Famagusta

So as usual with more serious or sad blogs I am warning you that this blog is a bit serious and a bit sad. For our last day in Cyprus we went to Famagusta in northern Cyprus. Famagusta was a well-known area as a beach resort before 1974. After 1974 and Turkish troops landed in Cyprus the Greek Cypriots of Famagusta left to go to the south. The area of Famagusta where Greek Cypriots lived is now occupied by the Turkish Military and restricted from the public. The area is sounded by a high chain fence with barbwire at the top. Everything beyond the fence has become overgrown, all along the edge of the fence there are overgrown cacti and thorn bushes. Everything within the fence has not been touched since 1974 and it has all been put into a glass bubble which has allowed it to decay and become taken over. All along the fence are these big red signs with pictures of armed soldiers saying in three different languages, Turkish, Greek, and English all saying this is a “forbidden area.” Famagusta was famous for being a beach resort area before 1974 when Turkish Militia occupied the city.

As you walk along the white sandy beach you are suddenly confronted with a large chain link fence going into the clear blue water. When looking past the fence you see one hotel after another hotel with blacken holes for windows. You could see the exposed elevator shafts of the hotels. It looked like a sense from “Inceptions” as if the hotels were about to crumble into the sea. After visiting the restricted area (which I wish I had pictures of but photography is forbidden) we went to the mass graves of Turkish Cypriots.

Once the Turkish Troops landed Greek Cypriot militia started attacking Turkish civilians. A large number of women and children were separated from the males and brought the dumb and killed then thrown in the pile of trash and covered with a bull dozer. Another site where many were killed was a school house where women and children were brought and killed in cold blood. Walking through the one room school house with desks and chairs that only come up to my knees surrounded by black and white photos of all the children, women, and elderly who were killed facing you was something I cannot explain. After going to these sites we then visited the memorials where the bodies were buried. There was completely silence among the group as we went through looking at ever name and age of the people who were buried there. After that we had a very silent bus ride home.

Back to Cyprus!

What to say about food in Cyprus? There is a lot of it! The common style of eating in Cyprus is tons of little dishes which everyone takes a small portion from and put it on their dish to eat. Nothing is very big it is all small but there is so much food and so many course that you can never finish. Bread or pita is served with every meal as well. One night we started dinner at 7:30pm and were not done until 12:30am! Meals are long in Cyprus, because it is not only about the eating it is a socializing time and you do not eat fast it is a slow process, which was honestly so foreign to me because dinner normally only last an hour in my house if that. Dinner is also later then in the United States, normally starting around 8 or 9 at night.
So, now the food itself! (We are going to go through a traditional Cyprus dinner). First there will be a serving of pita or breads there will be dipping sauces on the table as well some of the most commons are hummus and tazike, which is a yogurt cucumber sauce with some herbs. They are both very good. Then comes the salads which are normally tomato, pepper (sometime), cucumber, lettuce, and sometimes cheese. The salads normally do not really have dressing on them but only a little vinegar.
Next up is all the meat that is served. There can be many different meat dishes so here they are: there is always liver, lamb, chicken and pork kababs, then pork or lamb sausage, these are all served in different sauces, or with no sauce. Sometimes we got all these meat dishes, which I must say is a little overwhelming. Then there would be chicken done is some kabab manor and served normally with french fries. Somewhere in the middle of all the meat dishes they bring out a dish of cheese raviolis, I guess to take a break from all the meat for a minute.
Up Next, dessert come on down! For dessert there will normally be a plate of fresh sliced pears, oranges, apples, and an occasional pineapple. The second dish for dessert has a few possibilities. First is a candied fruit. Baby walnuts, oranges, pears, and apples are taken then something is done to them which involves being soaked in honey then they are served to you. I think it is some version of a preserve, the fruit becomes quite soft. Another option is this honey sweet tan colored desert that comes out cut in a small block and has the texture of koos-koos. This was not really my favorite desert option. The last option was of course smaller piece of baklava, my favorite! Something which I had not had before was baklava made with pistachios which I tried while in Cyprus, it was quite lovely. And that concludes the very long dinners of Cyprus.

