Cyprus: Nicosia and the Green Zone

Nicosia is the last divided European capital.  Like Kyrenia and Famagusta, it is a fortified city with the coolest city wall ever:This is a picture my dad took of the north side of the city.  Notice the Turkish flag on the side of the mountain and the minarets that have been added to the Christian church.We had to present our passports to go from the North side to the south side.  The north side is noticeably poorer than the south side.  The south side had nice, modern looking department stores while the shopping district in the north looked like thisIn between is a fenced off “Green Zone” which neither side is allowed to inhabit.  The green zone stretches all the way across the island.  So here is the vibrant capital city with a strip of vacated, decaying buildings right in the middle.  I would have taken pictures of the green zone but it is illegal and there were armed guards around.  I did, however take pictures of the green zone when we drove through it to get to Nicosia.

This is a ghost town in the green zone.  Everyone who lived here was forced to leave and move into a refugee camp in 1974.  My dad says that the day this conflict ends archeologists will be crawling all over this city because it is a perfect time capsule complete with breakfast on the tablesThe Turks have occupied many of the abandoned homes to use as look out stations in the green zone.  On the other side of the road the UN has set up dinky look out posts that look like glorified life guard chairs.Back to our day in Nicosia:  We ate more Turkish delight, ate lamb kebabs and visited an old fortified inn for caravans.  It was fortified so that the travellers could sleep knowing that their livestock would be safe from theft in the center.  Norah really wanted to pet this dog and but she was a little nervous so she and this other little girl just walked around it pointing at it while saying “dog” in their respective languages.  When the dog’s owner came over to protect her dog from the circling children Norah when right up to her and put her arm around her neck for security.  Then she petted the dog.  The lady praised Norah for “being so gently”

Cyprus: Famagusta and Salamis

Famagusta is a city on the Turkish side of Cyprus.  This city was passed around from Venetians to the Ottomans to the British and I think I'm missing some in between.  It has a wall around the city with a fortified gate that has survived the many conquests (note the cannon ball) and within are a collection of Christian churches representing each phase.  Some of them are in ruin from the conquests and some of them have been turned into Mosques (note the minaret).  Not exactly a step towards unification but I guess at least they are maintaining them.  This picture of my dad with Norah sitting side by side is after we had visited a candy shop that only sold Baklava and Turkish Delight.  I had no idea there were so many varieties.  We bought a whole lot of each they were tasting.  Norah loved both even learned to say "Balala."This picture of the building with a big gash in its side is an abandoned hotel and it is one of many abandoned, decaying hotels in the Varosha section of the city.  There This area was the tourist quarter and actually has better beaches than Aqia Napa but all the inhabitants fled in 1974 during the Turkish invasion and never came back.  It is just a ghost town now.  Since the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not a recognized state(except by Turkey), the tourist industry is pretty much nonexistent in Famagusta now. The pictures of the Greek ruins are in Salamis.  My dad carried Norah on his shoulders for a lot of the trip and she would hold onto his ears.

Cyprus: Kourion and Temple of Apollo

Probably the most picturesque place we visited was the ancient city of Kourion and the nearby Temple of Apollo Hylates.  This ancient city actually lies within the boundaries of the British sovereign base.The theater was used mostly for gladiator competitions and is still in use today (but not for gladiators).

These are the ruins of an Early Christian BasilicaThis is the ruins of the baptismal font -- I always think it is cool to see fonts in early Christian churches. A mosaic of Glaiators from the Gladiators House We were lucky to be able to visit the Temple of Apollo because it was closed when we got there.  I think the park ranger there let us in because he was touched when my dad spoke to him in Greek.  The Cypriots are used to speaking in English with tourists who make no attempt at Greek.  Their English is so good that my dad complains he can’t find people willing to let him practice.  This guy really warmed up to us after my dad spoke with him and ended up giving us a tour.       Then after hearing about my dad’s interest in the mosaics around the ruins he took us into his office where he showed us several mosaic reproductions he was working on.  One of them was a perfect copy of this mosaic which we saw in Kourion

Cyprus: Ayia Napa and Cape Greco

These pictures are from our beach day. It was in the mid 60s and a very windy but Bryan of course was not deterred from swimming and even Norah made it as far as her ankles. I was content to enjoy the sunshine. We went to cave that is usually pretty accessible but the waves were so high from the wind that when they hit they completely blocked the entrance. Bryan and my dad timed it just right and made it in and out with out getting soaked. I decided it was too risky because I was wearing my new boots but then just after my dad took the picture of Bryan and I, from what I thought was a safe distance, a huge wave came up and soaked us. The boots were just fine.

