We have now been in Cyprus for over two weeks. I want to share with you some my reflections of this country but I don't quite know where to begin. As time goes on, I will post photos and give more details. Here are a few of my observations so far. They are a bit random, but that is okay for now.
My preliminary opinion of this island nation is that it is both similar and dissimilar to Jordan and Israel, where we have worked before. The climate is similar: hot, dry, and dusty. The terrain is also reminiscent. Here are rocky hillsides, mountains and, of course, the Mediterranean Sea, which Israel shares.
The language, of course, is different. In Jordan we heard Arabic and in Israel we heard Hebrew, Arabic, and even Russian. In the southern part of this country, Greek is spoken. In the North, which we visited yesterday, Turkish is the primary language.
We live in a lovely village called Pervolia, near Larnaca, a larger city. The airport is not too far from us and planes frequently fly overhead. The other day, because WiFi had not yet been installed in our apartment, I took my laptop outside to connect to WiFi in another part of the building. I Skype-called my parents and every few minutes I had to pause the conversation because the planes overhead were so loud. Inside, however, they are not loud at all and do not disturb us.
The main religion of southern Cyprus is Greek Orthodox. The main religion of northern Cyprus is Islam. We live in the southern area and the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church is everywhere. They have their fingerprints on a lot of things, from government to real estate. There are old churches and monasteries everywhere, many of them Greek Orthodox. There is an intense division between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Maybe I will discuss some of the reasons for that later. Although many people are not devout, they are still loyal to the Greek Orthodox Church. Tradition is the tie that binds.
There are a lot of British people in Cyprus. Some live here permanently. Others have second homes here. There are a lot of British products in the supermarkets. The terminology differences between American English and British English are quite apparent here. For example, what we call an apartment they call a flat. What we call French fries they call chips. We call the storage compartment in the rear of our cars the trunk. They call it the boot. A stove is a hob.
The food. I must admit that I was expecting the diet to be Mediterranean. And it is. Kind of. A lot of the same foods grow here that grow in Jordan and Israel. Dates. Figs. Pomegranates. Olives. Yum. Foods I really like and that definitely fit the "Mediterranean Diet" profile. But here in southern Cyprus people eat a lot of meat, especially pork. If you know me very well, you know that I dislike pork. Of course, in both Jordan and Israel, pork is hard to find and if you do find a store that sells it, it is expensive. But here I am finding ways to deal with meat-heavy menus. There is nearly always a Village Salad on menus, which is greens, cucumbers, tomatoes and maybe cheese lightly dressed with olive oil. Some restaurants have vegetarian options. And in the markets there is no shortage of vegetables, which are super-fresh and very cheap. So we have been eating a lot of vegetables in our apartment, er, I mean, our flat!
Hope you enjoy this brief introduction to Cyprus from an American point of view. More to come soon!
