"Well I'm Going Home, Back to the Place Where I Belong"

Look at all those pins!

Alrighty, so my semester abroad is coming to an end seeing as I leave tomorrow for Larnaca’s Airport at 6:45am for my 10am flight. Since I'm heading home, the lyrics for today's post are from "Home" by Daughtry.  I can’t believe this semester is already over; it feels like I just started this blog and adventure yesterday! Since leaving the United States on September 13^th, I have traveled to 15 countries including: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, The Vatican, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands with Global Learning Semesters, and Egypt, London, and Ireland independently. It has been a crazy semester of planning, trying different foods, meeting new people, traveling to so many countries, and having cool adventures. Looking at a map, it is bewildering to see how many places I managed to travel to over the course of my 3 months abroad.

            I have a few more Cyprus updates before I depart, so now it’s time for the updates!

Kyrenia Harbor

Kyrenia Mountains

 As a group we traveled to Northern Cyprus to visit Kyrenia, and I loved driving through the beautiful mountains. The weirdest part of the mountain range in the North is the section with the record breaking Turkish Flag painted on the mountain, which I have mentioned in previous posts. It’s a symbol 

to display Turkish pride, ownership, and to remind the Greeks who can see the flag from the South. I saw this flag everyday, and it’s a constant reminder of the Turkish Invasion of 1974 that divided the Island. Kyrenia is an adorable harbor town, and we visited St. Hilarion’s Castle, which was the best castle that I’ve been to in Cyprus in my opinion; it was pretty large and fun to explore.

            The other day I went for a run because it was 65 degrees and I needed a break from studying. I thought it was great weather to wear shorts and a t-shirt, but I got some funny looks because all the Cypriots were wearing scarves and coats. Their tolerance for cold is low since their summers are so warm I suppose, but I thought it was perfect weather. Haha. I guess I’ll have to get used to the cold again really soon. Traveling to Ireland and London was a helpful reminder since I had to wear layers there due to the cold weather. But actually, Cyprus has gotten pretty chilly in the early morning hours and at night, so it’s not always summertime here like most people think.

Group in the Troodos Mountains

Another trip we took was to the Troodos Mountains, which are so different to hike than the Appalachians back at home just based on the surroundings. I liked how different it was for a change, but I’m also looking forward to a good hike back home. Afterwards we visited the village Kakopetria, which is exactly the type of place you think of when you imagine an old village. 

Me and Anya on GLS Graduation Day :)

            After classes on Friday, December 14^th, there was a little Global Learning Semesters Graduation Ceremony where we got certificates and watched a video made by my roommate Lauren. We also went to dinner at the same place where we went during my first night in Cyprus. It was nice to look back at that first dinner and think how none of us knew each other back then, and to see how much we have come together as a group since that first night.

The Kiddos playin' B-Ball

Volunteering at PeacePlayers

            On Saturday I volunteered with PeacePlayers and got to keep score for 

the Junior Boys tournament. It was really exciting to observe the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot children playing basketball together. As I mentioned in a previous post, PeacePlayers "uses the game of basketball to allow 11-15 year-old Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot boys and girls to play together, learn together and build positive relationships that overcome generations of mistrust and formidable physical barriers to interaction." Volunteering with this organization was a really good way to end my time in Cyprus because seeing the children playing together makes you hope that The Cyprus Problem will one day find a solution that brings the island back together as one whole again.

Kristi and Me at the APOEL Football Game

 Later that day, we went to an APOEL Football game (aka Soccer). So much sport attending in one day, haha so unlike me! My friend Kristi likes sports a lot and wanted to go to a game, and I thought it would be fun to go too. The most interesting thing about the game was people watching the crowd. They chanted and sang in Greek during the entire game, and although I have no idea what they were saying, it was pretty cool to observe. The majority of the crowd was men and I swear we were the only ones in the stadium without cigarettes in our hands. I got tired of the smoke pretty quickly and they also didn’t have good food to eat either! What kind of sporting event doesn’t have good food?! Our team APOEL won the game 1-0, and I thought the game itself wasn’t that exciting considering they made some pretty obvious errors like missing the goal completely several times. I’m really glad we went though because Football is a large part of Cypriot culture.

            Yesterday we went to Meze one last time with a group of 17 to say goodbye to my roommate, Anya. (See my post entitled "All it Takes is a Little Faith, and a lot of Heart" from September 17^th to read about Meze). Both Anya and Lauren have left now, so it’s just me and I have the whole empty apartment to myself. It’s a little weird because it really means that it’s time for me to leave soon too.

