life in a non-existent state of being [part III]

Day 4: Wednesday May 22, 2007

For our last day in Cyprus, Ryan and I decided that spending it in Gazimagusa [gahzeemaoosa]/Famagusta would be a swell idea. So, we woke up and ate our complimentary breakfast before taking the dolmus to Girne. From Girne we caught another dolmus to Gazimagusa which put us in town an hour later, approximately 11 am.

Gazimagusa is split into two sections: the new part [boring] and the old part [interesting]. Upon arriving, we skipped the modern city—we didn’t really need to hit up the bank and gambling wasn’t on the agenda for the day—and headed straight to the old part of town.

The Old City houses a number of different historical sites and is surrounded by a set of beautiful walls. People still live in the old city and, while it is filled with a number of little tourist shops, it is nice to see that it is still used by regular residents.

Walking into the Old City through the main entrance, we crossed over a gigantic drawbridge and under a spiky metal gate—you know, traditional castle style. Inside, the streets and buildings were mostly stone, or brick. It was a delicate, quaint, and blissfully quiet little town…a wonderfully relaxing place to spend the day.

Upon entering the city, our first priority was to find a bathroom…boy, did we have to pee! So, Ryan has the good sense to go into one the coiffure shop and ask the owner where there is a bathroom. He was kind enough to let us use it. I went first while Ryan talked to the man and his son. Then I came out and had this delightful little conversation with him:

A: Thank you very much for your hospitality.

C: Don’t mention it! And you don’t have to worry—it’s very clean. It’s small, but I clean it every day. You know, to avoid AIDS and other such diseases.

Yep. There is no way I’m gonna be getting AIDS from that toilet seat. Phew! I was really worried, but he laid my fears to rest…ha!!

We talked with the man a bit longer—he was incredibly kind—and got ourselves a restaurant suggestion in the Old City. He said it was not only impeccably clean but also the only place that made traditional Cypriot food. Sounded good to us…especially knowing his standards of cleanliness! After thanking him profusely and, of course, declining tea, we left and continued on our tour of the town.

The Old City is quite small and easy to walk around. We didn’t walk the walls themselves, but they are supposed to be filled with neat little gates, bridges, and bastions. Within the walls are sights that range through history. We didn’t see everything—much is in ruins and we were kind of ruined out—but some of the highlights included:

1. The Royal Palace of the Lusignans--all that remains is a set of stone archways that lead into a little courtyard filled with cannons and cannonballs [odd?]. During Ottoman rule the palace was converted into a prison.

2. The jail cell of Namik Kemal--a prominent Turkish writer who was exiled to Cyprus [it was dark and gloomy, no pictures].

3. A crazy tree

4. Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque/St. Nicholas Cathedral--originally built during Lusignan rule, this cathedral was converted to a mosque when the Ottoman’s captured the city from the Venetians. A minaret was added by the Ottomans, jarring the beautiful, identifiably cathedral-like, façade. Inside, it is comparatively mosquey, but the long stained-glass windows throughout the hall are reminiscent of the church’s original architecture. Many of the other mosques in Cyprus are similarly converted churches.

5. The King of Famagusta--Ruler of the Tour, he’s the self-proclaimed tourguide supreme in Gazimagusa. I can make no statements on the legitimacy of his claim as I did not take his tour. However, since was the only tour guide in Gazimagusa, I kinda believe him…

After the sights our tummies were rumbling a bit, so we decided to try the restaurant the coiffure had suggested. They had two set menus and I didn’t recognize any of the dishes. So, we randomly picked something comprised of…well, all I could understand was that it was “meat with spinach-like vegetable.”

And well, that's what it was...but, it was pretty darned delicious and nice to have some home-cooked food. The owner took a liking to us, once he found out we were Americans [not such a hard thing to determine], and insisted on talking politics [uugghhh]. He was nice enough, though. Not too critical. So, at his request, we gave him our contact info. I haven't heard from him yet and I don't think Ryan has either.

After declining several offers of tea and coffee we finally got our butts out of the restaurant. I wanted some postcards and we both needed cash, so we went searching around a bit for those things.

