You Got Cyprus! This is a journal meant to introduce a local's unifying perspective about the divided island of Cyprus.

Orchiduary [The Sequel]

CYPRUS | Monday, 27 Mar 2017 | Views [462]

I'm "forced" to come back to yesterday's theme, as I would like to be fair to the orchids and other flowers which graced my day with their presence, in yet another great, uphill-downhill-dressed-in-cloud-and-mist hike, this time above the village of ... Read more >

Orchiduary

CYPRUS | Monday, 27 Mar 2017 | Views [470]

O-rchi-du-a-ry [noun]: * a) The name given to the month of the year when Cypriot Orchids typically blossom. eg. January, February, Orchiduary ... etc. b) The name given to the obituary of an Orchid following the completion of its blossoming period, ... Read more >

Here Come the Brides

CYPRUS | Monday, 27 Mar 2017 | Views [431]

How else could I describe the thousands of blossomed almond, peach, plum and cherry trees that we come across in the city streets, villages and open fields of Cyprus between February and April? White and pink, large and small, and with a subtle scent ... Read more >

Papouts.....what!?

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [525]

Pa – pou – tsó – si – ka! “Shoe figs”, man, what don’t you get?! :) I don’t know about you, but I find it very funny that in Cypriot Greek we call the prickly-pear, Opuntia ficus-Indica cactus ... Read more >

Tags: fruit, language

Traditional food products: Check!

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [643]

Most of the times I am on my way from Nicosia to the Troodos mountain range for a hike, I will make a stop at the traditional bakery and local products store called “O Dípiros Ártos” (Ο Δίπυρο... Read more >

Tags: food, halloumi, traditional products, troodos mountains

Does it snow in Cyprus?

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [414]

Yes, it does! With its height of 1952 meters, the Troodos (pronounced Tró-o-dos) mountain range receives the majority of snow flakes falling on the island between December and March*, with the Pentadaktylos/Besparmak range (of 1024 meters height) ... Read more >

Dead or Alive?

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [467]

They call it the “Dead Zone”. Yet, it is quite the opposite. It is all alive and well, thank you! This is the strip of land (aka buffer zone) running 180km from the East to the West of Cyprus, dividing the northern from the southern part ... Read more >

Tags: political history

The odds of finding cats in Cyprus...

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [535]

… are just as high as the odds of you breathing while you are reading this story! 100%!!!! Actually, make that 2 million% ! That’s the estimated number of cats on the island!!! Yes, that IS more than all the humans living here.... Read more >

Tags: cats, urban legends

Coffee Tales

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [665]

Not surprisingly, even the coffee in Cyprus has an identity crisis. Depending on where you sit on the island, you will be expected to say either Cypriot coffee or Turkish coffee to mean the same thing. [The citizens of Greece call it Greek coffee, ... Read more >

Tags: coffee, political history

Hamammmmmm

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [555]

The Ottoman rule in Cyprus between 1571-1878 unsurprisingly led to the appearance of a number of public baths (hamams) for the cleansing, relaxation and social networking of the people of that time. Both of the two hamams which are still in operation ... Read more >

Tags: architecture, famagusta, hamam, nicosia, paphos, relaxation, walled city

Three in a row

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [581]

Little did the Lusignan Kings imagine, when they were expanding and reinforcing the 3 Byzantine fortifications on the Pentadaktylos/Besparmak mountain range in the 13th century, that these sites would become one of the island's most magical places to ... Read more >

Tags: hiking, medieval castles, mountains

LaLe Land

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [596]

I can't stress enough how beautiful Cyprus becomes in the spring! Knowing how the island heats and dries up in the summer, makes the experience of the colors, scents and sights of the spring season even more precious. Among the flowers that bloom ... Read more >

Tags: coast, flowers, hiking, spring

Cavo Gre.at

CYPRUS | Thursday, 23 Mar 2017 | Views [554]

I invite you to have a look at the map of Cyprus - looks a bit like an electric guitar, don't you think!? You will notice 5 main points sticking out of the "body" of this guitar. Starting from Nicosia and going clockwise: The long Karpasia peninsula, ... Read more >

Tags: coast, diving, hiking, spring