Andrea Cornaro-Influencer and Uncle

Andrea Cornaro was Caterina Cornaro's uncle. He was advisor and councillor to King James II of Cyprus. His first diplomatic success was when he convinced James to free Famagusta from Genoese occupation, with the result that Genoa's position in commerce and the economy was taken by his native Venice.

There came a time, when James had to find a wife. Caterina Cornaro was suggested. It was a union of opportunity. The Cornaro family were wealthy and Cypriots considered them as Cypriots. The Cornaro family would also give James financial relief.

Caterina Cornaro was born in the Cornaro palace in Venice in 1454, on the feast day of St Catherine. In her book 'Ladies of Medieval Cyprus and Caterina Cornaro,' Leto Severis expalins that "Caterina gave signs of a dynamic character, a well-balanced mind and great intelligence." The marriage of Caterina Cornaro and James II  was performed in the cathedral of St Nicholas in Famagusta " with fitting magnificence."

Caterina became pregnant but James her husband became sick and died on July 7th 1472. Everyone was talking about assassination by poison and there were suspicions against the Venetians. Caterina's uncle Andrea Cornaro now became one of the guardians of the state after James II's death.

On the 28th August 1473, Caterina gave birth to a boy. He was christened on the 28th September 1473 and became James III. In the same year, on the 13th and 14th of November 1473, a revolt broke out organised by the Neapolitans and supported by a section of the Cypriot population. That night Caterina's uncle Andrea Cornaro, was killed.

James III the sickly baby of Caterina and James II, died just before his first birthday on the 24th August 1474. As Leto Severis explains in her book, Caterina understood how the Venetians had used her, for their own calculating means. She blamed her husband's death and her child's death, on them. She gathered her strength to continue her life. She felt that she had a duty of protecting the name of the Lusignans and the place that had received her with so much love. She wanted to protect the old crusader family but was made to give her power to the Venetians in 1489.

It is interesting to note that in September 1477 Venice decided to send a hundred noble families from Venice to establish themselves in Cyprus, so that they would change the nationality of the island. They were ordered to develop the land and could not leave the island for five continuous years.

Aphrodite...

The cult of Aphrodite arrived in Cyprus from the East; she was already worshipped in Syria and Palestine as Ishtar and Astarte. She was also worshipped by the Romans as Venus.

In Greek mythology Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility who rose from the sea foam off the shore of Cyprus. She was married to Hephaestus, but took many lovers, including Ares and Adonis. She was the mother of Eros, Hermaphrodite, Priap and Aeneas, among others. The main centres for her cult of worship were Pafos and Amathous. The myrtle plant is dedicated to her, as is the dove.

Petra tou Romiou is the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite. Meaning 'Rock of Romios,' the name also commemorates the legendary Greek hero Digenis Akritas, also known as Romios. He lived during the Byzantine era, and during an Arab raid by Saracen corsairs on Cyprus, hurled huge boulders into the sea to destroy the Arab ships. According to legend, the rocks here are the stones thrown by Romios.

Sunsets here are spectacular, especially when, towards the end of summer, Saharan winds have whipped fine sand into the upper atmosphere and northwards towards Cyprus.

Sources: Eyewitness Travel: Cyprus; Globetrotter: The Best of Cyprus

Cypriot Driving Revisited

Every day I overcome a fear. What is that fear, you ask? It is the fear of driving in Cyprus. I have a strong belief in my good driving skills and I am now at a level of driving where I am able to predict what those behind me and those in front of me are going to do. I am rarely wrong.

In Cyprus, deaths caused by dangerous driving are a norm, so much so now that we are immune to the news of a deadly collision. It's just another accident, we say. It's never going to happen to me, we say.

What is the first thing you learn at a driving school? It is supposed to be fasten your seat belt and check your mirrors. Who follow this rule on the island? What about indicating? Stopping at a red light? Have we ever heard of the phrase 'Speed Kills?' Have we ever heard of the saying' Respect Others on the Road? What about reading the road? What on earth does that mean?

My recent trip to a garage confirmed my fears. Car carcasses dotted the entrance. some cars with horrific damage. I wondered what had happened to their drivers. Were they dead? In intensive care? Suffering from life changing injuries?

Accidents have now turned into a serious problem, so much so that insurance companies are overworked. Hospitals, mortuaries and graveyards overflowing with those who didn't need to come to this.

So, what is to be done? How many more driving deaths are we going to hear about? Who else needs to die, so that change happens?

For now it's fasten your seat belt, check your mirrors and read those on the road with you, eventhough some of them shouldn't be driving in the first place.