A Mediterranean Adventure
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by Fred Moore - December 2008.
Today
we’re off to That
was fairly painless; now to find our bags and look for our transportation to
the hotel. It’s always curious to me how people jam themselves shoulder to
shoulder up against the luggage conveyer platform as if their bag will mysteriously
vanish if they don’t pluck it from the revolving carrier NOW! The
conveyer is in full motion but there’s nothing coming; we’re probably ten
minutes watching the sectional portions of the carrier and here’s the first
luggage coming through the curtained opening. Carol’s bag comes first and she
picks it off the conveyor; next mine shows itself and I drag it off so we can
depart from the baggage claim area. Once we’re into the larger expanse of the
terminal we see several gentlemen with signs trying to attract visitor
attention. Ah, there he is, our guy holding a sign with my name emblazoned
across it. We join him and he takes our bags while he ushers us to his waiting
cab. Our driver’s name is Halil; he drives us away from the airport in a
Mercedes Taxi, one very comfortable ride! Unfortunately,
it’s dark so we see little of the landscape around us and we’re riding down the
‘wrong’ side of the road, the correct side of course for this country. It’s
very odd (as we ride) to see the cars on the opposite side of the road as we’re
used to; it’s a little unnerving at first. I try to imagine driving on this
side of the highway but dismiss the though as crazy, thinking I might not make
it to my destination. The road seems very well maintained and the ride is smooth
and rational. I say rational because we’ve lived in We’ve
ridden about fifteen minutes now and we begin to climb; it seems we have to
travel over this mountain range to get to our hotel/resort. As we climb, the
city of We
extract our bags from the trunk and enter the lobby to go to the reception
desk; a very well appointed lobby surrounds us. One young gentleman at the
counter greets us and takes our passports; he searches his computer for our
reservation and locates it rather quickly. He welcomes us once more, this time
by name and asks me to complete a guest registration card. After loading our
additional information into his terminal he hands me a card holder and explains
we have two cards to the room door and two for the spa. He carefully explains
that the loss of these cards will cost us ten Euro each. We won’t probably use
the spa but I simply take the cards and he summons an attendant to take us and
our bags to our suite. This
is a very large hotel conference center as well and we notice directly across
from and facing the reception counter is a conference reception kiosk. Carol
says it’s for medical folks; hypertension and arterioscleroses they’re holding
their weeklong seminar here. We follow the attendant down the hall and to the
right to the elevator. The walls are adorned with ceramic flowers with
individual petals plastered into the wall in a three-D effect; they are
multi-colored and very lovely additions to the lobby décor. Once
inside the elevator, we note the dining room is one flight below and we’re two
flights above the lobby floor. We’re going to the third floor to The
room has large glass windows on two sides, what a beautiful view! At our
bedside the windows are floor to ceiling with a sliding door to the balcony. At
the foot of the bed and across the room are two massive sliding windows half
way between the floor and the ceiling. I part the curtains on the balcony side
of the room and notice even in the dark we can see the vast expense of pools
and lighted patios below. I open the sliding door and step out onto the
balcony, it’s cool but very pleasant and I can hear the surf pounding the
beach. I stand mesmerized for a few minutes, the sound of the waves are so
rhythmic and soothing. It’s
still fairly early so we unwind a little, freshen up and then make our way
three floors below to have our dinner. (Our reservation includes both breakfast
and dinner.) At the entry to the dining room a young waiter asks for our room
number; we give it to him and he graciously motions for us to go in. At first
glance I would estimate this room to hold two or three hundred people! Meals
are buffet style and as we walk further into the room we see on the left the
people milling about the islands of prepared foods. Here’s a soup bar, a salad
bar and the main course steam table; the food on display is bountiful and
extremely well presented. Above
the soup are literally stacks of bread in racks, there must be ten or twelve
different varieties. There are two soups, both look and smell wonderful. We
decide to browse the selections before getting a plate; after the soup
selections we circle the salad bar and find at least twenty different offerings.
Now, on the main bar there’s chicken, lamb, pasta and vegetables. Anyone who
isn’t pleased with this offering of food isn’t trying nearly hard enough or
they’re quite unreasonable. I get a bowl of soup (mushroom), seven kinds of
salad and two main dishes (a chicken dish and a lamb dish). Carol fills her
plate as well, getting several different dishes from those I’ve chosen. We
make our way to an empty table near the entrance and from the first taste we
are both hooked, the food is GREAT! Moments after we’re seated a waiter stops
by our table to get our drink order and he has me sign a ticket with my room
number and our water annotated on it. It appears all our drinks are above and
beyond the dinner price, not included in the hotel package. Seems so odd that
water has to be paid for above our reservation cost since breakfast and dinner
were included. We
enjoy the delicious meal and I even return for more. We talk about our trip and
this incredible complex we’ve been booked into. We also discuss our plans for
tomorrow, what we’ll see and the things we’ll do. We’re in a most lovely
environment here as well, the walls to one side are covered in wonderful
individually lighted painting and the other side is a bank of windows. Each
painting hangs in a recessed wall pocket adding to the ambiance of the room.
Outside the windows of the opposite wall, maybe three meters from the glass is
an exterior wall covered in murals of Roman Ruins and copies of Roman statuary.
