Cypriot Inherited Trauma

 There has been a lot of bloodshed and animosity throughout this island's history and generational trauma is rife. Sometimes it is so subtle and so deeply hidden that it is left unnoticed by an imperceptible eye. Some leave it unresolved and pass it on to the next generation, only to go further down the line.

It is only when someone recognizes something is wrong, a daughter or a grandchild and chooses to question beliefs so imbedded in the older generation's psyche, that the trauma does not pass on to their own children.

In Cyprus, we have lived through struggles and war and the generation that lived through it, bear the scars and memories of such black and dismal years.

In her book 'The Island of Missing Trees,' Elif Shafak discusses family trauma and brings to light all that has not been spoken.

"If families resemble trees, as they say, arborescent structures with entangled roots and individual branches jutting out at awkward angles, family traumas are like thick, translucent resin dripping from a cut in the bark. They trickle down generations. They ooze down slowly, a flow so slight as to be imperceptible, moving across time and space, until they find a crack in which to settle and coagulate...Divided islands are covered in tree resin which, though encrusted round the edges, is still liquid deep inside, still dripping like blood. I have always wondered if this is why islanders, just like sailors in olden times, are strangely prone to superstitions. We haven't healed from the last storm, the time when the skies came crashing down and the world drained of all colour, we haven't forgotten the charred and tangled wreckage floating around, and we carry within us a primeval fear that the next storm might not be far off."

It is in our hands to face our struggles and demons. It is a fire burning and can only be quenched by an admission of the ugly, disturbing truths of days gone by.

From Ledras to Arabahmet...

Today I crossed the border into north Nicosia for the first time. I visited a lot of places in the city centre, including Buyuk Han and the bazaar which was the main shopping area in Ottoman times. Buyuk Han, which is the most interesting Ottoman building in Cyprus and built in 1572 as an inn for visiting merchants, was full of people chatting, eating and drinking and taking in the morning sunshine.

At the bazaar, I bought a handmade ceramic bowl of ornate design and browsed the fresh fruit and vegetables on display. 

Arabahmet Mosque and district were particularly interesting. The mosque is covered with a vast dome. Built in the early 17th century on the site of a former Lusignan church, it was remodelled in 1845. As I walked along, melodies from a radio could be heard and what seemed to sound like a flute in the morning air. 

I bought some sweets from a Turkish delight shop, opened in 2003 and then I crossed the border back to Ledras Street. I had mingled among the Turkish Cypriots and the tourists, among the stalls of clothes, bags and other trinkets for sale and wanted to stay a little longer. There was so much I wanted to say as I wandered around, so many words left unsaid, but I had to leave and I reluctantly showed my identity card and crossed the border to the south side again. 

I took photos of this day and I plan to return and next time start a conversation, stay more, express more and listen to the stories, the experiences, the dreams of those that live among me, on an island still divided, still waiting for something in the future, on a horizon of hope. 

Rumi, the 13th century poet once said, "Go on! Go on! I will not leave you alone. I will not let you go."

I won't abandon hope, because without it there is no future.

The Cyprus Emergency 1955-1959: Before and Beyond

 Many believe that the Cyprus campaign for union with Greece began with the Cyprus Emergency in 1955. In fact it all began many years before that time.

On the 9th October 1907, Winston Churchill who was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies arrived in Famagusta. In his book 'A New History of Cyprus,' writer and historian Stavros Panteli, describes the visit in detail. He recounts Churchill's impressions and subsequent reflections of his visit to Famagusta and Churchill said "While the wharf and the streets of the town were gay with the colours of Greece, the air was rent with shouts for the Union. The display was at one time in danger of being marred by the Turks of Famagusta who, in their indignation of the Greek demonstration, fell foul of some of the processionists and began what might have developed into a very considerable affray."

After his visit, Churchill concluded that "such a desirable consummation will doubtless be fulfilled in the plenitude of time and that, in the meantime, the people of Cyprus will be content to remain under the British flag."

Fast forward to 1912 and 1913. As the writer Raymond Hiscock explains in his book 'Open Letters from Cyprus,' there were meetings held in London between 16th December 1912 and the 6th January 1913, at which were present the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty and Prince Louis Battenburg. As Hiscock explains, there was an offer to Greece, whereby Britain would hand over Cyprus in exchange for the use of naval facilities at Argostoli. As is further described, in principle Venizelos accepted this offer but it still needed to be confirmed by Sir Edward Grey the Foreign Secretary and it is on record that neither government pursued the proposal during 1912/1913. 

Further offers were made to Greece during 1914/15 but the pro German King Constantine and his Queen flatly refused to consider them.

As Raymond Hiscock explains, "It is interesting to reflect that the chance of Enosis was scuppered, not by the English but by the very Greeks with whom the Cypriots were so anxious to merge and it can be suggested that it was at this point in history when the 'Cyprus Problem' began.

During World War II large numbers of Greek Cypriots fought with the allied forces, many of them being decorated for gallantry in the service of the imperial power. In his book, 'Brief History of Cyprus in Ten Chapters,' Dr Dick Richards describes the Cypriots' continual demand for self-determination. "All were unsuccessful as were appeals to the United Nations in 1954 and 1955." The writer explains that "all routes having failed, there came an eventual agreement between the Ethnarch and leader of the people, Archbishop Makarios III and other leading Cypriot citizens and politicians that recourse to violence was reluctantly justified."

