Saturday January 28, 2006 – Traversing the Green Line

The firm rented us a full size SUV today so the group of us (six people) could embark on a one hour drive to Nicosia (Lefkosia) for the day. The catalyst for the trip was an invite by Aldriene to join he and his wife (Melody) for dinner in the capital of Cyprus. Nicosia is the largest city in Cyprus with a population of approximately 200,000 people. The city was built in the 7th century and since was controlled at one point by the Franks, Venetians (built the imposing walls around the city), Ottomans/Turks, British… Currently, Nicosia is a divided capital with a “Green Line” (United Nations demilitarized zone) separating the Turkish north (invaded in 1974) and the Cypriot south. There is one checkpoint in which Turkish, Cypriots, and tourists can pass between the two countries for a day at a time (must return by 5:30 PM). Sandbags, rubble, vacant buildings, and barbed wire skirt the entire border which we were able to follow as we traversed through narrow, cobbled streets.


(UN Watch Tower, Paul at Border)
Besides the cobbled “Euro streets,” the remainder of the city had a relatively cosmopolitan feeling wide avenues and paved streets. We visited the Cyprus Museum; fourteen rooms of archaeological finds throughout Cyprus (pots, figurines, coins, statues…) and relaxed at a café before heading to Aldriene’s and Melody’s home. Prior to going to Aegean, we chatted for an hour over wine and appetizers. Aegean is a truly Cypriot (we were the only “tourists”) restaurant tucked into a restored building in the middle of the old city. It seems that at a true Cypriot restaurant, the more experienced/regular at the restaurant orders for the whole table, in our case it was Aldriene. Once ordered, the wine is poured and assorted plates of food (salad, hummus, tahini, souvlakia (meet kebabs), kleftiko (slow roasted lamb), souvla (bbq’d lamb), moussaka, keftedes (meatballs), halloumi (white cheese made from goat’s milk)…) keep coming over the course of a couple hours. Meals are followed by a fresh fruit plate and coffees.




(can't escape Starbucks and McDonalds!)