"I've been waiting over 40 years to come to Cyprus, and it has not disappointed - the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Crossroads of Civilization....."
US President Joe Biden
After spending a month in Greece, Melanie, Terry & Pam Stead and moi hop on a plane and fly from the Greek island of Crete to the Mediterranean country of.......
Cyprus
Officially known as the Republic of Cyprus, it is a member of the European Union but geographically it is part of West Asia. It is tucked away into the furthest corner of the Mediterranean, seemingly hiding from the rest of its European relatives. A small and unsuspecting island but one filled to the gunnels with beautiful views, rich culture, and historic sites.
It's the sun-soaked stretches of sand that's Cyprus' calling card and there's a beach for everyone here, from wild and windswept to family-friendly and packed. And if you tire of all that blue, you can strike out into the interior, where wildflower-studded meadows and valleys of densely planted vineyards sweep up to a pine-clad mountain spine offering hiking, biking and, yes, even winter skiing.
It's wasn't all rosy for Cyprus as it does have a modern troubled past. On July 15, 1974 the Greek military carried out a coup d'etat in Cyprus, to unite the island, and the 77% population with Greek ancestry, with Greece. In response to the coup, five days later, the Turkish army invaded the island to protect the 18% population with Turkish ancestry. The United Nations intervened and have been keeping the peace ever since (their longest serving mission). Today the Republic of Cyprus has effective control of 59% of the island's south whereas the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus controls 39% of the north (the remaining is controlled by the UN and Britain).
Today crossing the line between the South and the North allows you not only to gain some understanding of the complex and painful modern-day history, but also experience the two Cypriot communities. Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot societies are intrinsically different yet incredibly similar, linked by a rich history where food cultures and folk customs have intermingled, but divided by belief.
The four of us are here for three weeks and we hope to explore as much of both the south and north as time will permit. Our first stop is the Greek Cypriot western city of........
Paphos
Paphos, a city rich in history and culture, is the gem of western Cyprus. Famous for its Roman mosaics and palaces, ancient history, fortresses and tombs, beautiful beaches, and of course as the birthplace of Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. All these elements and facts give Paphos a remarkable architectural and historic value, and this is mostly why the town is included in the UNESCO list of cultural and natural treasures of the world's heritage. As an added bonus, an Irish Bar, Shamrocks, just down the road from us plays Newfoundland music.....go figure!!
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| We were staying in an AIRBNB that was only a 10 minute walk to the beach. Pretty good spot for mid-November! |
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| We walk down the harbour promenade and Melanie decides to flirt with a local. Flussy. |
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| Dude walking the promenade, that extends for kilometres pass the Paphos harbour. The 13th century Byzantine fortress in the background. |
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| Setting sun on Paphos. Directly in front of us is an ocean swimming area complete with steps to get in and out! |
We weren't here in Paphos just to laze around in the sun and sand, although we could have easily! With a UNESCO World Heritage site just up the road, we headed for the Nea Paphos to explore. This ancient city was built by Nicocles, the last king of Paphos, at the end of the 4th century BC. This important ancient Greek and Roman city, which is still under excavation, was annexed by Rome in 58BC as the Roman Empire began its expansion eastward, with Nea Paphos as its capital. The site is huge and can easily take a couple of days to explore!!
 | | Nea Paphos, oddly means 'new Paphos', which is to say that before New Paphos there had to be an 'Old Paphos'....... |
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.....and these ancient carved-out caves were probably part of Old Paphos. They were in the middle of a double-lane highway and we had to dodge the traffic to get to them.
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| While part of the Nea Paphos UNESCO complex, it wasn't included in that enclosure, which met that there was no fee to wander around in the subterranean caves. Above us, traffic zoomed along oblivious to the ancient caves underneath. |
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This 2nd century AD mosaic depicts a scene of Theseus, the mythical king of Athens, and the Minotaur - the half man half bull monster (we encounter this guy in Crete). It is part of the residence of a Roman governor......back then they didn't have TV, so people gather around and watched the Netflix series called 'The Mosaics'!