In the Spring of 1955 organised riots began, including armed skirmishes, shootings and bombings. As Stavros Pantelis explains, " EOKA had no reason to attack and anatagonize the Moslem inhabitants and in July 1955 issued a Turkish leaflet assuring the island's Turks that it was struggling not against them but against British colonialism." As Pantelis explains, this was "short-sighted to ignore the possibility that Britain would encourage such a reaction from Turkey."

Independence eventually came in 1960. Many Cypriots left the island in the 1950s and 1960s fearing of further trouble. Their fears were confirmed in the early 1960s when violence erupted between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. In the 1960s wealth and stability were short-lived. Between 1960 and 1974, the newly formed Republic of Cyprus, lay on shaky foundations. 1974 was a calamity, with people being displaced from their homes, friends being separated.

As a Cypriot, but at the same time British born, I have wrestled with this island's tormented past and its continual division. Here I have analysed past events with an eagerness to reach a truth. But what is really the truth? With the Cyprus Emergency and the stories I have heard, I have been through a series of differing emotions- anger and resentment but also pity, sadness and compassion. To some it was terrorism, to others freedom fighting.

Was the Cypriot cause honourable or was it outlandishly ambitious and misguided? What if it had never happened? Would this island be better off now? Would we have avoided 1974? It's painful and difficult to think that the bloodshed was in vain, or was it?

In his book 'Bitter Lemons,' Lawrence Durrell ends with a poem which says "Better leave the rest unsaid/Beauty, darkness, vehemence/ Let the old sea-nurses keep/Their memorials of sleep/And the Greek sea's curly head/Keep its calm like tears unshed."

I believe we need to learn the difficult lessons of a difficult past and move forward into a period which hopefully, brings stability and that simple yet so sought after word- Peace.

A Visit To The CVAR, Nicosia

The Centre of Visual Arts and Research is a non-governmental, not-for profit organisation. On display are paintings and artifacts throughout the ages, which bring to life Cyprus' vibrant history.

The paintings which particularly stood out were Matthew Gosset (1839-1909) and his depictions of Kolossi Castle and Kyrenia Castle, Luigi Mayer (1755-1803) and his depictions of ancient Amathounta and the town of Limassol and Georges Jacques Desmeules (1886-1976) and his portraits of old women which are particularly beautiful.

There was also a Cyprus government railway timetable of 1938 for the Famagusta-Nicosia Services which transported you to another time when Cyprus had a railway as well as the last British military flag flown in Cyprus.

As is explained, a number of antiquarians and archaeologists visited Cyprus in the first part of the 19th century in the hope of finding artefacts of special interest. The locals humorously called them 'euretades' which means treasure seekers.

A particular surprise was the Glafcos Clerides Library which included numerous books on a variety of topics, photos of family and friends, including 1993 photos of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. 

A gigantic portrait of the late president by Rossin in 2000, shows him standing behind a desk, with the same gaze he always had and his characteristic whimsical smile, the Cypriot flag behind him. I felt his soul was in the room with us.

A Time For Harmony...

Limassol has always felt like home in comparison to other Cypriot towns. The feeling of returning to Limassol after a short or long visit to another part of the island, is unparalleled.

I always return and feel at home, as we near what is now a seaside landscape of high rise luxury apartments, which to me are enticing, attractive and exciting.

Limassol is a cosmopolitan town and each community, whether it be Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli, Lebanese or other, somehow intermingle harmoniously with eachother.

After 1974, all hopes were put on Limassol after the loss of Famagusta. To some, including the writer Joachim Sartorius, it seemed as though there was a panic and rush to replace what had been lost in the war. The pain and loss of displacement were pushed into Limassol post 1974.

He explains in his book 'My Cyprus', that he visited Limassol which he found "uninteresting, repulsive even ugly." He then explains the reasons. "After the loss of Varosha, the Greek Cypriots had concentrated all their resources on Agia Napa and especially on Limassol, steering business and tourism into this formerly sleepy harbour town with furious determination. The endless seafront street had been entirely blighted by vast chain hotels, cheap restaurants, casinos, amusement arcades and hastily erected apartment blocks. In these heaps of concrete, I had thought to myself on my first visit, you could see all the clearer what the island had forfeited in such a short time: harmony, sweetness, lustre. And what she had won: the sovereignty of beauty abolished and replaced with a new, cheap prosperity, which had no regard for light or landscape."

Those positive words: Harmony, Sweetness, Lustre. Those negative connotations: cheap prosperity, no regard for light or landscape and I agree to an extent that Limassol has a lot of work to do, if it is to regain its former identity pre-1974.

Efforts are being made at the moment for Limassol to become European Capital of Culture for 2030. They are contending with Nicosia and Larnaca among other places. Will they succeed in making Limassol European Capital of Culture?

There is a deep love for this town by its older inhabitants, especially the ones who remember it before the war, but in my mind, there needs to be an acceptance of how quickly things are changing in Limassol. It is not possible to return to pre-1974. Both the past and the future need to somehow be embraced harmoniously, if there is to be any form of progress.

Ayios Mamas

 Ayios Mamas is celebrated on the 2nd September in Morphou, where my mother comes from, and in the village of Ayios Mamas in the Limassol district where my paternal grandfather grew up.

As Raymond Hiscock explains, in his book 'Open Letters from Cyprus,' St Mamas is to be seen at the monastery in Morphou. He is said to have arrived as a poor hermit saint, who refused to pay income tax to the Byzantine tax collector. The governor ordered him to be arrested and as he was being escorted to the palace, a lion, an animal unheard of in Cyprus, leapt from a thicket on to a nearby grazing lamb. St Mamas held up his hand, gathered up the lamb and jumped astride the astonished lion and rode him to the palace. 

