Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Venetians, Brits, Greeks, Turks and even Pirates (if only in behaviour and circumstance) are all tied to its history- a never ending list of myths, conflicts and cultures. And each story is drawn from a different perspective. A Google search or read of its Wiki page and you realise how complicated and multi-layered that history is - at times making your head spin with the changes this third largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean has been through. Our “story” with it began several years ago when friends Ercel and Lucas told us they bought a Spanish revival house near Ercel's hometown in Northern Cyprus. Their excitement was contagious and we were invited to stay anytime we found ourselves traveling. Mediterranean island. Summer home. Pool. Beaches. Ruins. Rich history and friends with local connections. . . You don’t have to ask us twice. It easily made the short list for this extended road trip.
Getting to Cyprus from Portugal seemed straightforward - it’s all Europe, right? (Well, not really as Cyprus is actually on the Asian continent and Northern Cyprus is technically not part of the EU. …but we digress). The best-worst option was a 2AM flight out of Malaga, an Athens stop and a mid-morning arrival in Larnaca in the south of Cyprus. That turned into a 3AM delayed departure with a mad dash through Athens airport while the plane was held. . . but still too late. We don’t run as fast as we used to. And just as we’d settled into the lounge for a later departure, the captain wanted us on board - our bags had made it! We felt the death stares as we found our seats.
Wiped out from no sleep and a bit sticky from our run, there was mumbling as we settled in: “never again”, “who planned this?” - death-stares towards each other. Then it was smooth sailing from takeoff to arrival in Larnaca, customs, meeting our driver and a 90 minute journey through its capital, to the Northern Cyprus border, over the mountains and finally reaching our destination in Alsancak. Whew! Re-start! Another country we’re now set to experience.
Our friend’s home is nestled in a cul-de-sac amid the sights and sounds of Cyprus. Castle ruins rise off a distant cliff top (more on that later), bougainvillea abounds, garden plantings are lush and the sounds of the cicadas took us back to the summers of our youth. It lives up to its endearing name - Casa Paradiso. Most of our days were spent within this feast of the senses - watching the dragonflies/mosquitohawks zip between the pool and well-loved gardens, hearing the distant call to prayer, dipping into the cool water, drying in the heatwave-heightened sun and tasting the local food and sweets that kept appearing in front of us. At night, we played spot-the-satellite as Cyprus seems to be below the flight path of many of them - who knew?
Our first adventure out of Paradiso was a trip into Lefkoşa, the Turkish name for its side of the capital city. Lefkoşa/Nicosia is the last remaining capital city with a border running through it. We wandered through the old streets, hearing about our host’s childhood, sampling local sweets from a pastahanesi that has operated in the same family for generations, and seeing the decay and rebirth of this ancient twelve-point walled city. One thing that makes Lefkoşa stand out is that it’s still lived in by locals and not over-taken by tourists like so many global villages of its time. But development is beginning to take hold and we wondered what it would look like if we returned in 10 years.
A highlight of that day was a visit to Rustem Kitabevi, a ceiling-to-floor book store with a cafe above. One could easily wile away the hours soaking up the atmosphere. For us, we had one of those chance travel experiences securing the last four plates of a delicious home-cooked style meal. Another feast - sated in so many ways.
From our first weary-eyed drive into Alsancak, to every car trip we took, the aforementioned castle on the hill seemed to call. We waited hoping it might cool a bit, but eventually braved the heat to climb through the ruins of St Hilarion. Legend has it that it was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Snow White Castle. It’s definitely sprawling and grand enough even in its crumbling state.
Later, we cooled down with a late-night ice cream in the Venetian-built port of Kyrenia, catching up with another Sydney/Cypriot friend. (Good to see you Andrew).
We couldn't fit much more in, but managed an evening with a stunning view of the Belapais Abbey while savoring the local moussaka, and on our final morning, a drive for an up close and personal “sticky-beak”, fantasizing about renovating a retirement roost in the mountain village of Karmi.
Of course it wouldn’t be an RandE explore-and-sea without a trip to the beach. Cyprus is known for its crystal-clear waters - and they didn’t disappoint, so blue that we thought we might still be in the Casa Paradiso pool. And warm enough that we didn’t want to leave - a welcome change from the past few weeks diving into chilly Atlantic seas.
Remembering our arrival long-day’s-journey-into-night escapade, we spent our last night near the airport to avoid a 3AM pickup. Our departure drive south had a bumper-to-bumper-public-holiday-border-crossing-queue and as we waited, we wondered who benefits from this separation. In our brief visit, we saw one part of a beautiful Mediterranean island with many shared stories over many centuries. Yes, we heard and read of the “what” that caused divisions. But this seemed not a land that needed a man-made border with passport controls. To us, the “why” of the continued division appears to have reached its use-by date. That thought remained on our flight out with our final view of the one Cypriot landscape.
Our host’s cousin produced a short documentary about his Journey Into Cyprus on the importance of reconciliation of this land. It's moving and worth a watch.
Teşekkürler Ercel and Lucas!
First off - your photo skills helped us capture our visit - too many to individually credit. And for playing tour guides, hosting us in your summer home and most importantly, sharing your stories. We see why you found your Casa Paradiso.
コメント