At that point, we decided we were over the Old City and it was time to move on. So, we hopped in a cab and headed off to Salamis, ruins of an ancient Roman city.

It was pretty desolate out there and we didn’t know if we’d be able to get a cab back to the main part of town. The last dolmus back to Girne left around 5:30 pm and it was about 2 o’clock when we got to Salamis, so there we were going to have to move pretty quickly through the site.

Salamis was immediately impressive. The entranceway brought us through a set of stone arches into a spectacular gymnasium, surrounded by large marble columns and filled with a number of headless statues. The columns were huge and there were also some nice mosaics remaining on the pathways.

We were, however, a bit skeptical about the locative originality of the sculptures--one of them was placed all too perfectly for photos.

Nonetheless, they were fantastic. Over by the theater there was even one that was headless with its head still somewhat attached! Apparently, when the Christians came threw they beheaded them all. I don't know why this one got to keep it's head and why it has a cross on it, but details.

After meandering through and past the gymnasium the site became significantly less interesting. We walked through sections of ruined walls and followed poorly marked paths to find the Roman baths and a stadium. It was nice, but this was no Ephesus.

After the theater, we got ourselves a bit lost while trying to follow the posted maps. We came upon another group and Ryan thought the guy in front was a private guide, so we followed them for awhile. Then we discovered that they were just as confused as we were.

Our time was running short and the path was long, so we saw what we saw and were pretty content with that. Some of the stuff on the map wasn’t even there—apparently, there are still more areas to be excavated.

Eventually, we came upon a small footpath trodden by numerous other tired visitors who just wanted to get to the beach. While there was still a bit more to see, Ryan and I were hot and the beach looked gorgeous. So, we too took the path.

And yes, the beach was wonderful. We were the only people there, save for one strange speedo donning man who kept doing weird things and staring at us. The water was clear and the perfect temperature. We didn’t have a lot of time, only about half-an-hour, but we managed to soak in the atmosphere a good bit.

Walking along the beach, we slowly headed back to the entrance area of Salamis. There we found a little café and a more formally set-up pier and beach. With the little time we had left, we munched on Magnums [going to the beach isn’t going to the beach unless you eat ice cream!] and enjoyed the view. It’s great when you travel and it’s not high season—peaceful and empty, you can actually enjoy and appreciate what you’re seeing!

Up the hill, back at the entrance, we asked the people at a restaurant where we could find a cab. Graciously, they called one for us and we went out front to wait. In the meantime, we played shadow games and this great one of Ryan came up—see how his arm makes a heart! Aww, how sweeeeeeeeet! Heh.

We got back to center city and caught the dolmus to Girne. From there we headed back to the hotel, just in time to catch the sunset over the sea. After hopping in the shower we went off to have a last dinner. The people at the desk recommended a restaurant at another hotel nearby, which turned out to be wonderful. We sat on a large open deck, right next to the sea, and had a delightful meal. I didn’t really know what to order, so I asked the waiter his suggestion. Oddly, every time we asked “well how is XYZ” he’d respond with the list of ingredients, rather than an opinion. Then again, I’ve received a number of befuddled looks when I ask waiters at restaurants in Turkey for recommendations…I guess they just don’t do that here.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and slept slept slept. The next morning, we sadly said "toodle-oo" to the great view and the hilarious Hitit Bet: The Future of Betting sign to get ourselves to the airport. From there, we caught a flight to Antalya for a relatively uneventful but enjoyable three day Fulbright conference on the beach. Not such a bad way to reacquaint ourselves with Turkey!

Cyprus is a wonderful and easy place for travel, especially if you’re just taking a short trip. I could have used another two days—I’d like to explore the south a bit more—but I feel generally content with the time we had. The great thing about the island is that it has a rich history but isn’t too large. This set-up allows for a program with a nice balance of both sightseeing and beach sitting. We saw a lot but didn’t feel rushed—it was definitely a great place for an interesting and relaxing little spur-of-the-moment trip!