The governor was so impressed that he exempted the saint from tax for life. Ever since, St Mamas, as patron saint of tax evaders, has enjoyed fervent worship.

In the village of Palaichori, in the chapel Metamorfosis tou Sotiros which was built in the 16th century, you can see various frescoes. Lions are a predominant motif of some of the paintings and St Mamas is seen riding a particularly elongated predator.

Sources: Eyewitness Travel: Cyprus

Cyprus Under Venice

Venice emerged when the Goths invaded and the people of Veneto fled to the lagoon. Legend claims the city was founded in AD 421 on the 25th April, St Mark's Day. Trade links with Byzantium were forged, and the city prospered on its salt trade. The first doge, elected in 697, was a Byzantine magistrate. In 828, the Venetians brazenly stole the relics of St Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria for their basilica.

The Venetian Republic (697-1797), traditionally known as La Serenissima, was primarily a maritime republic. Before long, Venice dominated trade in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, as well as commerce between Europe, North Africa and Asia. It provided supplies and shipped Crusaders to fight the Saracens in the Holy Land; in the Fourth Crusade, which culminated, in 1204, with the conquest of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople.

In Cyprus, Venetians were based on the island before Venice formally took over in 1489. White Venetians were made up of Venetians who were already settled on the island and who owned or managed large agricultural tracts and paid annual taxation.

Caterina Cornaro's family maintained close ties with the Kingdom of Cyprus from the 14th century onwards and owned the sugar mills in the area of Episkopi in Limassol. 

Caterina arrived in Cyprus at the end of 1472 and ruled the island from 1474 until 1489. In 1489, she was forced to give up the administration of the state to the Venetians and returned to Venice and made her home at Asolo where she lived until 1510. 

Nicosia was the administrative centre for the Venetians. It was the largest town and the commercial and administrative centre, and like Famagusta, developed into a large urban centre. At that time, Nicosia had a population of some 30,000 inhabitants.

Urban councils were set up in the town, and the city had two councils. One represented the top echelons of urban society, that is the nobles and the bourgeoisie, and the other, the lower classes. 

The town's economy was linked to trade, but also to a range of crafts, such as weaving, the production of woven goods, and dye processing that operated in the town and were linked to agriculture.

In 1567, the Venetians decided to fortify the city of Nicosia. The new walls were in the shape of a star, with eleven bastions. The heart-shaped design of the bastion was more suitable for the new artillery and for better control by the defenders. The walls had only three gates, Kyrenia Gate to the north, Paphos Gate to the west, and to the east Famagusta Gate, which is the largest and was named Porta Julia.

As well as Cyprus, Venice governed the Peloponnese, Crete and most of the Greek islands.

The lion, has stood on a column in St Mark's Square in Venice since around the 12th Century and is recognised worldwide as a symbol of the city. The winged lion is the traditional emblem of St Mark, the patron saint of Venice.

Sources: A Guide to the History of Nicosia (Leventis Municipal Museum), Eyewitness Travel: Venice and the Veneto

The Plight of A Queen...Leto Severis

Following the marriage to James II, Caterina discovered in a few months that she was going to have a baby and this gave her a purpose in life. Six months after her marriage, she suddenly saw in front of her a dusty exhausted man who told her that James was seriously ill and that he was to take her to him at once. Whispers around her were attributing this sudden illness to a cold or stomach problems, but the more forthright were speaking of poison.

Before he died, James had the strength to dictate his last will in front of witnesses. He died on the 10th July 1473. During these tragic days she was living through, she brought her baby into the world on the 6th August 1473. He was a sickly boy who was the last descendant of the Lusignan kings of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia. 

On the 28th of September 1473, the baptismal ceremony took place at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Famagusta, with all the magnificence fitting to the heir to the throne, and the baby was proclaimed with the name James III.

During the following months, Caterina was occupied by her deep mourning and absorbed in maternal cares for her sickly baby. It was impossible for her to follow the terrible diplomatic intrigues. But Venice was keeping watch. There were two claims to the throne of Cyprus, the dethroned Charlotte and Venice, who were both working intensely to acquire it, now that James was dead and Caterina was an almost non-existent queen. The third pretender to the throne, was Ferdinand of Naples.

The Venetian fleet was always anchored in the port of Famagusta and on the 4th October 1473, the Admiral Bragadino occupied the castles of Kyreneia, Limassol, Famagusta, Buffavento and Kantara, in the name of Venice, ostensibly, to protect the adopted daughter of Venice who was now Queen of Cyprus.

On the 13th and 14th of November, 1473, a revolt broke out, organised by the Neopolitans and supported by a section of the Cypriot population. That night Caterina's uncle Andrea Cornaro, was killed. The next day, the revolt was bloodily suppressed by the Venetians and it was now evident that they were without disguise masters of the situation and had total control of the queen.

On the 26th of August, 1474, James III, the sickly baby of Caterina and James II, who was the last successor of the Lusignans, died, once again under strange circumstances. Suspicions of murder were again directed at Venice.

Caterina's sorrow was so great that many people thought she had lost her reason. She became introverted, and nothing could console her. This situation, and the queen's distraction was exploited by Venice, the true master of Cyprus. 

