The twelfth-century Enkleistra of Neophytos is comprised of painted caves hewn out of the cliffs at Tala, near the city of Paphos. Neophytos used the Greek word Enkleistra for his hermitage because he lived there as a recluse. In his initial cell on the site, Neophytos lived from 1159 and for thirty-seven years, spending his days praying, studying, and writing. An altar, dedicated to the Holy Cross, was founded there ab initio.

This private retreat of hermit Neophytos soon attracted a small monastic community and cells were constructed close by. During his stay at the monastery, both his cell and an adjacent rock-cut church of the Holy Cross were adorned with Byzantine-style wall paintings at different times in the Middle Ages. After 1197, Neophytos confined himself in a new cell, higher up the cliff, yet again decorated with wall paintings. In about 1215, Neophytos was buried in his initial cell, in a painted tomb he had hewn out of the rock. After his death, the monastic community continued in existence and the first major renovation of the church took place in 1503, led by a monk called Neophytos who styled himself as the “new founder”. Neophytos’ holy remains were still in the cell up to the first half of the eighteenth century, attracting visitors as the graffiti on the walls betrayed.

In the middle of the eighteenth century, the relics of Neophytos were translated to the church of the Virgin Mary which had been built in the vicinity of the Enkleistra in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Today, this church still houses his relics and serves as the katholikon of Saint Neophytos monastery. Over the last century, the exterior of the Enkleistra complex underwent interventions as is also demonstrated by early collotypes and photographs. The aforementioned adaptations, overpaintings, renovations and restorations reveal the major challenges for digitally presenting the nature of the site in the Middle Ages.