Cyprus 2017, part 1 (Larnaca)
When Snezana proposed we went to Cyprus, I promptly discarded her suggestion by saying: “I’ve already been there.” Later I thought a little bit more and realized this was silly for two reasons. The first one is that it doesn’t matter how many times we go to places that we like and the second one was that I actually did not remember much of Cyprus for I was there 30 years ago!
As a matter of fact, Cyprus is exceptionally important in my life of a traveller. It was the first destination to which I went alone. I was in my early 20’s and I already worked. That meant that I had a salary that was quite good and since I lived with my parents, my salary was also my pocket money. My mom and dad simply did not want to charge me for living with them. On the other hand, the fact that I worked also meant that I had a limited number of free days every year. At the same time, my friends had free time almost as much as they liked, but they still depended on the pocket money they received from their parents. And so, when I said I was planning to go to Cyprus for a short vacation, nobody offered to join me and I found myself in a serious dilemma: should I stay or should I go?
And then I realized: I will either learn and get used to travel alone or I may get stuck in Belgrade forever. Let me clear something up, I love Belgrade very much and as I’ve already written in my first text on this site, I love to return to Belgrade, but, frankly speaking, I also love to go to some other places and parts of the world every now and then.
A friend of mine gave me a bunch of practical advice as regards Cyprus at the time and passed on very positive impressions of another friend who had recently returned from her stay there, so I went into this adventure that was completely new to me with a lot of faith. And it all went very well. I met some Cypriots with whom I hanged around a few times, I went on a tour to the mountain of Trodos, visited some places I could reach by coach and thus I spend a week on this Mediterranean island. By the way, when I say Cyprus, I mean the Greek part of the island, i.e., the Republic of Cyprus.
This time, the circumstances were completely different. Now I had a lot of free time, as well as a friend who could fit well with my timing. On the other hand, we were both more than ready for a GOOD rest. Each one of us works a lot, runs around like crazy, “has to” manage and do it all, and we both know how to pull a heavy load and put it on our respective shoulders. But, of course, this is paid dearly from time to time, primarily by compromised immunological system and health problems. When this occurs during the flu season, on top of which there is some particularly strange and nasty mutation of the virus, it means that we were both quite ill before the trip. That additionally emphasized the need to have a good rest. Although we live just a couple of hundred meters away from each other, we couldn’t manage to meet even for a coffee for a few months before the trip and we arranged everything by SMSs and short telephone conversions. And so we first decided on the destination and that was Cyprus. One of the most important reasons for this was the fact that there is a direct flight from Belgrade to Larnaca, as neither Sneza nor I were willing to spend hours in different planes or at different airports.
As for the accommodation, we decided this very easily. Luckily, one of my neighbours had been to Cyprus a year before, so he recommended a hotel in Larnaca that was very close to the airport and some 20 minutes of nice walk by the sea away from the centre of the town. This proximity of the airport was particularly important for the return flight, as we wouldn’t need to get up at 3 o’clock in the morning in order to catch the plane. This time, we were also attracted by another advantage this hotel offered and that was that we got the recommendation as a ready thing. Neither Sneza nor I, with our flu, high fever and feeling of exhaustion were willing to waste time and very low energy levels on searching on the internet without any real certainty that we would eventually manage to find something else that would suit us significantly more in any sense of meaning.
And so we came to Cyprus for two weeks. All the time we kept repeating to each other that it was paramount to have a good rest, that we had to sleep a lot and do everything at a low pace in order to regain energy and recuperate enough for the life we have at home. As we waited for our room to be ready (we came too early), we decided to take a walk in order to get our bearings. The hotel was some 200 meters away from the sea and when we got to the main street stretching along the coastline we noticed a nice cafe-restaurant that was all in glass panels. It offered all of my main expectations: a place in which I could relax, take coffee, nibble something, read and look at the sea and into the distance.
Following the afternoon nap, we went slowly to the centre of the town and it was quite a nice and relaxing stroll. I found it particularly interesting that I didn’t recognize anything. I realized that I had no recollection of the quay by the sea and of some old buildings that adorn the central part of Larnaca. Well, it was quite possible that the quay and everything around it had changed in comparison to 30 years before, but the old buildings from the times of the Ottomans and other conquerors, at least a few centuries old, must have been there even during my first visit to the island. So, I was actually quite content that I had come there! It was obviously a completely new and fresh destination for me.
The following day there was more sunshine and at some point I went for a solitary walk by the sea. The night had been very cold for me and I found it most pleasant to sit on the concrete barrier and face the sun that shone on me beautifully and warmed me up. I also watched some people throwing hooks into the sea from their long fishing poles, the few walkers and waves that came to the shore in a nice rhythm. Some more walking and then I returned to the hotel.
Later, I went for another walk by the sea, but this time with my friend. When we reached the centre of the town, we spontaneously turned into a side street and noticed a belfry and a church, so we headed that way. Before I forget, as opposed to almost all of my previous travels, owing to the state of my health that preceded this trip, I was not prepared at all, so I had no clue what was there to see in Larnaca. As it turned out, this was a stunning church of Saint Lazarus from the 9th century. First we walked around it. At this point, some clouds that were in the sky dispersed and beautiful rays of the afternoon sun fell onto the entire edifice and the small square around it. After we had finished looking at the church from the outside, we went in and I was again delighted by the splendour of the space. The church walls were all in stone, with no plaster over them, and therefore with no wall paintings, but there were a lot of icons. The 18th century iconostasis was large and impressive. And then we noticed a board that pointed to the crypt and that said it was the place where Saint Lazarus had been buried. Hmm, was that “the” Lazarus? Yes, it was. There were a few stone sarcophagi there, with no mortal remains of Lazarus or anybody else, but there was certainly an atmosphere and sensation of a particularly holy place. We walked around the church a little bit more and then went out and continued with our relaxed stroll around the centre of Larnaca. The narrow streets go in random directions, but that part of the town is not particularly big and one cannot get lost. Eventually, we ended up first taking coffee and then having a light dinner, after which we went back to the hotel walking by the sea. I realized that I really liked the fact our hotel was outside the centre, because we were in a way forced to walk and the fresh sea air could only do me good.
In the days to come we continued to take it easy. No hurry and no rush. A little walk, a little break. Still, we also decided to start with our sightseeing. Thus we went to the Pierides Foundation Archaeological Museum. It is a private museum created from a 19th-century collection gathered by enlightened Demetrios Pierides in order to stop the outflow of ancient artefacts into private collections and museum all over the world. His collection was thus passed onto his descendents who proved to be very conscientious and who continued and expanded on the work and efforts of their famous ancestor. It is not a large museum, but it is very nice one and it provides a fine overview of items found on the territory of Cyprus and originating from 4000 BC to the Middle Ages.
We also paid a visit to the archaeological site of Kition, i.e., the remains of a settlement founded in the 13th century BC right here where the present-day Larnaca is situated. It is assumed that there is much more than what can be seen, but most of it is inaccessible and covered by the buildings and streets of today. The most interesting segment at this site is the temple of a Cypriot goddess that preceded the cult of Aphrodite (who was, according to the legend, born precisely in Cyprus), which was later extended by the Phoenicians in order for them to celebrate the cult of their goddess Astarte there.
We also stopped at the Larnaca Distric Archaeological Museum. One of its wings was closed, so we visited what we could. I truly love ceramics, I always have, so I loved seeing that modest exhibit that was available, for there were several pieces that I found fantastic.
Larnaca has a few more nice places to be visited, such as the artisans’ quarter where there are pottery courses offered, but these places were mostly closed as it was low tourist season. The two of us walked here as well, but our main destination was generally the central part of Larnaca near the walking area by the sea. There are numerous cafes and restaurants in this part which was an excellent invitation for our daily walks.