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| The world's first selfies. |
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| This mosaic encrusted street ran the length of the ancient city. If you listen hard enough you can still hear the chariots! |
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Unlike the Greek ruins we visited in Greece, these were much more intact and, bonus, we were allowed to walk among them.
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| Aphrodite walks among us! |
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| The 2nd century AD Odeon amphitheatre with the Paphos lighthouse in the background. The Odeon was built in a semicircle which allows the unamplified voice to carry to the 1200 seat amphitheatre with unbelievable clarity. |
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Waiting for the next show to start.
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| The Paphos lighthouse, built by the British in 1880, is built immediately behind the Odeon, thus giving the lighthouse keeper an exceptional view of the show! |
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| A view of the Agioi Anargyroi Monastery (built in 1649) through the ancient arches of the Saranta Kolones Castle that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1222. |
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| These arches withstood an earthquake in 1222 that destroyed the rest of the castle. If another earthquake hits I'm getting myself under these! |
The next day it was time to put a little physical effort into things, so we put our hiking shoes on and headed for Aphrodites Trail. This 8km trail starts at the Loutra tis Afroditis or more commonly known as Aphrodites Bath.
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| Aphrodites Bath, where apparently the Goddess of Love and Beauty used to bath. Now I'm looking at this little cesspool and I'm thinking ole Aphrodite must have been a tiny little thing cause there is hardly enough water here to get your feet wet, let alone have a bath! |
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Terry and Pam starting the 333 metre climb to the top.
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| Big B nearing the top. |
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Melanie racing ahead.
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| The top! |
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| The 'Queens Tower' chapel, along the trail, is all that is standing from a medieval monastery that used to exist here. |
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| I'm a lost for words on this one. |
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| Nearly there. Our car is parked in yonder town |
Back in Paphos and next on our agenda is to head for the second archaeological site found in this ancient city, the Tombs of the Kings. The site (yes yes yes another UNESCO World Heritage site) is a large necropolis which dates back to the 4th century BC. They are carved out of solid rock and is the burial site for aristocrats and high officials - the name comes from the magnificence of the tombs as in fact, no kings were buried here. Trickery I tell ya!
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| Like its neighbour, Nea Paphos, two kilometres west of here, this site is massive and is completely open to exploring. |
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| The bones of the dead are long gone, only the living breathing tourist remains. |
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"Mel don't go in there! That's a grave!"
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| To put this into context: this necropolis was built 2600 years ago and North America was only discovered 527 years ago. |
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| First they had to dig the hole out of solid rock, then they had to carve the tomb out of solid rock, all with mere medieval tools. Impressive! It takes most Canadian cities 10 weeks to fill a pothole. |
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| It is believe that grave robbers took most of the valuables centuries ago. I looked but couldn't find a single thing to steal. |
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| This site is so large many of the excavated tombs are being reclaimed by nature. |
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| We felt like Raiders of the Lost Ark exploring this site. |
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| "Mel, go get help. I fell down this chute and can't get out......wait a minute, is that gold coins I see? Mel don't DON'T go get help...." |
We are trying to balance seeing history with physical effort, therefore we have one more hike in the Paphos region that we are going to do. We pack our water bottles and head for the Avakas Gorge. An amazing masterpiece of nature, the gorge is 8 kilometres out and back. The trail is very diverse, with a little bit of everything; mostly rocky, slippery, muddy, wet, loose stones and uneven, some dry areas and places where you need to scramble up and around large rocks.....PERFECT!