Shop till you drop

Our first full day in Istanbul we had a lovely surprise by having our midday break being spent in the famous spice market of Istanbul! The spice market was wonderful, all the shop keepers were trying to get you to come into their shop and buy from them even though they are all selling the same thing. Tip one, do not go to the first shop you see, it is normally the most expensive, but not always. Tip two, walk through the whole thing, experience it, compare prices, and then buy. Tip three, have a list of the spices you want to get for yourself or for other people so that you do not get overwhelmed by all the choices or so you do not forgot any ones that you wanted to get:) Something I did not know about the spice market is also the many, many options of tea sold there. Which every shop keeper will offer you a glass of (normally of your choice). Suggestions take them up on the offer because I am not a tea person but this is some of the best tea I have ever had and ended up buying some.

On Saturday we went toe the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, in Istanbul there are many bazaars but the one we went to is most famous and massive. The Grand Bazaar is overwhelming to say the lease, it makes the spice market look like a little shop in comparison to the maze that creates the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is filled with pashmina shops, tea shops, jewelry shops, dish shops, carpet shops, tourist shops, metal shops, and almost every single one of them selling Turkish Delights. The tips I just gave for the spice market applies to the Grand Bazaar but a few more added on. In the Grand Bazaar you bargain for everything, so when someone tells you a price cut it by at least half and offer them that, shop keepers as sweet as they can be jack up the prices to take advantage of tourist who come from countries where prices are fixed. But the most important piece of advice is to realize to walk away because you are going to find the same thing in another shop and if you actually do not (which is highly unlikely) then you can go back for the item you want. Now when I was going to Turkey everyone kept telling me how cheap the jewelry was, but for my standards it was not that cheap since most of the jewelry you find is real silver and real stones and then you pay by weight of the piece it regards to what it is made out of. After you are done shopping, do not worry about the deals your friends got because if you are happy with what you got then that is all that matters, and remember that!

Cyprus- finally (only one)

In Cyprus we met with many different individuals from many different fields of work. We have met with many high ranking officials and political leaders of Cyprus as well as leaders of Nongovernmental organizations or leaders of political parties. This wide range of individuals has something in common at ever meeting we were served orange juice! This was something so funny to me since at most places back in the States you would get coffee, tea, or water not orange juice. Also these were not all morning meetings they were throughout the day and without fail there would be orange juice for us to drink. It turns out Cyprus is famous for the oranges which are grown on the island and the orange juice they produce from these oranges. Let me tell you this is some of the best orange juice I have ever had:)

As wonderful as this orange juice that is not all I have to say about the meetings we had with people, NGOs, and other organizations in Cyprus, but sadly all our meetings are confidential and we are not allowed to talk about them. I can say that having confidential conversations are the best kind because most of the time you get real answers. It becomes an academic discussion setting rather than a lecture or the dance of evading questions. Now you may be saying but what use is that, you only getting real answers? For me personally that is enough because when I ask a question and they give me a personal opinion which goes along with something I believe then I know they are probably fighting for the same thing I would like to see happen; so then maybe one day their wants, because they are in such a high position, could become a reality. The worst though is when a speak states at the beginning of a meeting that it is confidential but then does not give you any personal opinions or anything that is not already public knowledge. With those conversations you just have to move on and focus on the good interviews you get.

On the High Seas

For our first full day in Athens, Greece (it was a Sunday) we decided to head out of the city to the Greek island Aegina. We took a lovely 40 minute ferry ride to get to the small island (I did not think it was small but I guess it is in comparison to other islands). It had a larger port thought with lots of lovely boat, most of which appeared to be fishing boats (you can see the attached photo).

Once off the boat we loaded onto a bus to go around the island a bit for a tour. Leaving the main strip by the water we headed to the Aphaia Temple. The Aphaia Temple was a short bus ride of 20 or so minutes up into the mountains where the Temple was located. It was a very nice ruin of a temple. What is always so entertaining is how you can just go up to these old sites and walk around them but also on them with the fallen stones and such. After spending a little time there and looking at the view and temple. After that we headed back to the harbor but stopped at one more place the Agios Nektarios Church and Agia Triada Monastery. I liked the church more than the Monastery. The Church had amazing stone work along the outside in the balcony and pillars. While inside the church it had incredible metal work constructing the chandeliers handing from the ceiling, but was I thought was really impressive was on the chairs, pulpit, really just all over the detailed carvings on the wood. It was amazing! The Monastery was nice to but confusing about what was blocked off and what was not, but something really funny was that when I went into the Monastery I needed to put on a skirt because women are not allowed to go in the Monastery if wearing “trousers or who are half naked.” Yes, that is a direct quite from the sign outside the doorway to enter the Monastery. I had never been anywhere where I needed to change my outfit to get in.