Caterina sent Philip Podocataro, who was of Greek origin, as an envoy to Venice, to assure the Council of Ten of her devotion towards the Republic. Then the Venetians sent two galleys which anchored in Famagusta harbour. When the Cypriots saw the Lion of Saint Mark fluttering out to sea, they despaired, for they realised that nothing could save the independence of Cyprus.

World Affairs... A Shakespearean Masterpiece

 "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players." (As You Like It)

"O brave new world that has such people in it." (The Tempest)

" I hold my peace, sir? no; No I will speak as liberal as the north; Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, All, all cry shame against me, yet I'll speak." (Othello)

"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose." (Merchant of Venice)

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and out little life is rounded with a sleep." (The Tempest)

"The fault dear Brutus is not in our stars but in ourselves." (Julius Caesar)

Icons...

During the Komnenos dynasty (1081-1180), the Byzantine style, which had been rigid and highly formalised up to that point, began to move towards realism and emotional expression in the figures and in their settings.

The golden age of Cypriot icon painting was the 12th century, when the island's rulers invited celebrated artists from Constantinople to paint frescoes in the monasteries and churches which they founded. In the 13th century, the Byzantine tradition continued.

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, many artists sought refuge on Cyprus under the protection of Queen Helena Palaeologus, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI. Under the influence of these painters, a new school developed on Cyprus in which elements of Palaeologon technique survived, blended with elements of Italian art.

Few icons survive from the period immediately after the Ottoman capture of the island in 1571, which marked the decline of the Cypriot school. One notable exception is the icon of St. George, painted in 1599.

After the Ottoman invasion, many religious painters abandoned the island. At the same time, icons began to be imported from the Ionian islands and Crete.

Sources: Raymond Hiscock: Open Letters From Cyprus

Turkey...As Explained by Tim Marshall

 The Turks-you'd think they originated in Turkey, wouldn't you? After all, 'Turkiye' means 'Land of the Turks.' But no, the original Turks came from far away, east of the Altai Mountains in Mongolia. Getting to what is now the homeland, and then ensuring it was called Turkey, was quite a journey.

Ataturk ('Father of the Turks') ruled for fifteen years during which he transformed his country, introducing a series of radical reforms to modernize Turkey after concluding that modernization meant Westernization.

 Ataturk understood that language is culture. He bridged a divide, touring the country and showing up in village squares and schools armed with a portable blackboard on which he chalked the new alphabet.

Fast forward to 1946. The Turks looked around their neighbourhood and saw very little they liked. Turkey still wasn't back as a major trade route and its neighbours were not exactly wealthy. Meanwhile, the Russians, whom they'd been fighting for centuries, now had troops in the Balkans as part of the Soviet expansion, were giving aid to Kurdish rebels as both worked to weaken Turkey and were gaining influence in Syria and Iraq. 'Splendid isolation' wasn't really an option-within six years Turkey was a member of NATO. It was a marriage of convenience.

Modern Turkey, seems to see the post-Cold War and 9/11 world as a jungle full of competitors in which it is one of the lions. It seeks to be self-sufficient in weapons and has enjoyed success in building a defence industry which it hopes will become a world-leading exporter.

At one point, Turkey was still Western-orientated and hanging on to dreams of joining the European Union, but it was becoming increasingly unlikely that Ankara would ever be invited to join the club. Economically, it does not meet enough criteria for entry and its record on human rights falls short.

In June 2020, Turkey announced it intended to begin drilling for reserves of natural gas, off the Greek islands. Greece was 'ready to respond.' 

Turkey's position is based on an astonishing agreement it came to with Libya in late 2019. It 'created' an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). At a stoke it theoretically blocked a proposed pipeline running from Israeli and Cypriot waters to Crete, on to the Greek mainland and then into Europe's gas network. The agreement was made with the government of Libya. 

Turkey doesn't recognise the UN's EEZ delineations and falls back on claims of sovereignty based on its continental shelf, which extends out into the Mediterranean. Russia, meanwhile, would prefer both projects to fail and for everyone to remain reliant on its supplies.

A Peaceful Day At The Beach: Broken Four Times

 I had a lovely day at the beach today, but it was a challenge getting there. I braced myself for what I knew, to be a chore navigating the Mesa Geitonia roundabout. 

Bright and early, just after eight, provocative, village-style Cypriots beeped their horns on the roundabout, as I waited to get the 'safe green light' to go. Their rude and disrespectful beeps were loud and insistent. I beeped back, in defiance. This is the 'lack of European standards,' which I commented on in a previous blog entry. I was fuming, fuming so much, that I would have been glad if their day got off to a bad start. 

On arriving at the beach, it was lovely and peaceful. A young Russian family were on my left, and a British mother and daughter on my right. This lasted for a while. 

The second 'break' of peace, happened when a Cypriot woman arrived with her two young children, who it was evident, had not been taught how to behave on a public beach. The mother wore dark shades, hooped golden earrings and a black swimsuit. She didn't want her children to bother her and she certainly wasn't playing with them on the beach. The two young sons were so happy to be on the beach, that they couldn't contain their enthusiasm-bless them. 

The mother was a 'suicide blonde,' an interesting tattoo on the back of her neck, and a huge tattoo on her right thigh. She was a typical example of a young woman, who had fallen from 'the Cypriot educational net.' A shame, I thought that the Cypriot educational system has failed the mother. Apparently, there is a hope for the younger generation. We will see. 