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| Entering the gorge. Let the adventure begin! |
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| And now appearing on the Gorge's centre stage; Pamela doing her rendition of the watusi. |
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| Starts off tame enough. Small stream running through it, low cliffs on either side. Easy walking. No big deal. |
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| The cliffs soon reach a dizzyingly height of 30 metres. |
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| At its most narrow point the gorge closes in to a mere 3 metres. |
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| At this spot the water pours down from a stream far above. Very little choice but get wet here! |
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| Jaysus Murphy don't let that thing fall. |
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| Scrambling over large slippery boulders becomes the norm. |
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| Such fun!!!! |
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| "Well this is odd, my GPS says I should go straight up the cliff behind me?" |
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| Too large to go over, too big to go around, got no choice but to go through it. |
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| Atta girl. Your super powers have saved us all! |
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| The gorge widens the further up we go. |
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| Nearing the end. |
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| The gorge peters out just about here. Terry and Pam decide to walk back via the top, while Mel and I head back down from whence we came. |
With our time in Paphos coming to an end, we head north over the Troodos Mountains to the de facto country of.........
Turkish Republic of North Cyprus
In 1983 Turkish Cypriots proclaimed themselves the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC) and formed by breaking away from Cyprus. The TRNC is internationally recognized only by the country of Turkey, whereas the rest of the world sees it as a rogue state. In my eyes 'if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.' The TRNC has all the trappings of a country; military, currency, border control, government and geographic territory, not to mention language (Turkish), religion (Islam) and culture. To me it is a separate country and it was where we headed after leaving Paphos.
Our destination for our time in the TRNC is the port side city of......
Kyrenia
To most visitors, a holiday in the TRNC means Kyrenia, and Kyrenia means Kyrenia Harbour. Also known as Girne, the tiny harbour is framed by the colossal hulk of a Crusader castle. With a core population of 28,000, there are more tourist than residents. The harbour-side is filled with the tables of restaurants and bars, ideal for sitting back and watching the world go by.
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| 'Old Town' Kyrenia, known as the 'Jewel of Cyprus' dates back to the 12th century. |
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| Minarets now replace church steeples complete with the 5AM call to prayer! |
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| People have been walking pass this door for a 1,000 years. |
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| Kyrenia Harbour |
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| The old stone light house at Kyrenia Harbour. "Whatsa pointing at Melanie?" |
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| A long breakwater surrounds the harbour making for a perfect place to stroll with the hulking Girne Castle in the background. |
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| The old harbour is now surrounded by restaurants and bars making it a happening place. |
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| Enjoying a night out with a few brewskies and shesha. |
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| Picking out our soup ingredients. "Yes this green one will do just fine!" |
The 800 year old Girne Castle dominates the east end of the Kyrenia harbour. It was rebuilt by the Venetians in the 16th century, however the first historical reference to the castle occurs in 1191, when King Richard I (more commonly known as Richard the Lionheart) of England captured it on his way to the Third Crusade. These days it is a major tourist attraction, and we being major tourist, we were obviously attracted to it!
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The only entrance to the Castle but first we must get pass the Bridgekeeper who cries: "STOP! Who approacheth the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three ere the other side he see."
Bridgekeeper, Monty Python, The Holy Grail
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| Melanie was the only person to correctly answer the Bridgekeepers three questions, so she only shall pass. The rest of us had to wait until scene 24. |
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| A view of the Castle's old church with the Turkish and Turkish Republic of North Cyprus flags in the background. |
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Pamela in the long tunnel to the church. "If you entered a tunnel, you can be sure that the tunnel has at least one exit!"
Mehmet Murat Ildan |
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| This was once part of the castle moat, now it serves as the entrance to the Kyrenia harbour. |
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French Guard: "I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
Sir Galahad: Is there someone else up there we can talk to?
French Guard: No. Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time-a!"
Monty Python, The Holy Grail |
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"Don't like her? What's wrong with her? She's beautiful. She's rich. She's got huge......tracts of land."
King of Swamp Castle, Monty Python, The Holy Grail |
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| Well, Terry I'm totally lost for words on this one. How old you say you were? |
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| Ancient coat of arms from King Richard the Lionheart's time. |
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| The royal shitter. I expect ole King Richard the Lionheart took a dump here! |
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| Part of the castle now houses the Shipwreck Museum, which exhibits the remains of a Greek merchant ship from the 4th century BC, one of the oldest vessels ever to be recovered...... |
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| ....included in the ships recovery were several amphora's which originally held wine and olive oil |
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| A view of the inside of the castle courtyard. |
While in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus we had to opportunity to see some of the sites around the country, such as these.......
