Friends and family have asked us, why Cyprus and where exactly is it. Europeans come here year after year for the fabulous beaches, diving opportunities and reasonably priced lifestyle and Cypriot hospitality. Not being big beach people, we came to explore the geography and history of this beautiful island.
Cyprus has had a long, turbulent history. I expect I'll mention it throughout our week here, but thought
I’d start with an overview to provide a frame of reference.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. It is roughly the size of Vermont, with a population of 1.2 million people. People have lived here since at least the 10th millennium BC. Its strategic location in the eastern Mediterranean (encircled by Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Egypt) and its copper mines led to its occupation by a long list of invaders: Persians, Assyrians, Egyptians (twice), Alexander the Great, Roman Empire (twice), Byzantines, Venetians, Arab Caliphates, French Lusignan Dynasty, the Ottoman Empire and the British.
Cyprus was placed under British administration in 1878 as a result of the Cyprus Convention, a secret agreement between the UK and the Ottoman Empire. Britain subsequently annexed Cyprus in 1914 at the start of World War I. With a majority population in Northern Cyprus (but at the time only 18% of the total island population), Turkish Cypriots began to petition in the 1950s for partition of the island into a northern Turkish state. Meanwhile, the majority Greek Cypriots and the Orthodox Church were pursuing union with Greece. The Republic of Cyprus was granted independence from England in 1960, but tensions and violence continued between the Turkish and Greek factions. In July 1974, the Greek army, with support from Greek Cypriots, staged a coup in an attempt to incorporate Cyprus as a Greek state. Five days later the Turkish army invaded and captured territory in Northern Cyprus. 150,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced. In 1983, a unilateral declaration in the north established a Turkish Cypriot state in Northern Cyprus. Today, the state continues to be recognized only by Turkey. The rest of the world views Northern Cyprus as de facto part of the Republic of Cyprus, albeit occupied by Turkey. Slashing across Cyprus from northwest to southeast is the United Nations buffer zone, or Green Line, partitioning the island in two. In 2003, checkpoint crossings were established along the Green Line. Today there are seven official border crossings, two of which are for pedestrians only.
The Republic of Cyprus is Greek-speaking, with the Euro as currency. The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) speaks Turkish and uses the Turkish lira. Greek Cypriots are predominantly Greek Orthodox, while most Turkish Cypriots adhere to Sunni Islam.
We picked up our rental car at the Larnaca airport. I'd arranged ahead of time for the paperwork needed to take the car to the Occupied Area. The rental agent commented that he was surprised to see Americans, as he seldom sees them in Cyprus.
We are a bit apprehensive about navigating here. Cypriots drive on the left side of the road, which I’ve done before. We have a good road map of the island, both north and south. Everything on the map is labeled with two names – Anglicized Greek and “real” (alpha, beta, lamda) Greek letters. But that won’t be too helpful in the TRNC, as the cities there now have Turkish names. Our first night is in Famagusta (Greek) / Gazimağusa (Turkish). We’ve printed detailed road maps from Google Maps to show the turns to our accommodations each night, but know this is going to be an adventure. As we'd planned to spend our first two nights in Northern Cyprus, we got an early experience of the border crossing.
We have a GPS from the rental car company but, as they warned us, it quit working as soon as we reached the UN buffer zone. We reached the checkpoint, handed the guard our passports and proof of car insurance for Northern Cyprus, and were waved through. No passport stamp, nor paper visa. Hopefully it will be this easy when we cross back to the Republic of Cyprus in a couple of days.
So on we went to Famagusta, which was only a few miles beyond the checkpoint. We ducked through a little entryway in the old Venetian walls and scouted around unto we found our guesthouse.
Land Gate into the walled city.
Greg is waving atop the wall, about a third of the way in from the left.
The city was founded in the third century B.C. by the Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus. It remained a relatively small fishing port until the 13th century when it became a refuge for Christians fleeing Palestine during the Crusades.
Famagusta quickly became one of the richest cities in the world, a center of commerce between Europe and the kingdoms ringing the eastern Mediterranean. The city was so opulent and decadent that it provoked criticism by the devout. In response, the wealthy financed construction of elaborate and lavishly decorated churches, ostentatiously flaunting their piety. Genoa captured the city in 1372, followed by the Venetians in 1489. Immense Venetian walls and bastions still enclose the old city, but they failed to prevent the fall of the city to the Ottomans in 1571 after a bloody 13 months siege. An estimated 100,000 cannonballs were fired at the city, leaving many of the churches and palaces in ruins. Some of the buildings were repurposed to serve the now-Muslim Ottoman population (mosques, fountains, public baths, a bazaar, etc) but much of the damage was never repaired. Today, much of Famagusta has had a facelift and there is a small but dedicated tourism infrastructure. Other sections remain in a ruined Gothic time warp.
