Interior of Mosque in Cyprus.
One of the most beautiful buildings in Famagusta, the Lala Mustafa Paşa mosque is also one with a great story. It was built starting in the 1300s as a cathedral dedicated to St. Nicolas, but when the city fell to the Ottomans in 1571, they converted it to a mosque and added a minaret. This is a photo of the mihrab where the imam speaks. I have never been in a mosque before that had flags flying, let alone a Turkish flag and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus flag. It is obviously a [...]
Continue reading Reflection #506 – Lala Mustafa Paşa Mosque, Famagusta
Paphos Hamam
With the dreariness of winter starting to drag on, it’s nice to think about where you can go to warm up. Southern Cyprus is gorgeous from October through April. It’s just a bit too hot in the summer months, and since there are so many other places to go then, why not head for Cyprus? The city of Pafos on the southern part of the island is full of beautiful beaches, excellent fish restaurants, and lots of sights to see. This is the old hamam harkening back to Byzantine times.
Where do you like to go to [...]
Continue reading Photo of the Day – Paphos Hamam, Cyprus
It’s the last day of December, and time to think about what we did during 2012 and make some plans for 2013.
As the year 2012 was coming to a close, we gazed upon this gorgeous sunset over Mont Blanc, France. Thank you 2012!
Big Events:
1. In June we moved from our home of four years, Ankara, to Schweinfurt, Germany. We know this is a somewhat temporary place for us as the military is drawing down even more. We’re hoping to find out a little more between January and April.
2. In July, we had a huge [...]
Continue reading Our Travel Delights of 2012…and Plans for 2013!!!
To me this flower seems almost Dr. Seussish. It’s pointy and weird. I love it. I have no idea what it is, but maybe some type of nettle? Anyone know? I took it in Southern Cyprus a few weeks ago. All the wildflowers were blooming…gorgeous!
Northern Cyprus is a very picturesque place, and we visited St. Barnabas on a clear, hot day. In the courtyard one of the caretakers offered us some fresh figs from the tree, and explained the difference between white and black figs. The monastery itself, was in mediocre repair, without many religious icons, but still peaceful and colorful.
Taken at a covered food market in one of the cities in southern Cyprus, these squash look so delicious and autumny.
As I explained in my first Cyprus post, everything in Northern Cyprus has been virtually ignored for the last thirty years. Salamis is an archaelogical site about six kilometers from Famagusta, and it is probably the most important site on the entire island as it was one of the ancient capitals, however it is not a UNESCO World Heritage site. The UNESCO organization cannot certify a place as a site when the land it sits on is not recognized. It’s a real shame, because it’s a pretty spectacular site.
One of the other problems with not being associated with a [...]
Continue reading The “Should Be” World Heritage Site – Cyprus Part 3
According to all we’d read, Northern Cyprus is home to the Wild Donkey or Wild Ass. Now, I know that we’ve all come across plenty of domestic asses as we go along our daily business, but going to see a “wild” one just wasn’t an opportunity I was willing to pass up.
As it turns out, these particular donkeys were indeed once domesticated, although they are supposed to be descendents of the African Wild Ass. As is true in many parts of the Meditteranean and especially Turkey, donkeys have been widely used to help haul crops from the [...]
Continue reading To the Top of the Karpas Peninsula
The morning sun in Girne
Confusing Cyprus
The only thing I knew about Cyprus before going there was that when my dad was being stationed in Turkey in 1974 there was a war going on. Due to the dangers, power outages, and overall chaos, his orders were issued, canceled, and re-issued. We did actually end up coming to Turkey in Aug. of ’74, and honestly I never saw anything of a “war.”
So, when looking into flights for something to do on an extended weekend, Cyprus was high on the list. Since moving here, we would hear about the two sides [...]
Continue reading Confusing Cyprus- Exasperating Cyprus
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