I ordered a coffee and read my book. The third disturbance was behind me. Two young men arrived, one smoking his life away and had a prominent tattoo. The other, was on his phone. They were your typical breed of Cypriot young man-bearded, talking nonsense. Another example of educational failure, and a 'lack of European etiquette.' I thought how on the periphery we are to Europe, balancing on the end of it, like hang-gliders in mid-air.

Meanwhile, the British mother and daughter talked about books, a soothing and calming conversation. The Russian family read their books peacefully. I was protected I thought, to my left and right by civilized human beings. Behind me, lay the remnants of governmental failures and division.

The waves lashed on the shore. I swam twice. I knew it was time to go, just after eleven, as the gardener started to trim the hedges and caused raucous noise for beach-goers, intertwined with the excited leaps and yells of the two young boys.

Amathus Archaeological Site

 Located on a high hill east of Limassol, are the stone remains of ancient Amathus. This was once a major commercial centre. It was the first of the island's city states and over the centuries it was inhabited by Greeks, Phoenician's, Egyptian's and Jews. 

After the arrival of Christianity in Cyprus, St Tychon founded a church here and became the first bishop of Amathus and he also became the patron saint of the town. 

The town existed until the 7th century AD, when together with other coastal centres, was destroyed by Arab raids.

From the site, fifteen Hathoric capitals were found, dated between the 6th and the beginning of the 5th century BC. They are associated with the worship of a Cypriot goddess, which were inspired by prototypes from Egypt and present a hellenised image of the Egyptian goddess Hathor. On these capitals, you can see the sacred serpent, which was a symbol of royal power, averting evil and bad luck.

Sources: Eyewitness Travel: Cyprus, Cyprus Department of Antiquities

The Council of Ten, Venice

The Council of Ten, existed from 1310 until 1797. It was created by Doge Pietro Gradenigo in 1310. It was supposed to be a temporary body and was composed of ten patrician magistrates who imposed punishment and banishment. 

It was a highly sensitive organisation and all its members took an oath of secrecy.

Sources: Wikipedia

Death of A Queen...Leto Severis

 In 1490 Caterina went for a while to Venice, but the Council of Ten obliged her to return to Asolo. Now she cared only for the salvation of her soul, and did not look after her person. Her beautiful, long blond hair was simply wound up on her head. The people who knew her when she was young, could not believe that this heavy woman was the Caterina Cornaro they used to know. She awaited her death stoically; perhaps, she even looked forward to it. Worldly things offered her nothing any more. No joy remained in her life.

Around 1502, Caterina was allowed to go to Venice and live with her brother Georgio Cornaro in his luxurious palace in the parish of San Cassiano. The Council of Ten realised that she held no dangers for them at all. Caterina retired from public life and very rarely appeared in the noble palaces. She walked round Venice and crossed the bridges over the canals with an expressionless face, to visit different churches and pray, especially in the church of the Holy Apostles. She was allowed to circulate freely; the throne of Cyprus was for her an old and faded image. 

One day, at the beginning of July 1510, she felt strong pains in her stomach and on the 9th of July her condition became worse. On the 10th of July, while the great clock of Saint Mark was ringing four in the morning, Caterina expired with terrible pains. She was fifty-six years old. The sad news went from mouth to mouth, "The Queen of Cyprus is dead."

Venice was always very generous at the great or tragic moments in its adopted daughter's life and was always proud that a daughter of the Republic wore the royal crown of the Lusignans. The coffin was placed in the church of San Cassiano. Caterina's body, in accordance with her wishes, was dressed in the habit of the Franciscan nuns. From San Cassiano, a magnificent procession was formed to escort the coffin to the church of the Holy Apostles, where the family tomb of the Cornaros was situated. 

At the head of the procession, were priests, followed by the Doge's delegation, Caterina's close relatives and the nobles of Venice, all dressed in heavy mourning with the sadness painted on their faces. When the funeral began, the sky was all blue, but soon dark clouds gathered and a gloomy shadow hid the heavens. Suddenly, a storm broke out, a rare thing for that season in Venice. It rained thick hail, the wind tore the flags and the deafening sound of the thunder and the violent lightning rent the sky. 

It was a curious coincidence, this storm, coming from the Queen of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia, dressed in a nun's thick habit who was going to her final home. 

Andrea Novagiero bid farewell to the dead queen and the storm abated, the sky became completely blue and the church was deserted. Caterina Cornaro, the last Queen of Cyprus, passed into history and began her journey to eternity. 

At the end of the 16th Century, the tomb of Caterina Cornaro was transferred to the church of San Salvatore (The Saviour) where her tomb can still be visited. On a white marble slab is incised the following inscription: The mortal remains of Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia. 

St. Nicholas of the Cats, Akrotiri

St. Nicholas of the Cats stands on the Akrotiri peninsula, between the salt lake and the military airport. It was founded by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, who visited the island while returning from the Holy Land. 

She brought cats to the island to fight away the ferocious snakes that plagued the island. During that time there was also a severe drought and the cats were shipped from Persia, Egypt and Palestine. Two bells were used to attract the cats, one for feeding and one for hunting. The snakes were soon eradicated and in time, created the breed of cat we now know as the 'Cyprus Cat.'

Construction of the monastery began in 327, by Byzantine governor Kalokeros who was sent to release the cats. The building seen today, is the result of remodelling that occured during the 14th Century. 

The nuns took over the monastery in 1983. Sadly the old church was shuttered up and we were unable to go inside to see it.

