While strolling through Agia Napa streets you could suddenly find yourself being watched by a friendly grinning giant in space uniform.

This is a mural created in 2016 for Ayia Napa Street Art Festival by Cypriot artist Achilleas Michaelides aka Paparazzi (b.1982, Georgia Tbilisi) who is a painter, graffiti writer, muralist and street artist based in Cyprus.  

After the completion of his space journey on 12th of April 1961, Gagarin became a national hero and an international celebrity. Having gained the reputation of a public figure, Gagarin accepted invitations by 30 countries and made an international tour. Cyprus was one of the stopovers during his travels in 1962. During his visit 13-15 February 1962 the cosmonaut was in an open car waving to the crowd lined up in the streets of Nicosia, being received with enthusiasm by all Cypriots. He visited Archbishop Makarios and then Limassol city where he received from Glafcos Clerides, as an honour, the key of the city.

In this youtube video you will find the official TV coverage of the visit by Soviet news agency. Just watch these excited crowds in Nicosia and Limassol!

The Glafcos Clerides library in the CVAR (The Centre of Visual Arts and Research, Nicosia) includes a copy of the book ‘Doroga v kosmos : rasskaz letchika-kosmonavta CCCP [The road to space: the story of the cosmonaut CCCP]’ written by Gagarin in 1961 which he signed and dedicated in the Russian language to Mr. Glafcos Clerides: ‘To Mr. G. Kl in the memory of visiting Cyprus. 15.02.62’

On 9 May 2014 Yuri Gagarin’s statue  (https://goo.gl/maps/CGEAg8f3DjiWTBEm6) was unveiled in Nicosia’s Public Gardens to commemorate the visit of the first cosmonaut in Cyprus.

Sources

https://cvar.severis.org/en/explore/our-blog/our-research-centre/yuri-gagarin-cyprus-1962/

https://kostromaturs.ru/gde-uvidet-yuriya-gagarina-na-kipre/