Cyprus: Halla Sultan Tekke

My parents are really passionate about “touring” as they call it.  No matter where we have lived they have always carved out time and money to take our family to see everything within a day's drive (sometimes two).  It is my favorite family tradition and I’m so grateful that my parents have kept it up all these years.  At one point during our trip I was thanking my dad for driving us all over the island and he said “well people show love in different ways and this is my way.”  We had a great time and learned so much about the history, culture and current conflict in Cyprus that I feel like I should have earned college credit for the trip. 

When my parents picked us up from the airport they asked us if we were hungry and when we said “no” the sightseeing began.  We were taken directly to Hala Sultan Tekke, a beautiful mosque located on the shores of the Larnaca Salt Lake.  The mosque was built in honor of the Muhammad's nanny.  She fell from her mule during a siege and died near the site and her grave became a sacred shrine.   Eventually the mosque was built around it in her honor and it is now considered the third most holy site for Muslims.  Sadly because Cyprus is divided, and this mosque is on the the Greek side, it is now infrequently visited by pilgrims. 

This is a picture of the inside that I got off the internet.  I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures inside. 

After leaving the Mosque we visited St. Lazarus’s Church where supposedly Lazarus was buried for the second time.  It was interesting to see two places of worship from different religions that were both in honor of the deaths of people who were famous for their connection to someone more famous. It was getting dark and my pictures didn’t turn out well. 

London

Pre Flight Drama:

Bryan and I had about a week long return in Ithaca before heading back to the airport to visit my parents who currently living in Cyprus.  Two days before our flight was scheduled I got an email saying that our flight from Ithaca to Newark had been cancelled due to weather.  The planes that fly out of the Ithaca are so small that cancel flights days in advance (apparently) because they are positive they have no chance making it.  The email offered no alternative but to call a number to rebook.  I called that number only to hear a message that due to the high volume of calls they were not taking any calls.  Seriously.  After the message they automatically hung up on me.  I freaked out for a minute and then started calling every other number Continental had listed online anywhere.  Finally we were rebooked on a flight out of Ithaca (ahead of the coming snow storm) a day and a half earlier. This was probably around 8 or 9 pm and and we had to be at the airport by 4 am for our 6 am flight the next morning.  Fortunately I had already packed and we had a great friend who was willing to take us to the airport at dark o’ clock in the morning but it was a stressful evening.  In the end I was glad our flight had changed because it gave us a little more time to explore in London and I think it was probably easier for us to fly during the day than at night. 

The first two days we were able to tour the Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Globe Theater and St. Paul’s Cathedral.  We also enjoyed walking along the Millennial Bridge and Westminster Bridge to enjoy views of Big Ben and Parliament.

In front of the Tower BridgeTower of LondonNorah loved riding on the Underground and she insisted on standing up and holding on to the pole

On our way back from Cyprus we had one more full day in London which we spent in the British Museum and watching buskers perform in Covent Garden.  One of the coolest parts of the British Museum (for us) was stumbling upon an entire gallery devoted to artifacts from Cyprus.  We were overwhelmed trying to look at the exhibits on Assyria and Egypt.  It was so much more interesting to look at this one small room because we had some context from our trip.  Many of the artifacts were from sites we had visited.  I really think it is time for Britain to return some of their loot to the countries they took them from.  That museum has such a glut of artifacts that they can’t possibly be appreciated.  I think they could give away 1/2 of what they have in that museum and it would still be overkill.  We probably walked through at least half a dozen galleries in the museum that just displayed amphoras and other Greek pottery.  Seriously?  Who has time to look at those.  Nobody does, they just walk through the rooms so they can get to the mummies!  I, as a tourist, would much rather see those artifacts in displayed in museums in the countries where they were discovered. 

This was probably Norah’s favorite group of performers in Covent Garden (mine was definitely the unicyclist).  We went down stairs after taking this picture and Norah started dancing to their music.  Eventually more people in the crowd were watching her dance than the orchestra.  I think she was good for business.  We also went out to dinner with my cousin Maren who lives in London.  I wish I had taken a picture with her but I didn’t think to. 