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| Giant TRNC flag on yonder distant hills. The flag dimensions are 425 metres wide and 250 metres high!!! |
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| This is a cement truck.....like daaaa......but look real close. REAL CLOSE and you'll see it! Hint: look for the writing!!! |
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| One of the largest mosques I've seen. |
Our last great adventure in the TRNC is to head to Buffavento Castle. Yes I know, not another castle, but this one has a twist to it.....we have to get there!!! Buffavento, which translates as 'Defier of the Winds', is situated 960 MASL and has over 600 steps leading to the top. It is situated between two other castles, St. Hilarion and Kantara and between these three they formed a protective axis in the Kyrenia Mountain range. It was taken by Richard the Lionheart in 1191, however the defences for this castle were considered very strong, so it is believed that the castle defenders were starved into submission rather than experiencing any actual fighting.
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| Buffavento Castle. The builders must have thought is was a good idea to build this far up, but with no means to feed themselves, all the aggressors had to do was simply cut off their food supply lines. |
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| It's a steep and demanding climb. A good way to work off those cheap beers and wine!! |
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| And finally after 600+ steps: the castle! Trekking up mountains is one thing, but climbing 600+ steps (different riser heights and widths) is quite a different matter. |
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| To the average 10th century military recruit, this posting must have seemed like the end of the earth! |
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| Most of the castle has fallen into ruins but you can still imagine what a hard life it must have been..... |
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| ....grant it the views were dead on!! |
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| You can just barely see the parking lot where we parked our rental (looking at the castle it is above the left window). |
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| Everything had to be manually brought up here, except the goats, which were able to climb up themselves. They provided milk, food and certain form of entertainment best left unsaid. |
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| Da bye's! |
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| A vaulted chamber that was probably used to store food. Considering the amount of goat shit on the floor, it is now used by the goats to seek shelter. |
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| "I'm the king of the castle and you're a dirty rascal!" |
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| The spine of Cyprus, the Kyrenia Mountains. |
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| A view from the top; the town of Kyrenia and the many tour-package all-inclusive hotels that surround it. |
We leave the TRNC and re-cross the border back into Cyprus proper. Our destination this time is the seaside resort town of..........
Ayia Napa
Ayia Napa is Greek for "Saint Napa", the patron saint of the town, whose Venetian-era monastery is in the centre of the town, next to the square which today is bar-scene central. With sunshine for nearly 320 days a year, Ayia Napa has become synonymous for sun, beach and partying! Sure what better reason would you need to go!
While we were in Ayia Napa, our good friend, Betsy Bond and her mother also joined us for a quick four day visit. I first met Betsy in Morocco and we found out that she and her husband, Terry, lived only 13km from us in Newfoundland! It was a joy to reconnect with her here in Cyprus!!!
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| The Ayia Napa area is riddled with beaches, such as this one....... |
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| .....but regardless how pretty the beach, I'm simply not much of a beach person and I would rather spend my time exploring the natural wonders otherwise offered, such as those found here at Cape Greco! |
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| A natural land-bridge (behind us), which we were not allowed to walk across.....so many rules taking away the fun! |
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| A picture of Terry within the cliffside hole. People go cliff diving here but Melanie wouldn't let me, so........I didn't. |
Near Ayia Napa is the 20 hectare Sculpture Park which was created in 2014 on the rocky slopes of the Mediterranean. The park consists of a large collection of 263 works by artists from around the world. The park organizers did not limit the sculptors in their ideas, with the main requirement being the size of the sculpture must be more than 2 metres, and it must be made of stone or metal.
