs, windows etc. Most ‘modern’ houses in Lefkara couldn’t escape the tendency of the rest of the houses in Cyprus during the last decades. Through all this modernization the old abandoned mansions in Lefkara seem to belong permanently to the past. Will the new generation of inhabitants conserve the last remains of traditional architecture that gives a special character to the village? In what way could they do that? It can be argued that in Lefkara this fine line between tradition and modernization has not been violated and the balance has been successfully reached.
The houses of this traditional architecture are not ghosts from a previous Age but live proofs of the potential to keep the village character alive. A significant example is the old Kassianides’ house that has been renewed. This house is architecturally very interesting. To repair the house, traditional materials were used. It is now a monument of older times. The traditional home as an expression of genuine creation, filled with centuries’ tradition, is worth being conserved and studied.
So, reaching today, this architecture is a nuclear of tourist attraction as well as a connection to our roots and a basic form of our cultural and traditional inheritance.