After, the Church and Monastery we headed back to the harbor for lunch. There are tons of places to eat all along the harbor with mainly fish dishes. They are all aseptically pleasing too! All the restaurants have cute little matching chairs and with pretty matching table clothes, and of course everything in warm colors that just calm you as you look out on the harbor during your lunch. After lunch you must get a gelato because who does not want to eat gelato as you walk along the beach (which is a little past the harbor).

A few tips for when you are on the island. Everything that is good is not on the main strip, most of the time it is overpriced. So a tip do not stay on the main strip go back into the little streets behind the main strip because there are tons of little shops there along with grocery stores and if you are shopping for food as gifts for family and friends back home it will be a lot cheaper and a higher quantity for what you are paying at a grocery store then at a tourist store. That is all for now post again soon!

Aesthetics

I must say I prefer the atmosphere of restaurants in Athens more than the ones in the United States or in Nicosia. The city of Athens might not be that aesthetically pleasing but the design of restaurants are!

The restaurants which I have been to in Athens (and mind you I am spending on a budget) have been so cute. For instance I went out with some classmates to this restaurant called on the edge of the Plaka. It had a wonderful warm yellow and pale blue color composition with white trimming and accents. The table chairs were a white wash with bright pink cushions and the cushions on the booths against the wall had a nice deep gray color. Then there was a nice dark metal chandelier with fake candles on it to add to the atmosphere. This entire compilation made the restaurant so cozy! I love these types of restaurants, they makes it great for smaller groups to have good food and great conversation for an evening meal.

I have a tip for when going out with friends, split stuff! When you split stuff you are able to try more things on the menu and not regret not getting something or start looking longingly at your neighbor’s plate. Also normally checks do not get slip so bring small bills when you go out.

After dinner it is wonderful to just walk around the area of the Plaka district just to soak in all the life around you and watch people. It also does not hurt that you are right below the Parthenon. Post again soon, next up our relaxing day on a Greek island!

To Athens I Go!

Yesterday we landed in Athens, Greece:) Now this all may seem a bit backwards but I am going to post my days in Greece as we go and add in my preview days on Cyprus throughout because I just was so busy in Cyprus to even comprehend writing everything, but now I have gotten into a process so I have time.

So, Athens is an interesting city, it is my second time visiting Greece and I have also been to Athens when I visited so I have an idea where I am going which is nice. We are staying in the Plaka District of Athens, which is one of the largest shopping and eating areas of the city. There are restaurants and shops everywhere and every single employee wants you to go into their store or eat at their restaurant. That is something which is really different in Athens than Nicosia (the capitol in Cyprus where we were staying) shop keepers and restaurants are much more aggressive about getting you to buy things or eat at their restaurant in Athens then they are in Nicosia. Something which you should know about Athens is it is one of the top places to get pick-pocketed, there is not a high rate of violent crime but lots of pick pocketing so ladies bring a purse with a zipper and just be aware of your belongings. If you walk up to the top of the Plaka district there is the Parliament and the tomb of the unknown soldiers with two Greek Guards there. Every hour these guards change which is very interesting and I suggest that you go and see it since it is a lot like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London, but in Greece.

I was happy to be back in Athens, but then again I really like big cities with lots of people who are different. I must say though Athens is not a pretty city. There is a lot of graffiti, trash, people, traffic, abandon places, and not really aesthetically pleasing buildings. I really do not know the reason for this but many people get shocked about Athens because it is not beautiful to many people I think. While in the United States so much is put on having a city look good with its buildings and suck but also coming from the United States you need to remember everything is so “new.” But I must say being surrounded by ancient Greek ruins is something I am perfectly fine with compromising for to look as some not so attractive buildings.