Machairas Monastery, Orthodox monastery in Troodos Mountains, Cyprus.

Machairas Monastery sits at 900 meters altitude in the Troodos Mountains and displays Byzantine architecture with a rectangular layout and red-tiled roofs. The buildings cluster around a central courtyard housing the church, living quarters, and agricultural structures.

Two hermits from Palestine, Neophytos and Ignatius, found the icon of the Virgin in a cave in 1145, cutting through the undergrowth with a knife (machairi), which gave the icon its name Machairotissa. In 1172 Ignatius and Prokopios obtained money and the whole mountain from Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, with the status of stavropegion. Neilos, the first abbot, enlarged the monastery in the early 13th century. A fire damaged it in 1892, and archimandrite Chariton collected 6,483 rubles in Russia for its rebuilding.

The monastery follows strict Orthodox traditions that shape the religious life of the surrounding region. Monks maintain a daily rhythm centered on prayer and work in the agricultural grounds.

The monastery complex sits roughly 40 kilometers northeast of Nicosia and is reached by a mountain road. Visitors should wear appropriate dress covering shoulders and knees, and should seek permission before visiting in groups.

A small museum on the monastery grounds is dedicated to Grigoris Afxentiou, a Greek Cypriot EOKA insurgent leader during the Cyprus Emergency. He was killed in action on 3 March 1957 in his secret hideout near the monastery.