Larnaca, Cyprus

Breakwater lights guide mariners into Larnaca's fishing harbor. If your walk brings you harborside after the boats come in, expect the freshest fish in the Mediterranean at the fish market. On the other hand, you and your rod could keep walking to the end of the breakwater, where you could reel 'em in yourself. [2004]

Nicosia, Cyprus

Abandonment and decay: That's what you typically see in a buffer zone set up to keep two warring factions apart. This one cuts through Nicosia to separate the Turkish north from the Greek south. It should really should be called the Humpty Dumpty Zone since no one has been able to put Cyprus back together since the two sides went to war in 1964. [2004]

Nicosia, Cyprus

It may only be a parish church in Nicosia, but it still has a bust of Archbishop Makarios III, the cleric who became the first president of independent Cyprus. If you think the edifice looks aged enough to be within the walls of old Nicosia, you would be right. The original church goes back to the Byzantine era. [2004]

Larnaca, Cyprus

The reign of Pericles in Athens marks the end of chapter 1 in the evolution of democracy. Athenian governance allowed adult male citizens to vote directly on matters of state. Pericles set the stage for the vote that made Cyprus a member of the European Union in 2004 and for the British vote that withdrew the United Kingdom from the EU in 2016. [2004]

Nicosia, Cyprus

Berlin has been reunited. Nicosia hasn't. That's why there is a Berlin Cafe in Nicosia. The Berlin Wall used to divide Berlin. The Green Line continues to divide Nicosia. In fact, it divides the entire country into northern Cyprus (Turkish) and southern Cyprus (Greek). However, not a single sovereign state except Turkey recognizes the division as a legal partition. [2004]

Larnaca, Cyprus

Where are you? Just look at the iconic elements of the landscape: a pinto pony, a cowboy, a cactus field, a crude wooden railing that passes as a fence. Surprise: You're in the pedestrian precinct that surrounds Larnaca's marina on the island of Cyprus. [2004]

Larnaca, Cyprus

You don't have to go to Notre Dame to see a flying buttress. Still, it is rare to find such fine architecture in such a vulgar venue. The talent of what the French call an arc boutant is relieving pressure on load-bearing walls. Vulgar? Definition 2. [2004]

Larnaca, Cyprus

The Republic of Cyprus celebrates an important anniversary today. Ten years ago it joined the European Union. Long overdue, said some. As part of the Greek culture realm, Cyprus was there when the very idea of Europe was 'invented' many millennia ago. Yes, Europe is an idea as much as a geographical entity. [2004]

Nicosia, Cyprus

Perpetuation through time is analogous to diffusion across space. Some innovations neither last nor spread; other innovations both spread and last. Mosaic art is among the latter. It made ancient civilizations famous, and it continues to command artistic attention, especially in Mediterranean countries. [2004]

Paphos, Cyprus

Less than a hundred miles south of Paphos is the Aphrodite Gas Field. You can tell from the name that it lies within Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone. Desperation for fossil fuel will bring it into production, give a boost to the nation's economy, and add another insult to the Mediterranean ecosystem. What would Aphrodite think? [2004]

Nicosia, Cyprus

If you were a farmer in Cyprus, in jars like this you would store your wine, oil, water, and flour. Pithari have been used since ancient times, but there is only one village, Kornos, in Cyprus where they are still made (and now largely used for decoration). One more thousand-year-old craft may soon disappear from the civilization it helped shape. [2004]

Paphos, Cyprus

Welcome to Aphrodite's birthplace on the southern coast of Cyprus. Just find the sea stacks closest to the horizon: that's where Uranus was slain and where his mangled 'manhood' was tossed into the sea.  From the foam that erupted rose the western world's goddess of lust. I wonder if Botticelli ever saw this spot. [2004]

Paphos, Cyprus

Paphos is one of the premier places of Cyprus, so important it was, at one time, the island's capital. The town is built around a harbor, and the harbor is dominated by the castle. Actually, today it is dominated by Mediterranean yacht culture. [2004]

Nicosia, Cyprus

What would the Archbishop’s Palace in Nicosia be without the statue of its most famous occupant, Makarios, out front? To find out, just visit. They moved “Big Mak” off his pedestal in 2008: an eyesore, they said. The most interesting symbolic landscape in the city, I said. Archbishop Makarios led Cyprus to independence and became its first President. [2005]