Things I’m looking forward to back home:

1.    Seeing my family and friends

2.    Driving my car and being able to go wherever I want, whenever I want.

3.    Playing my Ukulele!

4.    Going back to work at ArtsQuest

5.    Starting another semester at Muhlenberg

6.    Rooming with Allie Wertheim again!

7.    Eating good ol’ American Food!!

8.   Hearing people speaking English

9.    Being able to flush toilet paper again

10. Being able to read all of the signs and menus

11. Not having to pay $5.30 for ONE load of laundry, and that’s was just washing.

12. Being able to use a dryer rather than air drying my clothes!

13. Using my cell phone that doesn’t require topping up

14. The fact that Non-smoking rules are strictly followed

Things I will miss after leaving Cyprus:

1.    Being an hour’s distance away from the mountains or the beach in any direction.

2.    Wearing shorts and t-shirts in December. (It actually did get chilly here towards the end though!)

3.    Grilled Halloumi cheese….yum

4.    Random trips to Zorba’s 24 hour Bakery

5.    Papaphilipou Ice Cream

6.    All of the people I have met here

7.    The beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea

8.   Being able to travel around Europe rather easily

 So, that's about it for the updates before I depart! It's already 1am here, and I have a few more goodbyes to say, so I'll wrap it up here. There will be one more  post when I  return home to complete my study abroad blog, so stay tuned for my final thoughts! 

Goodbye, Cyprus! It's been an adventure. :)

-Courtney <3

"You Must Know Life to See Decay"

Hello again, readers! Thanks for keeping up with my posts. Tomorrow morning I will be leaving at 5:30am to travel to Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France! My journey will last from October 22^nd -November 7^th, and I can’t wait to travel to so many places! I’m not sure if I’ll have time to blog while I’m traveling, so my next update might be when I return. Stay tuned!

Also, I’d like to make a shout out: HAPPY 50^th BIRTHDAY, MOM! Sorry I can’t be there to celebrate. Love you!

 

Now I’d like to tell you about yesterday. I took charge of planning a trip to Famagusta and Salamis, which are ancient cities in Northern Cyprus. I’ve always wanted to visit Famagusta after researching it in 7^th grade, so I was happy to plan the trip!

Kyle, Kristi, Lauren, Danielle, Me, and Katie on the bus to Famagusta!

We left our comfortable home, Nicosia, and headed into Northern Cyprus via the Ledra St. crossing. Since Kyle and I figured out where the bus stop to Famagusta was the day before, we knew exactly where we were headed. Plans changed, as they often do, when a bus pulled up next to us and said it would take us to Famagusta. His price was higher than the bus we knew of, so we were about to walk away until he changed his price and we hopped on. An hour later we arrived in Famagusta, which is called Gazi-Mağusa in Turkish.

Kristi and Me outside the walls

It was so exciting to see the walls surrounding the old part of the city built by the French Lusignans and strengthened by the Venetians. 

 

Danielle, Me, Kyle, Kristi, Katie, and Lauren hanging out on the Salamis ruins

Gymnasium ruins at Salamis

From there we took a taxi to Salamis, an ancient city about 20 minutes from Famagusta. It was amazing to explore the ancient ruins! The ruins stretched across over 2 miles of land, and although we saw a large portion of them, we didn’t get to see everything. I wish we had more time at Salamis because we only had an hour. Our taxi driver agreed to take us to Salamis, wait an hour, and then drive us back to Famagusta at a decent rate, and since our Republic of Cyprus cell phones don’t work in the North, having transportation waiting to take us back to Famagusta after exploring the ruins for an hour was a good solution to the problem.   

Ancient Theatre

Navigating the ruins was probably my favorite part of the day. I got to see the gymnasium columns, roman baths, ancient theatre, fish market, and some other things I have yet to identify because the map was in Turkish. Haha. Exploring something so old makes you appreciate history and the importance of preserving what is left of the past.

posing at the Theatre :)

Photo ops were hard to resist! haha

 

Salamis ruins

 

Being ancient statues

Shadow art at Salamis

Yeah, we took the coolest pictures at Salamis. haha :)

Lala Mustafa Pasha mosque

When the hour was up, we headed back to discover what Famagusta had to offer. Within the walls we traveled through the city and visited Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque that used to be St. Nicholas’ Church, St. George of the Latins, the Sea Gate, the ruins of St. Francis’ Church, and Othello’s Castle. My favorite was Othello’s Castle. The reason it’s called Othello’s Castle is because Shakespeare mentions a fortress/port in Cyprus in ‘Othello’ and it is believed to be this one in Famagusta!