Kelsey and Kimball’s wedding

After Christmas we flew to Arizona for Kelsey and Kimball’s wedding.  I have been to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff and driven on Route 66 through AZ before and so I thought I had a decent idea of what the state looked like but I had no idea how different the climate is in Northern AZ compared the rest of the state.  I was stunned when I saw all the lemon and orange trees everywhere.  They were so beautiful.  Even more beautiful was Kelsey in her wedding dress.  This picture isn’t really close enough to get a good look at her dress but it was a graceful, vintage inspired, chiffon (?) dress with a cluster crepe looking flowers on one side of her waist.  I thought her hair perfectly matched the the loose, flowing feel of her dress.  Here is a picture of Courtney and Emma (a cousin on Guy’s side of the family) with Norah (probably taken by Hannah (Emma’s sister) while they waited at the visitor’s center for the the Temple ceremony.  I didn’t take any pictures at the reception unfortunately because I was too busy keeping Norah out of the pool and fire pits but it was beautiful.  It was outside in a pretty backyard with, as mentioned, a pool and fire pits and there were lots of palm trees with white Christmas lights.  The sky was also very clear so the stars were another great decoration.  Very romantic! 

Christmas 2010 Part IV

I need to play catch up on the blog so here are some random Christmas highlights:

We went to the new Smithsonian Air and Space museum near Dulles Airport.  Pictured here is Bryan’s brother Kimball and his Bride Kelsey

Christmas Day Guy got out his Red Ryder BB Gun (it was a gift he received a couple of Christmases ago from himself (it was from Guy the kid addressed to future Guy)) and he along with his sons took turns shooting in the back yard.Bryan and Courtney made homemade waffle cones for everyone and they were deliciousWatching Guy and Susan spontaneously breaking out in song and dance while we were watching the Sound of Music.  I may or may not have promised to not post the following photos but I can’t remember so I going to assume I didn’t.  Guy may spend 90% of his life in a suit and tie but he obviously doesn’t take himself too seriously and is full of surprisesNot pictured, but definitely a highlight that needs mentioning was the endless assortment of desserts.  Susan made a cherry cheesecake, Boston cream pie, orange rolls (delightfully treated as dinner rolls in Hicks Christmas tradition), caramels, cookies and was continually receiving delicious gifts from neighbors. 

Christmas 2010 Part III

Norah was up before anyone else Christmas morning.  In Hicks Family protocol children are not allowed to check out what Santa has left until the parents (meaning Guy and Susan) give the go ahead.  This was all fine with Norah except that the dog was upstairs in the family room and she was downstairs.  She was pressed up against the glass door at the top of the basement stairs pointing and saying “Dog, dog? Dog! Dog? Dog? DOG!!”  Bryan called Murphy and was able to get him to join us and that bought us some time but eventually Norah was back at the top of the stairs wanting to break free.   By this time Guy and Susan were ready to go but everyone else was still asleep.  I guess they were taking advantage of the quiet morning since the last few days they had been woken up early but a noisy Norah who had been unrestrained.  After an amusing few minutes of watching Norah struggle to get upstairs, Guy and Susan decided that it would be okay if Christmas started earlier for Norah than everyone else.  They got the video camera ready and positioned themselves for the great moment and then . . . Norah marched right past the family room laden with gifts and toys and went straight to the highchair.  It caught us all by surprise and gave us a good laugh but I guess it shouldn’t have.  It isn’t like anyone really took the time to explain to Norah what was going to happen Christmas morning.  I asked Norah what she wanted for breakfast and she very clearly announced “Popcorn!”

So that is what she got.

After a few minutes in her highchair she successfully roused the rest of the household and we moved on to the presents. 

Her little Moped from Santa Susan was a HUGE hit.  It was the first toy she approached and she was so stunned by its appearance she just stood next to it for a while with her hands on the handles.  Elmo was a close second and was treated to rides on the MopedShe was very impressed with the storage space.  She would open it and say “Wow” or “Ohhh”Norah’s doting aunt Courtney helped her figure out the concept of the stocking.  Courtney is seen here holding Norah’s Blackberry –  a small pink calculator from the dollar store – works like a charm.She also scored a hip pair of sunglasses – maybe now she’ll leave her friend Graham’s pair aloneThen she went back to her new kitchen to make a respectable breakfast.Can you tell she is the only grandchild?