It's just like no rules, it's brilliant

Ayia Napa tourist

Last year, nearly half a million tourists spent their holidays at the resort, attracted by the large numbers of clubs and by the town's reputation for endless partying.

But many Ayia Napans believe the town's nightlife is out of control and that it is time to draw the party to a close.

At 3am on a hot June night Ayia Napa's main square is packed with young people who are not wearing very much, and who are knocking back drinks like they are going out of fashion.

With nearly 20 clubs offering dancing and drinking until 8am, the resort has been hyped as a place where anything goes, and a majority of youngsters seemed determined to make the most of it.

'Amazing, brilliant, blinding'

"It's just like no rules, it's brilliant. All the youngsters out, it's amazing," one told me.

"It's absolutely blinding out here, it's really good, I'm really enjoying myself, " was another comment.

The last few years, Ayia Napa has been spoiled by the youngsters who come making a lot of noise. Measures should be taken to stop this clubbing

Hotel owner

"'Is your friend here for the clubs or for the women?" I asked.

"I think he's here for the women. He brought three packs of condoms. My motto is always be prepared."

"Best part about it is you can do anything, it's amazing, brilliant."

It is youngsters like these, attracted to Ayia Napa in ever increasing numbers, who keep the club owners and promoters like Chris from the Castle Club in business.

"Years ago, it was all families and Scandinavians, now it is mainly young people," said Chris.

"The actual season now has got another two months longer. It used to be only June, July, August, now we're having young people here from April, May, all the way through to October."

"There's 16 nightclubs now, the majority of them close at four o'clock. Two or three of them open four o'clock till eight o'clock in the morning. Everybody gets a piece of the cake, so it's really good."

Religious

But the local authority is fed up with this kind of noisy late-night partying, and it is already taking steps to bring it under control.

Some say traditional society is being undermined

Mass pub crawls, so popular in the past, have been outlawed.

Less than 100 metres from the young people in the square, an all-night vigil is taking taking place at the community's Greek Orthodox Church.

Despite the explosion of youth tourism that has rocked the town, Ayia Napans remain very conservative and deeply religious.

Father Panayodis Papagheorghiou is one of a growing number of residents who believe the resort developed too fast.

"It was a sleeping, fishing village and the people were very innocent in many ways, they were very removed from the rest of the world. They had a very relaxed life, they worked in the fields, they came home, they went to church, they lived a very peaceful life, " he said.

"Society changed quickly and things happened, and most of the people have moved out of the town to the outskirts and they built new homes. They only come into work, or to go to church. So in that sense, the society has also been broken up."

Tourist boom

While there is nostalgia for some elements of the past, earning a living from farming in the area was hard.

Ayia Napans welcome the tourist boom, but are less happy about the club scene

When it came, the opportunity to make money from the tourist boom proved irresistible.

Sociologist Nicos Perestianis has studied the effects of such rapid social change on this very traditional community.

"I thought that the villagers would be mostly negative, because of what had happened to them. They were not," said Mr Perestianis.

Victim of success

Every Cypriot hotelier dreams of a swimming pool full of contented families, who will spend generously during their stay and who will not take drugs, vomit in the streets or race around on hired mopeds at four in the morning.

Andreas Chrisaphines is one of the growing number of hoteliers who fear that the resort has become a victim of its own success.

The young people...they didn't come to Cyprus...to pray...we must accept the good and the bad of them

Chris Katsikides, district police chief

He said: "The last few years, it has been spoiled by the youngsters who come making a lot of noise, made the families really run away from the place. Measures should be taken to stop this clubbing. The police should be strict with them as well and I think the government should take all the measures necessary to avoid clubbing in this area."

Dilemma

Feelings were running high at a recent get-together of Ayia Napa's hoteliers.

But district police chief Chris Katsikides believes his staff are already doing enough to enforce the law and that locals who earn a living from the tourist trade must be prepared to take the rough with the smooth.

"They exaggerate the thing. The young people they come to Cyprus to enjoy themselves, to enjoy the sun, to enjoy the drinks, to enjoy the food," he said.

"They didn't come to Cyprus to go to the church of Ayia Napa and pray there. So Ayia Napa is dependent on these people who come here to enjoy themselves. We must accept the good and the bad of them."

The inhabitants of Ayia Napa face a dilemma. While most welcome the prosperity that the tourist boom has brought, they are less happy with the hedonistic, anything-goes image associated with its clubbing scene.

In reality, it looks as if the day when the town returns to anything like its past tranquility is a long way off.