Blogs from Cyprus, Middle East - page 19

Monday, 19th January, 2009. The ship finally sailed at two o'clock in the morning. Both of us slept a little. The crossing was smooth. We are that much further East and the dawn broke just before seven. We finally arrived at Girne at nine am. The ferry is a ro-ro, but everythiing backed off the way it had come on, we were able to turn round of course. We drove off and parked where we were told. Next came the paperwork At the first place they gave us some paperwork. Told us to go to customs, but a lorry driver told us we actually needed passport police first. So, we changed queues and went to the Passport police. Then to Customs, who gave us some forms and sent us into another building outside the port. We ... read more

This poem is titled 'Cyprus,' though that's not exactly what it's about. It was written on the bus from Nicosia to Milessos. Enjoy it while it's here. How many times must you forget? Would you stumble through this life like a tourist— Endless revelation, the new unfolding before you like points on a map; Bullet holes, clustered little houses, an unexpected museum of Byzantine icons that you cannot resist Where centuries are lost in faded and stripped wood, faces of saints ghosted to something darker and more profound? Take Christ’s bulged and paling eyes as they are here; the truth will come not from the contrivance of imitation, the replication of any idol no matter how perfect, but only on the slow and mercurial tides of time that scrape the pristine to dirty fact. —And from ... read more

036 - Cyprus - Lefkosia 11/25/08 - 11/30/08 Cyprus Souvlaki Cyprus is the daughter island of divorced parents Greece and Turkey, and is currently caught in a bitter custody battle between the two. The island boasts some amazing beaches and scenic views, and its citizens have a bit of a 'horio' (village life) attitude that gives them a more relaxed demeanor than Athenians. Hannah and I stayed with my uncle Mike and his wife Ioanna who graciously hosted us with lodging, a car to drive around in, and all the souvlaki our bellies could digest in just under a week! Cyprus' national capital, Leskosia, is known as the last divided capital of the world, and, although the borders have loosened dramatically over the last ten years, the segregation of Greek and Turkish customs is readily available. ... read more

Yesterday we were in Rhodes, Greece. I stayed at Adventure Ocean till about noon. In town we wanted to go see the Palace of the Grand Masters, but it was closed because of recent damage. Mom got us ice cream for lunch, then we wandered around town for about one hour and a half. On our way back to the cruise ship we stopped and had a gyro. A gyro is a pita wrapped around chicken, onions and tomato. It was very good. We sat down in a square where I dropped some of my gyro. All the pigeons came flying to my chicken that fell. The first one who got there started to follow us back to the ship when we left. Last night we did rock and roll night. We played freeze dance, where ... read more

Notre départ de Syrie n'aura finalement pas été à l'image de notre impression du pays. Long, compliqué et vraiment louche, c'est comme ça qu'on pourrait qualifier notre trajet entre Alep et la Turquie. Le chauffeur et ses (trop) nombreux assistants semblaient trammer quelques choses depuis le début, lorsqu'ils se sont mis à charger plusieurs sacs noirs remplis d'on ne savait quoi! Ca commencait bien! Avant d'arriver à la frontière, ils ont caché ces sacs noirs en dessous des bancs des passagers en espérant passer incognito... Ce qui n'a pas fonctionné! Les gardes frontaliers étaient assez sévères et en plus de faire descendre tout les passagers du bus et d'inspecter nos baggages ils ont également fouiller tout l'autobus. Pour en rajouter, ils ont fait dévisser tout les endroits possible et se sont promener à l'intérieur des soutes ... read more