Nicosia
Λεφκοζα
Church in the walled city of Nicosia
March 14, 2004
Once in Nicosia or Lefkosia we had problems finding our hostel, and after checking
in immediately needed to find a place to eat.
The atmosphere of the city is great; nearly all pedestrian, buildings close together,
all old, which gives a great feel. I felt like I was in a secluded mountainous town,
untouched by foreigners, but I quickly came to reality when we found a restaurant
and sat down.
Our restaurant had one other table, filled with Russians and our host, the restaurant's
owner was from Greece. He recommended the Greek meze and so we got started. This
version had better bread, and similar olive oil, salad, the same four dips, eggplant,
and a great feta cheese/olive oil/tomato dip. The meal continued with cheese, meat
in sauce, pork kebabs, and finished with fruit.
March 15, 2004
My navigators (Crystal and Elizabeth) got me lost in Nicosia on the way back to
the south from our day trip in the north. Getting lost in Nicosia seems easy to
do considering the city's layout around a rounded city wall and a huge dividing
wall in the city's center separating south from north. After asking for directions
multiple times we got out... two hours later. It was about 6:30 or 7:00 and the
deadline for re-entering the south is 5:00, but no one seemed to care and so our
rush only helped increase our stress.
We got back to our hostel in the south and spent the evening walking around until
we came to a restaurant that looked decent and cheap. My Czech roommate in the hostel
was there so we sat together and again got the meze. The food was again good, however
after last night's incredible meal most food seems bland now.
We headed back to the hostel, where we drank our wine from the mountain winery and
talked to the other backpackers about Cyprus and their political spider web. It
was interesting, but everyone wanted to know more about Moldova so we soon found
ourselves to be the center of the conversation.
Within view from the Turkish side of the capital flies the Greek flag
March 16, 2004
We spent a couple hours in Nicosia itself today; the city is more run down that
I first thought, but beautiful none-the-less. The Famagusta Gate is imposing, huge
and great. Across from it are large pottery bowls, four or five feet in height.
Next I reached the city's dividing wall, but not quite a wall so much as a street,
lined with houses side by side with no breaks. This line was the wall; they added
some barbed wire and UN guards at all the street crossings. The wall was nothing
more than abandoned houses covered in barbed wire, decorated with UN guards, and
a few concrete slabs blocking all streets running north-south: simple, but effective.
Not far from here I turned a corner to see a church steeple in the distance framed
by buildings and a fenced yard where a number of Cypriot children were playing soccer
in the yard as if threat and pressure were thousands of miles away, as if unaware
of any tension, lost in their youth and innocence.
Leaving the city I bought a shirt and gyro, which was excellent by the way and sadly,
my last taste of Cypriot food.