Cyprus Part Two

Hi,
Part Two of Cyprus,  We took the Red Bus trip Village Tour,  I hope you will find this interesting,  well I will try and tell you little more about Cyprus.
The above picture is Cape Greko the most easterly point of Europe,   not the best picture but the bus trip did not stop any nearer,   If you go up there and watch the sunrise you will be the first person in Europe to see the sunrise,   this is where Europe starts or ends depending on how you look at the map,  Syria is only 74 miles away from Cyprus,  so you could say the middle East is only 74 miles away,  Turkey to the north of the Island is in Asia.
This is the memorial to the four men who fought for independence known locally as the "Battle of the Barn" they were held up in the barn for four days and the british tried everything to get them out in the end they set fire to the barn and they were shot when they came out.   This war between the British and the Cyprus lasted from 1955 to 1959,  in 1964 Cyprus became independent although we still have three bases on the island.

This is the new church of St Thekla,  Thekla was a woman who they tried to execute back in the .... and I can't remember when sorry but after she lived they let her go and she went and live in the cave and became a nun,   today the cave is still in use as a church and they have built her a new church in her memory.   The cave is one of the oldest known places of worship on Cyprus and candles are lit daily in the church.  In the photo you can just see the steps down to the cave.

This is Achna a deserted village since 1974 when the Turks invaded Cyprus,   It was a thriving village before 1974,  even the cemetery has been moved over to the Cyprus side so the families can visit the graves of their families.
See the white post sticking up,  you would not want to go near the post, it marks razor wire and barbed wire plus there are landmines,   the other side is the Turks this is the dividing line,   the line which the British agreed before Turkey walked in and the British.  Today Cyprus is still a divided island occupied by Turkey.  the UN keep the peace between them,  it is the longest UN duty ever.   At the moment the duty of keeping the peace is being done by the British and the Argentines.  
This is a Turkish watchtower do not make a mistake they are armed and ready to shot. The guide said wave he will wave back,  we all did and he did wave back.     At the moment they are getting a lot of immigrants trying to cross into Europe yes that is now Asia across that line,  they think they can cross the line so they hide during the day and try and cross at night,  many never make it,   the land mines get them first.   This is an illegal occupation, Turkey wants to join the EU,  but until they get out of Cyprus they will never join.

These are some home of the refuges from the Famagusta Area,  in total there was 45,00 refuges,  they will not move out of the refuge homes because they say when they can they will go home.   There homes are occupied by the Turks,  but its these people who hold the deeds to the properties,  they were ordered to leave everything, they walked away with just their clothes on their backs and anything they could carry.

The ghost town of Varosha,   this town had two six star hotels,  it was the riches resort in the mediterranean.  There are many five star hotels,  everyone was ordered to leave including tourists,   there belongs are still in the hotels,   food still in the restaurants,  no one lives in Varosha.  It is a ghost town.  There are two car showrooms full of what was brand new cars never been on the roads still sitting in the showrooms waiting for someone to drive them.

Close up of Varosha









This is the church as you arrive into Protaras, called St Elias,   the wishing church,   there are over 170 steps to the top,   its called the wishing church and there is a tree outside which you can tie your wish to the church and hope it comes true.


Cyprus is the one of the most fertile island in the mediterranean sea,   they grow three crops of potatoes a year,  why is their ground so fertile,  there ground is rich in copper which the romans dug out,  but the water id not fit to drink hence its bottle water only to drink on Cyprus,  they also have septic tanks and where does the water go from the septic tanks down into the ground and into the water table,  this is the water which is pumped up to water the field and crops,  Plants have a way of filtering the bad parts of the water out and using the good parts hence the ground is very fertile,  crops also include, oranges, watermelons, figs, peaches, apples, strawberries,  and of course Olives,   the green olives are picked first then the black olives are the ones left on the trees the longest,  no they don't have green and black olive trees,  Olives are from the same plant its just the colour that changes with the length of time left on the tree.

That ends the Red Bus ride,   If you go to Protaras do go on the trip,  there is more and hopefully one day the Turks will leave Cyprus and we can visit more of the Island.
This is Protaras,   This is the fountain where the picture of me,  yes that is me with the man on stilts I could just about reach him to shake his hand,  he was making balloon animals for the kids.  I am small only 5ft 2ins he made me feel about 5 inches tall.

This is Fig Tree Bay,   beautiful beach, that is an island just off the beach,  do visit Fig Tree bay its lovely

Another picture of the island taken from the top of the beach.



Two more picture of Fig Tree Bay.

This is a Sea Daffodil a bulbous perennial herb,  flowers mid August to October in Sandy coasts of the mediteen towards Caspian and Black sea areas.

I photo the piece that was beside the flower,  I have enlarged it and cut off the other languages

 This is another beach nearer to our hotel,  the sand was golden and fine and when the wind blow,  the sand did fly.

 This is the Black Pearl Ship,  they do daily trips around the coast,  the captain was Jack Sparrow,   we did not do this trip,  we felt it would be too much for me this time in Cyprus.

 This is us having a drink just before we left Cyprus,  sorry to leave but it was 40+,  that was a welcome drink,  As we say goodbye to Cyprus it is one holiday we would recommend.  I hope you enjoyed my piece sorry it was in two halfs,  but there was a lot to get in.

Until we meet again take care

                            Hugs

                        Margaret