I wanted to write something about Cyprus for a while now. Actually, when I started this blog I thought it would be a collection of both my memories of life as an expat over there, as well as my new life in Ireland. Turned out it’s not that simple. If I really wanted to go for it, I should start a blog separately about that.
Unfortunately, my Cyprus experience is over for more than a year now. Since I did not have a blog back then, the thoughts of a fresh Cyprus expat are lost forever. Same for the thoughts of a fresh Ireland expat (as I only started this blog after spending about a year here already).
Still, it’s never too late for memories. Cyprus is a great little island, with friendly climate and people. They speak Greek over there, but English is the second official language, and the place is a favourite among British and Irish tourists alike. I had a great time over there, and my most fond memories are related to the weather, which is at the extreme opposite of Irish weather (it’s sunny 9 months a year over there…)
Cyprus has a few similarities to Ireland, from the most obvious (they’re both islands!) to the British connection (they both were once under British rule, and have English as one of the official languages spoken). They both also have “trouble up north”, albeit Ireland’s troubles are over for a while now. The northern part of Cyprus is under Turkish occupancy since 1974. The flag of the Republic of Cyprus is showing the full island, a strong sign that they are not going to recognize the turkish side any time soon. Time will tell, but I think it will be interesting to see how the issue will be solved politically, especially since Turkey wants to join the EU, of which Cyprus is already a member.
I was living in Limassol, on the greek side of the island - probably the most southern city in the EU. The current header photo of this blog is actually taken on a remote beach on the north side of the island. We visited the “turkish side” with a group of friends in August 2006, and slept on the beach, one of the most pleasant experiences I had. The thing I remember best is that the moon was full, and it was shining so strong, that it felt as if the light was on in your bedroom. However, since there was no other light around, one could clearly see the Milky Way in all its glory! Such a beautiful sight, too bad that due to light pollution in cities, few modern people get to see it at all in their lives.
Cyprus is more mountaneous than Ireland, the highest peak being Mount Olympus at 1953m (highest in Ireland is Carrauntoohil at 1038m). On new year’s day in 2006, I took the following picture from the top of one of the hills near Limassol:
