Blogs from Cyprus, Middle East - page 10

I had an opportunity to visit Cyprus, the pearl of Mediterranean, in May 2002. That was for presenting a paper in an international conference, hosted jointly by the Commonwealth Science & Technology Secretariat and WAITRO. After a change of flights in Dubai I landed in Larnaca, the international port of entry for Cyprus. I headed for Paphos, a resort town in the western part of Cyprus and host city for the conference. The drive along the southern coast of the island was breathtaking with the azure blue Mediterranean Sea keeping company all along! We crossed the port city of Limassol on the way. Limassol also thrives on software development activities thus attracting a sizeable population of expatriate Indians. Smoothly weaving through the hillocks of limestone and plains growing oranges and grapes, the four-lane highway brought us ... read more

Amy may have been born more than 2 decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall but she got to experience some of the atmosphere from that time during our trip to north Cyprus. The island of Cyprus is split in two along the so called Green Line which divides the Turkish controlled north from the republic in the south. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) may not be recognised by any country other than Turkey but it has existed in one form or another for more than 40 years. For many years the border was closed but over time it has become easier to cross and there are now 7 crossings between the two sides of the island. We crossed at the quiet border crossing near Kato Pyrgos in the north west of the ... read more

I wasn’t all that interested in visiting Cyprus, I was basically just ticking another country off the list for my Corn Flake mission but I spent nearly 2 weeks camping and sleeping in the car and found enough to keep me entertained. It was the end of a 2 month trip which started with a month in Jordan, followed by a couple of weeks touring around Israel and Palestine and when I flew out of Tel Aviv I left feeling like a caged animal after my time in what is effectively a police state. I landed in Cyprus needing to feel free so I picked up my bag, walked straight out the airport and kept on walking until I reached the coast. Next day I did some hitching-hiking and plenty of walking so progress was ... read more

When I woke this Tuesday morning I decided to stay another day so after breakfast I grabbed my camera and headed down towards the port stopping along the way to have a look at the 13th century Ag Kyriaki Church built on the ruins of an early Byzantine Basilica, the church is still active today. I then attempted to visit the medieval fort but it closed off some type entertainment event, so I moved onto the Kato Pafos Archaeological Park which contains some wonderful Roman mosaics, an agora (market), odeon (theatre) and asklepieion (hospital) and also ruined 5th century church and Frankish castle. There are also a series of rock cut tombs, which I couldn't find initially and had given up on, till I had left the site and noticed a bus with "tombs of the ... read more

Before landing at the Istanbul airport I had spent two action-packed years in the Mediterranean. While on the island of Cyprus, basking in the glory of the Mediterranean, I regularly alternate between the Christian Greek south side and the Muslim Turkish north side. I have developed a deep feeling of affinity for the Muslim people. Particularly for the young Persians from Iran who populate the Eastern Mediterranean University. Throughout my travels I have also formed bonds with many Roma people, whom I refer to as Gypsies. It is a label they say they cherish. This last point I checked with them very carefully. I had never intended to go to Cyprus. My travel plan was to stick to the co... read more