Cyprus

Today is Wednesday; this time a week ago I was taking a nap in the hotel room in Larnaca, Cyprus. For spring break, four of my friends and I decided to spend six days exploring the aforementioned Mediterranean island. From our homebase in Larnaca, we took day trips to the cities of Limassol, Paphos, and Nikosia/Lefkosia, wandering around the cities and focusing on historical sites (pictures forthcoming, insha'Allah). The trip:

- We stayed in a two-bedroom apartment a five minute walk from the beach. The weather was gorgeous the entire time, mid- to upper-seventies with a warm sea breeze. Daily activities included walks on the beach and lounging on our balcony, which overlooked a busy square housing cafes, a bakery, and a few random shops.

- Speaking of the beach, we devoted one afternoon (having spent the morning at church) solely to taking naps in the sunshine, swimming, and gazing off across the Mediterranean to the Levant region on the other side. Having just spent almost seven months in a relatively conservative Muslim country, being able to lie around in (modest, one-piece) swimsuits felt incredibly liberating......until we realized that we were surrounded by Middle Eastern Arabs, including men staring at us and veiled women openly giving us disapproving looks. It was also kind of a weird feeling because to that point we had been using Arabic as our private language (since so many people speak English in Cyprus); hearing other people speak Arabic again was interesting. Nevertheless, our day at the beach was pretty idyllic, I must say.

- Pork is a staple meat in Cyprus. This is significant because although it is possible to find pork in Jordan, the stuff is prohibitively expensive and pretty rare. We took full advantage of the culinary abundance, from sausage pizza to pork kebabs to bacon. Yum.

- We spent one day venturing to the castle of St. Hilarion in the Turkish north ( http://www.cyprus44.com/kyrenia/st-hilarion-castle.asp ). The castle sits high atop a mountain overlooking the flat sea plain, coastal towns, and then the ocean. We were high enough up that at one point, light clouds came up the mountain from the coast, wrapping the castle in an almost surreal, fairy tale mist. Speaking of fairy tales, some believe that the castle in the Disney film Snow White is based on this one; I could believe it (some contest that the Disney inspiration is in Germany- in reality, who knows). St. Hilarion's castle is absolutely breathtaking, to say the least.

- To get to the castle, however, we had to go through a rather mountainous area used as a military training base. As a result, taking pictures (in the military portion) was forbidden and we saw a number of armed guards. In a larger sense, to get there we had to cross from the Greek Cypriot south into the Turkish Cypriot north, divided by a UN monitored ceasefire line (in which, alas, we were also not allowed to take pictures). The border is pretty heavily monitored, with very monitored areas not totally cleared of landmines. Very brief history lesson taken from cyprus44.com:
"When Turkey sided with Germany in World War I, it ended the war a defeated nation, and Cyprus became a British Crown colony in 1925. After World War II, the movement by Greek Cypriots for union with Greece gained momentum, with rioting and violence aimed at the British rulers. In 1957, the UN adopted a resolution to establish and independent Cyprus, and this was ratified in 1960 by the Treaty of Zurich. The Treaty, signed by Britain, Greece and Turkey, also protected the rights of Turkish Cypriots. Unfortunately the treaty did not last, and civil war broke out in 1963. The UN sent in troops and established the Green Line to try and keep the peace. Matters came to a head in 1974 when the Greek National Guard launched a coup against then President Makarios, to promote unity with Greece (known as Enosis). Turkey promptly intervened to protect the interests of Turkish Cypriots, as the terms of the Treaty of Zurich permitted."
Although it declared independence in 1983, the Turkish north has not received international recognition; the Republic of Cyprus (i.e. south Cyprus) is recognized and joined the EU in 2004. In 2003, after heavy dialogue, border crossings were opened and now it is fairly easy to cross.

So there are some tidbits from what was an absolutely phenomenal trip filled with Crusader castles, Greco-Roman temples & theaters, beaches & palm trees, good food, and quality time spent with amazing friends. Now I am back in the Hashemite kingdom. On the plus side, I semi-speak the local language and there are falafel sandwiches for 35 cents; on the down side, it's dusty and I am far from idyllic beaches. Such is life. Yalla bye :)