Kyrenia

Kyrenia Harbor
see all photos »

On Saturday morning Tasha and her family picked me up to drive over to the northern coast of Cyprus.

Tasha is an American psychology professor from California, living here in Cyprus with her family, and is a Fulbright scholar (I call

her the Fulbright).  Vijay found her (through mysterious googling tactics) and when I e-mailed her, she was totally excited!  Before I even got here, she sent me lots of helpful information about housing, getting around, and things to see in Cyprus.  When I went to meet her at CyprusCollege (where she teaches) she invited me for a day on the

Kyrenia Castle
see all photos »

coast with her family.

It was me, Tasha, her husband Mike, and her two little boys...it was nice to be with a family!  After a five minute ride from my flat, we were at the 'border'..I put that in quotes..because it's an unrecognized border crossing...No one, besides Turkey..recognizes that this is a cross over to another country..however they still check passports (although not allowed to stamp) and require a visa( a blank sheet of paper where you write down your name and nationality)...it was kinda funny...

Tasha's sons
see all photos »

Once crossing, it was a 35 min ride to the coast.  The northern side is very nice!  There is a lot more open land and you can see the northern mountain range from any angle...Tasha said that since it's not a recognized Turkish occupation...foreigners are not supposed to do business there..yet I still saw big name companies...Pepsi, Converse, McD's...And it looks like there is a lot of development at the moment..new homes and buildings all in construction...

They also use the Turkish Lira, rather than the Euro...

Syrian Meze
see all photos »

Our first stop was the Kyrenia castle...a huuge castle with remnants of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires (don't worry, I really didn't distinguish between these empires till i got here)  But you could see in the castle that it was started by the Romans, and then built upon by successive empires...especially since some of the architecture does not to go together at all..in one room you have Venetian walls, and then randomly there is a Corinthean pole (obviously brought in from somewhere else)...

see all photos »

We explored the different rooms of the castle (Tasha's kids were having a blast) and then up top you get a breathtaking view of the sea...40 miles north lies Turkey..and you can actually see a sliver of the land afar.

On a side note..it was great being with Tasha and her family...it made me really value the opportunity to live abroad, with your family, and completely experience a new setting..her kids are enrolled here in an international school and they love it...they've made all new friends, learned all new customs, and on the weekends get to run around in ancient castles...makes for an amazing learning experience..they've had a hard time adjusting..but their motto is "everything's just a bit different..but that's ok"..haha it's kinda cute!  Around noon we could hear the "call to prayer" over the loud speaker...Tasha's little son (five year old) sat down in a meditative pose and didn't get up till the call was over...Tasha leaned over to me and said "we dont' know where he learned that..but he's super spiritual..and we're not even religious!"  After a few more hours of exploring the castle and harbor, we slowed down for some hallumi sandwiches..Hallumi is a special type of cheese made here in Cyprus..and everyone is crazy over it! It's kinda a saltier version of fresh mozerella...I like it..but not as much as everyone else!

The Fulbright
see all photos »

I got back to the flat around five and found Letizia sunbathing out on the balcony..I decided to join her and fell asleep outside..It was such deep sleep and when I woke up I had one of those moments where you expect to wake up in your own room..and I actually forgot that I was here!

At night Tasha invited me out with some of their friends for Syrian Meze...They picked me up at 8 (her kids were with a sitter) and we met up with her friend Sharon (originally English but living in Cyprus for last 20 years taking care of stray pets...one another Stacey (another American) living here with her George (her Cypriot boyfriend)..We were at the Syrian Friendship Club..and the dinner was amazing...Meze is a traditional middle eastern dinner...with tons of dipping sauces and bread, followed by more of a main course, followed by desert..and this one was uniquely followed by argilla (hookah)...we ended up having a four hour dinner (filled with wine)...Stacey was happy to be around Americans :)

Around midnight, they dropped me back to the flat, where everyone was just getting ready to go out....and of course..I did not resist....overall a great Saturday in Nicosia.