Donkey Riding
All festivals and similar events in Buyukkonuk offer donkeys with a traditional village wooden saddle available for rides for children. The price is currently 5TL and includes the donkey owner walking the donkey and child on a short route, about 5 minutes. These Eco-Day Festivals are held every 3rd Sunday in May and October each year, and the Donkey Day Festival will be held each year on the nearest Sunday to Valentine’s Day.
It is planned that donkeys will become available for longer treks but this has to be negotiated with individual owners.
Donkey event news
Sunday, Feb 13, 2011 DONKEY DAY: care, information and fun
On Sunday, 13th February, the first “Donkey Day” celebration was held to honour the Cypriot donkey and its new role in ecotourism. A project was just completed, funded with the European Union, where 8 rural Cypriot youth went to Europe to learn about how donkeys are treated and cared for there. This “Donkey Day” was part of that project, a day to show Cypriots what was learned in Europe, with demonstrations and information on donkeys, how to care for them, how their hooves are trimmed and even a show of ploughing with a donkey in the traditional way. There were 4 donkeys giving rides to visitors and there was a good display of donkey handicrafts, pictures and T-shirts to buy. A book on the basics of donkey care was available in Turkish and English free of charge to those care and work with donkeys.
Just across the street from Delcraft, the regular weekly Sunday Markets offered visitors a variety of traditional foodstuffs, produce and crafts. Also open in the village was a family-run restaurant serving traditional Cypriot cuisine like home-made macaroni dishes and oven kebab.
“Donkey Day” is planned to be held every year on the Sunday nearest Valentine’s Day.