Sources: Wikipedia, Eyewitness Travel: Cyprus

A History of the Jewish Community in Cyprus

Jewish presence in Cyprus begins in the ancient times. There is evidence of Jewish settlers at Amathus. In the 2nd BCE there were a considerable number of Jewish people recorded on the island. They had a close relationship with the locals and the Roman rulers at that time, liked them.

When St Paul and Barnabas arrived on the island, to convert people to Christianity, they caused problems, by attempting to convert the Jewish to Christianity.

According to the history books of the time, the Jews supported the war against the Romans and sacked Salamis and annihilated the Greek population. Apparently, they massacred 240,000 Greek Cypriots. This led to the Jews being punished. Also in the history books of the time it is stated, that in the 4th century Cypriot Jews attacked Christian monasteries (610-641).

There were two Arab raids on the island and many Cypriots were enslaved and captured. 

During the Byzantine Period, Greek-speaking Jews settled in Cyprus.

During the Latin Era, in around 1110 CE, Jews were used for tax collecting. 

During Lusignan rule, King Peter I welcomed Egyptian Jewish traders to the island. The Genoese, during their terrible raids of the island, stole Jewish property in Famagusta and Nicosia. 

In the 16th Century, 2000 Jews were living in Famagusta. However, the Venetian authorities decided to expel all non-native Jews from the island. 

During the Ottoman Era, the Jewish community thrived. There was an influx of Sephardi Jews from Ottoman lands after expulsion from Spain in 1492. Famagusta was the main centre of the Ottoman Jewish community until 1878 when the British took over the island.

During British rule, there were attempts to settle Russian and Romanian Jewish refugees. In 1933, Jews escaping Nazi Germany came to the island. They were put into detention camps because they were apparently illegally trying to enter Palestine. 

In 1948, the British, confined 50,000 Jewish refugees in Cyprus.

Sources: Wikipedia

Christianity and the Byzantine Period in Cyprus

Christianity came to Cyprus with the arrival from Palestine of the apostle Paul in AD 45. He was joined by Barnabas, who was to become the first Cypriot saint.

In the same year, they converted the Roman governor of Cyprus, Sergius Paulus. The new religion spread slowly, until it was adopted as the state religion by Emperor Constantine. His edict of 313 granted Christianity equal status with other religions of his empire. St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, stopped in Cyprus on her way back from Jerusalem, where she had found fragments of the True Cross. She founded Stavrovouni monastery, which is said to house fragments of the cross.

The official division of the Roman realm into an Eastern and Western Empire, in 395 AD naturally left Cyprus on the eastern side of the divide, under the Byzantine sphere of influence. 

As is explained in 'Open Letters from Cyprus' by Raymond Hiscock, the Roman State as one whole empire became ungovernable from Rome alone and in 284 AD when Diocletian came to power it virtually split into West and East Empires. Twenty-nine years later, Constantinus I became Caesar of the whole empire, but being a very shrewd military commander, he soon realised that the western half of the empire based in Rome was becoming increasingly difficult to defend against hoards of barbarians who were constantly making fresh inroads. So he moved his centre of power to Byzantium in the east and renamed it Constantinople.

As Raymond Hiscock goes on to explain, Constantine's early conversion to Christianity along with all of his family, was a major turning point in history and his edict enforcing Christianity as the only permitted religion was in fact the birth of the Christian Orthodox Church with its centre of power in Constantinople. The western empire completely collapsed in AD 493 when an Ostrogothic Kingdom was established in Italy. The eastern empire (Byzantine Commonwealth) kept up Roman institutions and continued to use Latin in its court but Greek superseded Latin as the general language.

The 5th and 6th centuries were flourishing times. The centres of pagan culture linked to the cults of Aphrodite and Apollo (Paphos and Kourion) lost importance, while the role of Salamis increased. Renamed Constantia, it became the island's capital. New towns also arose, such as Famagusta and Nicosia and vast basilicas were built. 

Beginning around 647, the first of a series of pillaging raids by Arabs took place. In the course of the raids, which continued over three centuries, Constantia was sacked and many maginificent buildings were destroyed. 

Raymond Hiscock paints a vivid picture of this time in history, by mentioning that the Orthodox found the Latin mind tortured and legalistic, viewing the soul too much in the colours of darkness and damnation. "Among the small Orthodox Churches to be found tucked way in the Troodos mountains, there is Lagoudera with its icons and frescoes in a dazzling Byzantine style where the prophets do not stare in that familiar wide eyed anguish. Instead they are fleshly and susceptible, their foreheads scarcely ruffled and they move and gesture with courtly breeding" as Colin Thubron writes.

Hiscock explains that the Cypriots are naturally attracted to the dazzling, hybrid Byzantine art and in earlier Medieval times, Cypriot nobles sent their sons to Constantinople to be educated as they felt that the Greek mainland was harsh and unsympathetically masculine.

Limassol...Three Sights

Today, I made my way firstly to the District Archaeological Museum. It was quite a walk, as there is no sufficient parking nearby. The museum was quiet and cool. I browsed the exhibits and was charmed in an instant.

The museum was built in 1975. Inside, you can view artefacts taken from Amathus. Of particular interest, is the famous head of the Egyptian goddess Hathor, which comes from Amathus and was made around 480 BC. The fact that Egyptian gods were also worshipped at Amathus, is confirmed by Hathor and by the small limestone statues of the god Bes.