Othello's Castle

Tower of Othello's Castle

Sign on Varosha fence

Abandoned, broken house within Varosha

Next we headed to the Ghost Town of Varosha, which is the abandoned, fenced in area of Famagusta previously owned by Greeks. It is now guarded by the Turkish military. This area has been empty since 1974 when the Greeks fled due to the Turkish invasion, and the Turkish military has left it that way as a bargaining tool for future negotiations. Peering beyond the fence, it was sad to see the grand hotels that used to be the most popular tourist places in Cyprus but are now beyond repair after being bombed and left to the elements since 1974. There are also several cranes in the skyline, halted mid-construction of new hotels. As I learned on this website, there is even a car dealership in the Ghost Town that still houses brand-new models from 1974! Everything beyond the fence is frozen in time and left exactly as it was in 1974, which leaves an eerie feeling in your heart and makes you feel the struggle between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. My visit to the Ghost town is what inspired today's post title to be from "After the Storm" by Mumford and Sons

Bombed hotel with Ghost Town (Tower of Terror, much?)

We continued to walk around the outskirts of the fence, which brought us to Palm Beach. The hotels along the coast were in the fenced in area, and it was strange to swim in the Sea with the deteriorating city as a backdrop. Nevertheless, the beach was lovely and it was a great way to relax after such a busy day. One of the hotels along the beach reminded me of the Tower of Terror because the elevator shaft was bombed and open to the world.

Palm Beach

St. George of the Latins ruins

Knowing we wanted to catch the 5pm bus back to Nicosia, we left the beach and headed to the station. When we got there the owner was very rude and demonstrated that the next bus was coming at 6pm by waving a clock in our faces. Previously we were told that a bus was coming at 5pm, so we were annoyed that we left the beach early only to have to wait another hour for the bus to come!

Eventually we made it back to Nicosia and crossed the buffer zone into the South. When we arrived in the South, a group of peaceful protestors were parading down Ledra St chanting about anti-fascism.

Palm Beach

It was an exhausting day traveling through ancient ruins, traversing the city of Famagusta, peering into the Ghost Town, swimming at Palm Beach, riding buses, and observing protestors. The more time I spend in Cyprus, and the more I travel around the island on both sides, my understanding of the Cyprus Problem increases and I am left wondering if a solution will ever be found. Being exposed to the Ghost Town in the North and the protestors in the South makes me realize that the issue continues to span generations of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, but hopefully their issues can be resolved one day and maybe the Ghost Town will flourish once again. Only time will tell, of course, but for now I am thankful that Cyprus is in a ‘peaceful agreement state’ that allows free passage between the North and South so I am able to experience the island from the Turkish and Greek perspectives.

As I mentioned previously, I wanted to visit Famagusta since I had to research it in 7th grade. As part of the cross-curriculum research project, we had to write a poem about a city in our chosen country as if it would be printed in a travel brochure. I would like to share that poem with you even though it is not very good and some of it is inaccurate, as I have learned by traveling there.

Fantastic Famagusta

The Sea Gate

By Courtney Haines (2004)

Come to Famagusta, one and all!

Walk up to and touch the mighty wall.

Go to the beaches and surf the waves,

Or have an adventure in one of the caves.

You can visit the many historical towers.

Maybe stop and smell the flowers.

Take your time and stay up late.

Visit sites like The Sea Gate.

Time will fly, so make it last,

But don’t rush through things way too fast.

Eat a good dinner at the Lime Light;

You’ll be in heaven with your first bite.

In Famagusta there’s adventure galore,

And not even that, there’s so much more!

 

I decided to write a new poem to reflect the actual Famagusta I discovered from my visit.

 

 

Faded Famagusta

By Courtney Haines (2012)

So grand an image I used to be,

Where tourists flocked here to the sea.

Born to resist with walls so strong;

Beyond those walls, something went wrong. 

Despite towers and ruins to explore;

My spirit changed in 1974.

Depends who you ask, the South or the North,

To discover how the issue came forth.

The subsequent struggle made my beaches grow dim,

But luckily now, some tourists will swim.

Frozen in time is a city so still;

The desolate scene gives my bones a chill.

I hope one day that city will shine,

And the divided country will have no Green Line.

 I know I’m not a poet by any means, but I wanted to share those with you. As always, thanks for reading, and look forward to posts about traveling through Central Europe!

Till next time!

-Courtney <3