Over 3 million euros were recently invested in preserving the walls and monuments within the city. The restorations led to the opening of a few guesthouses, and travelers can now stay within the walled city. We are staying at the Mystery Garden Guesthouse, run by a delightful couple, Birsem and Tomar. Birsem was born in the house. She used to rent apartments around her courtyard. He is a retired policeman. Three years ago they opened their guesthouse.
The courtyard is a riot of plants. At breakfast we got to sample the olives and jams they produce from their garden. Caged birds sing all day.
This chicken made us laugh every time we saw it. It looks like a cross between Angela Davis and Big Bird.
The Old Town of Famagusta lies within its massive Venetian Walls. Nearly 50 feet high and up to 25 feet thick and surrounded by a now dry moat, they were considered impenetrable until the relentless bombardment by the Ottomans in 1571. Thanks to the ongoing restoration project, you can walk on sections of the wall for fine views over the Old Town and an appreciation of the size of the fortifications. The walls have 14 ramparts and 5 gates.
There are 3 ways to invade a walked city: climb over the walls, blast through them or burrow beneath. Venetians built walls on rocky outcrops where possible, precluding the latter option. The fortified city walls were never breached. The Venetians eventually surrendered to the Ottomans when their remaining forces were starved and ill. 6000 of 8000 had died. 450 years after the fall of Famagusta, one can still spot an occasional cannonball embedded in the walls.
Our guesthouse is near Othello Tower (or Castle). Othello’s Tower was built in the 14th century by the Lusignans to protect the city’s port, and was later incorporated into the Venetian Walls The building’s crumbling stonework was saved by a 2014 restoration. The Venetian Lion, carved into the stonework, continues to stand guard above the entrance.
The structure has 4 towers, a dining hall and barracks. There is a loose link to Shakespeare: his namesake play is set in “a seaport in Cyprus.” The Othello Tower in Cyprus was named after a Venetian governor in 1406, a century before Shakespeare wrote his play, and it's unlikely this Othello is the Moor described by the bard. We had planned to tour the castle, but it was closed. It's Friday, the first day of the weekend in Muslim countries, or maybe they are starting November hours early.
Punctuating Famagusta's skyline is the finest example of Lusignan Gothic architecture in Cyprus: the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.
Inspired by the Cathedral of Reims in France, the former Cathedral of Agios (Saint) Nicholas was built between 1298 and 1326, during the heyday of Famagusta's lavish ecclesiastic construction. The form is typical of Crusader architecture: three doors, twin towers flanking the aisles and a flat roof. The tops of the twin towers were damaged by earthquakes, and further damaged during the Ottoman siege in 1571. After Famagusta fell to the Ottomans, the cathedral was converted to a mosque. A minaret now reaches up from the base of one of the original twin towers. In keeping with Islamic fashion, nearly all statuary, crosses, stained glass, frescoes, altars and paintings in the former cathedral were removed or plastered over, The Gothic structure, however, was preserved.
Just outside the mosque are a pair of Mufti tombs
and a tenacious sycamore fig that has been hanging on since 1299. The tree survived the Ottoman bombardment, Venetian and Genovese conquests, and a slew of other political changes. All that fighting and death for temporal gains, and what remains are ruins and an old tree.
Across the plaza from the Lala Mustafa are the ruins of
Palazzo del Provveditore, commonly known as the Venetian Palace.
This royal palace, built around 1300, is a rare example of Renaissance architecture in Cyprus. The bulk of the palace is in ruins, destroyed during the Ottoman bombardment. Somehow the triple-arched grand façade and back courtyard walls have survived. The columns and stones making up the front arches are made from materials salvaged from the Roman city of Salamis, which we will visit tomorrow.
Some of the othere old buildings in the walled city:
St George of the Latins Church. Early Gothic architecture
Ottoman Bath House c. 1605.
St. Francis Church
Twin Churches of the Templars and Hospitaliers (We stuck our heads in the one on the right because we noticed the door has been opened when we walked by after dark. To our surprise, it was a little bar.
The next morning we had a nice breakfast in the guesthouse garden, and were on our way.
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