Cyprus Day 1 / Wandering the World

With an 03:30 alarm, I knew sleep would be at a premium, but sometimes to have an adventure you need to sacrifice some comforts, and in particular: sleep. It wasn’t even 04:00 on this cold winter morning, and I was awake, and getting ready to head to Gatwick Airport. I still felt half asleep, but fortunately I’d driven most of the way to the airport the night before, and now after defrosting my car it was simply a matter of finding a parking spot in the Long Stay carpark, and taking the regular airport shuttle to the north terminal. This shuttle runs every ten or so minutes, and takes around that to reach the terminal as well. Bag drop was already open when I got there, so it was later than I’d normally arrive, but it was worth it for the extra minutes of sleep.

Once I’d dropped my checked bag off, I made my way to security. Unusually I’d booked the fast security option for £5.00 to give me more time as I wanted to be sure that I’d have time for an early breakfast on the other side and wasn’t sure how tight on time I could be. I never got chance to use this though as there was no premium security option there!

Last time I was here it’d been on my way to Guernsey, and had spent most of my time in a quiet part of the airport, and couldn’t remember the restaurant options from then - if they were even the same now. Though I was unsure if last time it was the north or south terminal but I’d definitely been in this one before. I decided on Starbucks for a simple breakfast and the gate was announced just a few minutes later. I carried my tea and breakfast to the gate, and then tried to sit down but my bag swung around and bashed my hand holding my tea. Whilst the tea no longer seemed to be around the temperature of the surface of the sun, it was still very hot splashing over my hand. I should really have run it under a cold tap, but felt it’d probably be okay.

With my tickets I’d got speedy boarding so was able to be one of the first to board the plane - making sure I’d be able to stow my cabin bag away safely as I like to. The flight was delayed slightly due to air traffic restrictions, but seemed to make up most of that in the air. Despite being so tired from the early start, the flight passed quickly.

Arriving in Paphos there were a few spots of rain. I hoped this wasn’t a sign of things to come. The passport control was very quick though and my backpack was one of the first off the plane. Finding the place to get the airport taxi was not easy. The confirmation said it was outdoors but I couldn’t see anything. I eventually asked a person and they sent me out near the car rentals, but I couldn’t see it. I then asked a Tui rep, and they told me it was actually inside due to a regulation change. I then found it quickly, and they made a call to the driver. He met me outside and began the ninety minute drive to Nicosia, with intermittent rain showers on the way.

The Kipros Accommodation cost €90 for two nights, and was simple. The kettle however turned out to have a North American plug, but no suitable sockets in the room. As I thought I wouldn’t need my adapter or the heating element, I had neither available to use for making warm drinks. I quickly got myself sorted and headed out into Nicosia in the general direction of the Shacolas Tower. This seemed like it’d be a good viewpoint but sadly I never found the entrance. I did find Eleftheria Square though, and this is a nice wide open space with modern architecture.

As the tower would be closing any minute I accepted I wouldn’t find it in time and walked in in the direction of Kathedrale Agios Ioannis - St. John’s Cathedral, and photographed a mosque on the way there. What I didn’t find out until later though was that the big building I thought was the cathedral was not it - it was actually a smaller building that I did not see. The one I saw, and went inside, was the Church of St. Barnabas and St. Makarios which dwarves the other one. To the side of this is the Archbishop’s Palace, but I didn’t realise this immediately.

From there I wanted to find the Liberation Monument, but the compass on my map was reversed, and I went the wrong way. I did come across the first friendly cat of the trip though. This diversion meant I went a long way around and passed an archaeological site by the new town hall - I’d not known it was there so sometimes getting lost does have its benefits. I then passed the front of the Archbishop’s Palace, which was on my list of sights to photograph, but not knowing this was it, I wondered what it was, and if it was something people were allowed to photograph as it looked very Governmental. So I didn’t.

Across the road from the Liberation Monument is an old aqueduct inside the city walls. The wall is something I followed when then looking for somewhere to eat. I passed CG Three Brothers on the way and bought water and some breakfast supplies. I struggled with a restaurant though. I passed Burger King and McDonald’s knowing they’d be a last resort, but I wanted local food.

I found a small front for one called To Anamma, where I could see them carving up kebab meat. The photographic menu outside shown all sorts of local dishes, so it seemed like this could be a good choice. A server led me through to the garden at the back for a table. I decided on moussaka and Fanta for €12.80. The moussaka was made from courgettes, seaweed, potato, pork in béchamel sauce, and some bits I didn’t recognise. In some ways it was like lasagna I guess. It also included this small creamy dessert in a pot as part of the price.

I figured I could find my way back to the hotel without a map, so walked to the Ledra Street border crossing point. It was good to know how close this actually was to the hotel. I then walked along the border, looking at the haphazard constructions that were used as a border wall. It only took a few minutes from there before I was back, and settled in for the night.