My next stop, was the Municipal Art Gallery. The gallery, designed by Benjamin Gunzburg, who also designed the Town Hall, was built in the 1930s. Inside there were notable works by the eminent Cypriot artists Victor Ioannides (1903-1984) and Nikos Nikolaides (1884-1956). Also on display, were works by artists who wanted to express their viewpoint on the Cyprus Emergency (1955-1959). Of particular interest in this section of the gallery were quite a few exhibits such as, Andreas Charalambous' Infusion of Ideals, Andreas Makariou The Bible of the Struggle, Andreas Ladomatos  A Tribute to the Pure Ideals of the Struggle for Freedom and Nikos Kouroussis Heroes and the Lost Vision.

I was however particularly drawn to the paintings of Andreas Efesopoulos who donated his 27 oil paintings to the gallery in 2022 as well as the paintings of Spyros Demetriades.

My last and final stop was the Limassol Castle. The earliest reference to the castle is 1228. It acquired its current form after the final conquest of the island by the Ottomans. 

On display are 13th to 16th Century tombstones as well as a headless skeleton which was exhumed in 2001 in Nicosia from the moat in front of the Podocataro Bastion. It belongs to a man in his twenties, obviously a soldier who was beheaded after the city was captured by the Ottomans in 1570.

The stronghold, which is the castle, was built by the Lusignan princes on a foundation erected by the Byzantines. Later, Venetian, Ottoman and British occupiers strengthened its defences. In 1191 the castle chapel, which doesn't exist today, was the venue for the wedding of Richard the Lionheart to Princess Berengaria of Navarre. 

The writer Leto Severis, in her book 'Ladies of Medieval Cyprus and Caterina Cornaro,' describes the wedding in detail. It is taken from George Jeffery's book 'Cyprus Under An English King in the 12th Century.' He describes the wedding in a lot of detail, extracts of which are written below:

The bright May morning of the twelfth of the month-most auspicious of all seasons for matrimony-with its golden dawn and "old ocean's myriad smile" sparkling on the wavelets of a sapphire sea, was heralded by the blare of trumpets on the shores of Amathus Bay.

The ladies taking part in the wedding were all dressed in their most magnificent clothes and jewels: cloth of gold lined with miniver and ermine, stiff embroideries enclosing precious stones, and the still more precious tissues of fine silk, were displayed to the utmost extent considering that the resources available in the baggage of an army on the march were to some extent limited. 

The squalid appearance of a mud-built Levantine town of the twelfth century was covered over to some extent by silken hangings, eastern carpets and the gay heraldic banners brought with them by the Crusaders.

When In Paphos...

This week we visited Paphos. Our first stop, the picturesque village of Kouklia, overlooking the sea. We drove into the village, passing first the Crusader fortress of Cavocle, which protected the large sugarcane plantations on the coastal plain and where Kouklia gets its name. We then passed the old church of Panagia Odigitria just before entering the picturesque village. We were greeted by friendly and welcoming locals, sitting idly drinking their coffees.

Firstly, at the Palaipafos Museum, we were guided to the TV room where an informative documentary explained the importance of Palaipafos in ancient times. The place has often inspired writers and artists and was a place renowned in the ancient world. In the Sanctuary of Aphrodite you can see intricate mosaics on the floor as well as a giant sacred stone, which symbolises the cult of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and fertility who has always been connected to the island of Cyprus. Interestingly, her worship was without icons and only incense was burned to worship her. There were also no blood sacrifices in her honour. The place is a UNESCO site. 

Also of interest is an example of Gothic architecture, a beautiful and inspiring medieval manor house used for cultural events on the island. 

Our next stop was the Tomb of the Kings. The architectural style of many of the tombs here, particularly those in the northern section, reveal the Egyptian influence and were inspired by the Ptolemy tombs in Alexandria.

The tombs have been known and casually explored for centuries. The oldest modern account was written by Richard Pockocke in 1783. Almost a century later in 1870, the first archaeological excavations were conducted by Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the Italian-born American consul to Cyprus.

There is something eerie and mystical about the place. Some of the tombs have been dug very deep into the ground, so it seems as though they didn't want them to be discovered. 

Sources: Eyewitness Travel: Cyprus

Larnaca...Archaeological Museum and Larnaca Castle

On a scorching July morning we made our way to Larnaca. Our first stop was the newly renovated Archaeological Museum. This museum was established in 1969 to house antiquities found in the city and district of Larnaca. Larnaca stands on the site of ancient Kition. The town was founded in the 13th Century BC. 

First of all, we browsed the exhibits taken from Choirokitia, which is one of the oldest settlements found on the island from the Neolithic Period. Of particular interest were stone figurines, stone vessels and bodily adornment. During this time, the burial practices were that the person was buried below the floors of the houses. An exhibit shows the skull covered by a grinding stone as they believed the dead could come back to life.

The Late Bronze Age exhibits were also particularly interesting and vessels on display become more ornamental. Objects of bodily adornment are a frequent find in tombs at this time, including necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Clay bathtubs have been found at various Late Bronze Age sites in Cyprus and are known in the Aegean and the Southern Levant. As well as bathtubs, they could have been used during purification rituals. 

 At this time, there was a great demand for Cypriot copper by the powerful states of the Eastern Mediterranean. By the 13 Century BC, Cyprus played a central role in the international trade networks of the period. In the Maroni River Valley where the river met the sea, an important settlement flourished during this time. 

Also in the Late Bronze Age, textile production became more specialized with large textile workshops developing and excavated at Kition and on display at the museum is an ancient loom. Further down on display were female figurines which were possibly inspired from Syro-Palestinian examples linked with the worship of the goddess Astarte. The bull was also significant at this time, symbolizing power and fertility.

The next phase in the museum were exhibits from Ancient Kition. Kition, like Palaipafos and Idalion were not abandoned at the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Kition underwent a gradual urban development that included the creation and improvement of public spaces such as sanctuaries and streets. Kition managed to annex the neighbouring city-state of Idalion following a military operation as well as the copper-producing city of Tamassos on the northern slopes of Troodos. As it was in the Late Bronze Age, Kition remained a harbour city in the Iron Age. 

The city kingdoms, including Kition were abolished as a result of the annexation of the island by the successors of Alexander the Great. Cyprus was included in the states of the Ptolemies of Egypt as a unified region with Paphos as its capital. Kition however as well as Salamis, maintained their status as important urban centres. Around 1050 BC an earthquake devastated Cyprus and Kition was reduced to rubble. Its inhabitants relocated to Salamis.

Our next stop was the castle. Originally built toward the end of the 14th Century, during the reign of the Lusignan king of Cyprus James I (1382-1398), it gained importance after the capture of Ammochostos by the Genoese in 1374. During the Venetian period it was strengthened, only to be demolished to avoid it being captured by the Ottomans. Following the Ottoman conquest, it was rebuilt in 1625 and used as a prison. By the middle of the 18th Century the castle fell into decline. During British rule, it was used as a police station and a prison until 1948 when it was converted into a District Museum, where you can see helmets and swords of the 15th and 16th Centuries, pictures of Medieval fortifications on the island and the coat of arms of prominent families of that time, such as Cornaro and Visconti. Also on display are Medieval and Ottoman tombstones.

Sources: Cyprus Department of Antiquities

When In Nicosia...

On a peaceful July morning, we made our way to Nicosia and arrived at Archbishop Kyprianou Square. There was a beautiful calm silence about the place. The palace was protected by high fences and the security guard sat in his box. We were disappointed that we couldn't enter the palace as we had planned, but we were excited when we saw President Makarios' cars. 

We made our way to the Folk Art Museum next door, which is housed in the old Archbishopric Palace. Among the highlights in the museum, was a beautiful late 20th century wedding dress with a veil. There were also traditional clothes on display as well as jewellery, church ornaments, chest boxes from the 19th century, traditional beds, a gramophone and an old sewing machine. We got an idea of how traditional life was in 19th century Cyprus. 

Our next stop was the National Struggle Museum. Inside we observed the photo gallery which presented the events in Cyprus between 1955-1958 when the Cypriot population took up an armed struggle against the British. There were particular graphic pictures of those who had died. The place was emotionally charged and we couldn't help but be moved by what had happened during that time. There were photos of those who had been captured by the British before they faced execution. It is interesting to note that 18 year old Evagoras Pallikarides' picture was missing, because it was not found in the British archives. There were also photos of the British interrogators and torturers of that time. We also had a look at Grigoris Afxentiou's belongings and there were photos displaying his charred body after he was burnt alive while hiding in a cave. Among other notable exhibits were Archbishop Makarios' sandals when he was exiled to the Seychelles, a suitcase in which weapons from Greece were transported to Cyprus, objects used as hiding places for transportation of correspondence, binoculars and guns and a duplicator used to print leaflets. 

After this we made our way to the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation where a new exhibition has started about the history of the island. We watched a very informative and moving film, recounting all the important events of the island's history. The exhibition runs until the 30th June 2025. 

We had some lunch and coffee at a quaint cafeteria in Onasagorou Street and walked a little in Ledras Street. 

Nicosia's centre I felt, has a tremendous amount of potential. There are old buildings which desperately need saving and restoration and it is a shame that the Nicosia authorities are not doing everything in their power to save this part of the city. It is the capital after all and surely it should look like one. I loved Nicosia's vibe but it is up to the Nicosians to revive it once again.

Limassol and the Crusades

 In the Middle Ages, Limassol was an important port of call for the Crusaders in their effort to liberate the Holy Land and secure their economic interests such as trade between East and West as well as the silk route to the Orient. The Third, Sixth and Seventh Crusades in particular were associated with the island, especially Limassol, as a necessary base for their expeditions and to collect provisions and ammunition.

The English king, Richard the Lionheart, together with France's King Philip II Augustus and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa led the Third Crusade to the Holy Land and crushed the resistance of the last independent leader of Cyprus, Isaac Komnenos. Richard then became the new ruler of the island. It is said that in 1191, on his way to take part in the Third Crusade, a storm wrecked some of his ships.Those on board included his sister Joanna, Queen of Sicily and his fiance Berengaria of Navarre. He regarded the behaviour of Isaac Komnenos as insulting towards the women and perhaps used it as a pretext to capture the island that was so necessary for his campaign.

A massacre and looting followed, with the result that the inhabitants rebelled and forced Richard, within a year of his conquest, to sell the island to the Knight's Templar, a religious and military order founded to protect Christ's tomb in Jerusalem. This would help to raise funds for his army. The Knight's Templar were founded 1119 to protect those on pilgrimage to the holy places of the Middle East. 

It is interesting to note that Frederick II of Germany, the leader of the Sixth Crusade, landed in Limassol in 1228 and recognising Cyprus' strategic importance, tried unsuccessfully to take over the island from the Lusignans.

Also, King Louis IX of France, who led the Seventh Crusade, stopped off in Limassol for six months, primarily to gather ammunition and supplies on his way to liberate Egypt in 1248.

Sources: Cyprus Tourist Organisation Leaflet