Since I’m here in Cyprus until tomorrow, I thought I would write about it for my Med. Monday topic. Technically, it is a Mediterranean Country, so it fits in nicely.
From Tel Aviv to Larnaca, it is only a 50 minute flight. Cyprus is a small island right off the coast of Israel, and it is a popular destination for Israeli’s to go on holiday. When my nephew found out I was going to Cyprus he asked me, “What will you do there for 5 days on an island?” He’s been watching too much Survivor!
I few into Larnaca, on the south-east coast of the country, but actually stayed in Nicosia, which is the capitol. Nicosia is located in the middle of the country, about a 30 minute drive from the airport.
There are many differences from Tel Aviv, one being that pretty much everyone speaks English. I didn’t have to worry about the language barrier at all. In Tel Aviv people walk everywhere, compared to Nicosia where no one really walks. Many times I was the only one walking, which I didn’t mind at all. Cyprus uses the Euro, which makes everything so expensive (and I thought living in TA was expensive!) My daily trip to Starbucks (yes, I did find one there) cost me about 5 Euros for a grande, which is more than a grande in the states cost. Sometimes its just worth it though!
One thing that is similar is the night life. Cypriots are night owls, as are Israeli’s. It must be a Mediterranean thing, cuz restaurants don’t even open till 8pm here.
The interesting thing about Cyprus is that 30% is Turkey’s land and 70% is Greece’s. It might not sound like a lot, but for a country of only about 700,000 it ends up being a large area. The Turkish border runs right into Nicosia, so I got to go and check it out for myself. Not going into a whole political speel, but its not exactly a wanted situation (on both sides)
Overall, it was a nice 5 days…short but sweet. I got some rest, got to see some sights, and meet some new people. Thanks to my friend, Demus, I even stayed at his house for free! What a blessing that is. Next time I come to Cyprus though, I will go to Paphos and check out all the historical sites…but thats another visa trip!
P.S. I heard today that ‘supposedly’ the ancient city of gold, Atlantis, is located under the island of Cyprus and scientists/archeologists are discovering parts of it as we speak……but thats just the word on the street here 🙂
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