Staying with friends is a blessing
and a luxury. It is so different from hotel life, even if meals are not shared
due to work commitments.
Views from my friend's garden
I’d never been to Cyprus before. It
is hardly European, although in Northern Cyprus, the Turkish part of the island,
many British people have a home or second home. They are called “swallows” as
they migrate from Cyprus to England and vice versa according to the season. I
am told Northern Cyprus is a tax paradise, where one still gets interest on one’s
savings, doesn’t pay tax on them, and where housing and food are cheap, so the
cost of living is quite a bit lower than in England. Pensioners and divorced
people with lower incomes seem to live happily here. And of course there is the
climate, plus religious tolerance towards non- Muslims. There are many mosques,
but hardly any veiled women. Lawrence Durrell was one of the famous writers,
who once lived here as well, in a delightful village I visited, with famous
Abbey ruins which are still used as a concert venue. His novel “Bitter Lemons”
is about this period of his life.
Bellapais, the Abbey ruins. Top left: the pulpit in the church
The village where Lawrence Durrell lived, with very steep streets
Kyrenia, historic harbour
Kyrenia is a delightful town with a
very picturesque old harbour, dominated by a sturdy castle. There are lots of
restaurants on the quays, but more authentic and cheaper food can be had in
small restaurants in other parts of the town and in the villages.
The old Turkish quarter in Kyrenia, my route to the historic harbour
I rented a car for
a few days so that I could explore Northern Cyprus a bit more. There is a great
variety in landscape: beautiful sandy beaches where turtles lay their eggs are
backed by mountains and woods. There are old abbeys and monasteries, winding mountain
roads, not wider than just a one-car strip of tar, hidden villages, full of
flowers, bougainville, oleanders and many other flowering shrubs, it being spring. There
are palms, pines and orange and lemon trees. I had a sandwich in a private
garden, high up a steep road in a village, the garden shaded by pergola’s,
where I met a few tourists, panting after the walk uphill in the hot sun. Our
hostess offered us homemade lemon lemonade, very refreshing.
Famagusta and one of the gates in the Venetian wall
The former gothic cathedral, St. Nicholas, now a mosque as seen from the city walls
Another former church in Famagusta
There are towns like
Famagusta, with thick and sturdy Venetian city walls and dry moats, gated and
harbouring historic churches. There is Salamis, the very extensive ruins of a
big Roman town, the amphitheatre most impressive. Walking there I could hear
the silence, the remoteness of the place. Butterflies fluttered from flower to
flower, and prehistoric looking big lizards slid silently across the hot stones.
The only sound was the sound of the wind through the vegetation; the sun
whitening the marble statues still decorating the big former halls.
The same church, the former St. Nicolas and now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque as seen from the square, and the interior, one of the side aisles
Not far away is
St. Barnabas, a Greek Orthodox Church now a museum with a wonderful collection
of icons in the body of the church, and archaeological finds exhibited in the
former cells around the cloisters. Next to the church, in a small chapel, the remains
of St. Barnabas are supposed to be buried.
Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew and an early Christian who travelled together
with Paul the apostle to evangelise the Jews and non-Jews. Barnabas is said to
have been martyred on Cyprus near Salamis.
Groups of children in Famagusta, dressed in different local costumes
In Famagusta
children were having a special celebration, dressed in national costumes. I
could not discover what the occasion was. A city full of ruins, but lived in,
and with few tourists, at least when I was there.
Salamis
With my beautiful
and talented hostess I drove to Nicosia, the Greek and Southern part. While she
was having meetings, I explored the walled historic centre, which during my explorations
got flooded because of heavy showers. Here are some beautiful Greek Orthodox
churches, still functioning as such. It was weird to come upon the border, a
border which cuts through the main shopping street of Nicosia.
Nicosia, Greek Orthodox Church
I haven’t seen
enough to be able to say anything sensible about the difference between north
and south. The south seemed more European and more prosperous, but that was
probably because I was dropped off near the Anglican Cathedral, in the prosperous
embassy quarter.
Rain in Nicosia
The Venetian Walls in South Nicosia
As a house guest
it was wonderful to meet people who live in this part of the world, and to be
able to join the small choir for Sunday worship in the Anglican Church near the
historic harbour. The church, freshly redecorated and still smelling of paint,
was quite full, which surprised me. Apparently there are enough British living
here to fill the church. And when they have gone back to a cooler climate in
summer, they are replaced by tourists.
Another view from the garden and the house
I enjoyed the
wonderful house, garden and piece of land of my hostess, an oasis on the edge
of town, unfortunately gradually surrounded by modern apartment buildings. But
the garden is walled as it was founded way back as a hermitage, so the property
is protected. It has a tiny chapel. Olive trees were planted a few years ago
and the oil is sold by the church.
Never had a cook on the plane before!
In just one week I
could only get a foretaste of Cyprus. I would love to go back there to explore
in detail, preferably with someone who likes a car with a right hand drive. I
don’t mind keeping left, but if possible in my own car which is a left hand
drive.