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| We spent about 2 hours wandering around this massive site. |
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| I particularly like this piece, perhaps for the way it captures the lifelike image of the Greek God within the frame! |
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| The Hounds of Hades, the multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. |
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| A bust of Medousa - she represents a dangerous threat meant to deter other dangerous threats, an image of evil to repel evil. But whatever you do, don't look her in the eye! |
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| Not sure what these are, perhaps a place to hang your suit and coats? |
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| "Can someone get us a Kleenix, this guy got a friendly!" |
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| I think she likes it!!! |
We weren't done with the sculptures yet. Just 200 metres off-shore is the Museum of Underwater Sculptures of Ayia Napa (MUSAN), an underwater forest of objects, the first of its kind in the world. It consists of over 93 artworks some of which are in the form of trees, others which are figurative in nature. The artworks are designed to attract marine life and are situated 8 - 10 metres below the surface (close enough to see from snorkelling, but deep enough not to get great pictures).
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| I had swam out the 200 metres (650 ft) offshore to where I thought the sculptures were but couldn't see anything. Given that there were no other snorkelers or swimmers around I was starting to get a little worried and decided to head back to shore. Just as I was turning around I see this about 8 metres down!! |
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| The water was a little murky, the sun wasn't shining, and the water depth was between 8 - 10 metres, thus making the photographic images fuzzy; but still, what a view! |
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| Notice the sleeping children on the bases of each sculpture! |
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| It was a real forest of objects down there. Over the years I have been snorkelling and diving in many places around the world and I have to say, this was one of the most fascinating places I've seen. Not much wildlife but certainly lots to see!! |
And now for something completely different. Melanie & I, along with Betsy and her Mother, crossed back over the border to the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus so that we are able to enter the ghost city of......
Fermagusta
Called the 'ghost city' because it was abandoned in 1974, when it suddenly became a battleground of the war between Greece and Turkey. Fermagusta, the once-glittering Mediterranean seaside resort city, has been fenced off ever since, with only UN peace-keepers wandering the streets. Back in the day, it was considered one of the most popular resorts in the world, with high profile visitors including the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The city remained in situ ever since the war until October 2020, when some streets reopened to visitors. Weird, sad, exceptionally eerie and perhaps one of the most fascinating places I've ever been, a true most-see when visiting this part of the world.
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| Looks like any other modern beachside city, but these high-rises are empty of everything and everybody except the ghosts from August 1974. |
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| I've been to many strange places over the years, but this 'ghost city', laid waste by war, is definitely one of the strangest. |
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| Nature has reclaimed the streets and now only the rodents and UN peace-keepers wander them. |
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| The King George Hotel, a complete ruin today, was buzzing with life in 1974 and still remains the symbol of the entire era. |
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| People left their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs, everything else, a lifetime worth of things, remained behind: 46 years later most things have either rusted, or simply disintegrated and faded away, only nature has returned. |
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| Melanie and Betsy looking at a once bustling city street. |
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| A artillery pocked building...... |
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| .....and a bomb flattened building. Over 538 people died here in 1974 and approximately 140,000 people were displaced. |
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| It is as it was. |
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| The Cafe Cabana where Lola did the merengue and the cha-cha! |
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| Betsy looking to buy some perfume at the Perfumerie Elysee! Probably get it cheap now! |
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| The World's Policing Agency: the United Nations. The only occupied building in the city. |
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| Appropriate! Although now the entire city is a curiosity. |
After our sobering visit to Fermagusta, it was time to get back to some adventure and celebrating, and what better way to do that but to take a wine and food tour, culminating with a visit to the mountain village of.....
Pano Lefkara
Surrounded by the Troodos mountains and overlooking the sea, Pano Lefkara is a beautiful Cyprus village that is characterized by its countless cobbled-stone lanes and traditional stone cottages. The village is famous around the world thanks to its needlecraft lace that originates there. It was even thought to have served as the inspiration for the table cloth in Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' (he travelled there in 15th century and brought some lace back to Italy with him). The village is so famous for its beauty and handicrafts that it has received UNESCO status (yes another UNESCO status).
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| It is a wine and food tour afterall!! |
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| What does a 1,500 year old olive tree look like....just like this. This tree was 40 years old and producing olives when Mohammed, the founder of the Islam religion, was born. |
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| We went to a donkey farm where we tried all things that milk is made from, except it was donkey milk. |