Between the windows and the wall of Roman art are plenty of plants and shrubs
to make the view, even at night very lovely. Each mural and the individual
statuary is spot lighted and provides an elegant backdrop to the room. After
dinner we retire to our room and Carol turns on the TV; she searches for BBC
Prime and we watch some British Comedy. Several hours evaporate now and we slip
into bed for the evening. We can hear the surf now that the TV is off. I relax
and listen as the waves pound the rocks and wash across the sand. I can hear
the wind, it has increased to some degree since our arrival and I get up to
look out the window. I can see the waves illuminated by the hotel’s ambient
lighting; white caps form and recede rapidly. I stand at the window watching
the waves for several minutes and then open the window a little to listening to
the roar of the water. The surf continues to rush the sand with fury,
incessantly hammering the beach as if clawing desperately for a foothold. I
reluctantly retreat from the window and return to bed, serenaded by the concert
of wind and waves. As I relax waiting on sleep, I’m reminded once more of the
lack of adequate bedding in hotels on this side of the world; our cover is a
duvet that barely covers the surface of the mattress and does not tuck into the
foot of the bed either. Being a restless sleeper it makes it difficult to
remain covered; fortunately the room is toasty and I slip off to sleep. The
first light of morning illuminates the drapes and I rise to meet our new day. I
pull the drapes aside and there before my eyes is a panorama of the beach and
sea reaching to the horizon. I slide the window open and listen; the sea is
washing ashore with continued determination. The sun is rising to my right out
of my direct view and the breeze coming off the sea continues to create the
white caps I saw last night. As I watch and listen I can feel the power of the
surf against the sand. There’s
a guy on the beach, he appears to have a broom and he’s picking up debris. He
moves through my line of sight from right to left as he surveys the entire
beachfront here before the hotel. There’s a flagpole with a red flag fully
unfurled flying in the breeze; I learn later that it cautions swimmers again
going out into the water. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to go out into that
torrent today anyway. As I watch another gentleman appears below me and he’s
cleaning the patios around the pools and straightening the chairs. He walks
around the backside of the larger pool and uncoils a black hose; he disappears
for a moment and the hose comes alive with water. It appears he’s topping off
the large pool. Carol
is up now and we talk about breakfast; we dress and descend the stairs to the
dining room. There’s no one here this morning to take our room number so we
simply go in and survey the breakfast display. Again, the food is plentiful and
we fill our plates. I do the traditional Turkish breakfast and Carol mixes her
choices for an international flare. After a leisurely breakfast we decide to go
for a walk down near the beach. We walk out the lobby entrance and down the
stairs turning right toward the beach. In minutes we’re walking a tiled path
just above the sand, the roar of the waves up close is deafening. The
temperature is cool but very comfortable. We walk along the beachfront area of
the hotel for a half-hour or so and then return to our room. We collect our
camera for our day’s adventure, then leave the building through the lobby and
hale a cab to take us to Kyrenia. Halil
Bey our driver from the airport yesterday is our driver again this morning; the
cab company we learn is associated with the hotel. We ask him to take us to the
castle where we plan to begin our exploration today. As we ride we notice many
store fronts with Christmas Trees in them and they all say Merry Christmas. It
seems odd as we’re in another Moslem country but Halil tells us there are many
British living here along with numerous other nationalities. He tells us that
many Russians are moving here too. In ten to fifteen minutes Halil drops us in
front of the castle ticket house. We pay 24 Lira to visit and begin walking
across a stone bridge to the entrance through the castle wall. Yes, quite
costly for an entry fee, but fully worth it to you. This
castle is thought to date from the 7th century. Like all structures
of this kind in the Mediterranean region it has been built, re-built and
finally restored as a tourist attraction. At one point in its evolution it was
also expanded and had its walls thickened against conquest. The current castle
dates from the late fourteen hundreds and is mostly Byzantine. We're told by
the literature that the entry was by drawbridge in the early periods of its
existence but was later enclosed and now has the smaller double wooden open
lattice doors. Other
literature suggests this castle may date from the Roman period as some Roman
artifacts have been found within its walls. However its first written record
appears around 1200 and expands thereafter. We enter through the wooden doors.
Beyond the entry doors we walk up a short incline through a tunnel into an
atrium. Off to our right, a sign attracts our attention and directs us to an
exhibition hall within the wall. Within this large room we find pictures with
narrative descriptions of the life of the castle and those who once occupied
its interior. After reviewing the contents of this large hall we return to the
atrium and enter through the interior wall. Immediately
through the interior wall we come upon a burial crypt – this is the tomb of
Admiral Sadik Pasa (an Algerian). He was an Ottoman Navy commander killed in
the Ottoman Conquest of the castle in 1570. Once fully through the interior
wall structure we come out into a huge courtyard/parade ground where we can
take in the entire structure with a 360 degree turn. There are towers on three corners,
two facing the sea. It’s obvious this was a most impressive deterrent to
foreign conquest in its heyday. To our left are the living quarters of those
who once lived within the walls. Directly across the courtyard from us is the We
decide before viewing the museum we would explore the towers and rooms ahead of
us and to our left. As we walk to the tower our guide joins us. No we didn’t
get one until now; she’s a one-eyed yellow tiger cat; we decided to call her ‘Pirate’.
She appeared from nowhere and seems to want to show us around; we don’t refuse
her invitation. As we ascend into the large tower she climbs the stairs with us
and enters each room we enter. She’s extremely fond on me, as I can’t get her
from under my feet; she is weaving in and out rubbing my legs as I stand
reading displays. We’re
currently in the upper tower and here we’re introduced by diorama to period
soldiers. Six periods are represented here by historical costumes. There are
several paintings hanging around the tower wall depicting life at different
periods in the evolution of this castle. We leave and descend the stairs with
Pirate at our feet. At the foot of the stairs we cross into the lower tower
area; again there are a number of manikins in period dress. After looking at
the displays and watching Pirate stroll through the collection we ascend to
visit the museum. As
we enter the The
shipwreck itself is quite the sight; most of the lower hull of the ship is
intact. Our literature says it was buried in the sand for all those years and
was well preserved in its resting place. It truly gives the preservationist a
full view of how ancient ships of the period were constructed. The remains we
view here are nearly fifty feet long, the literature says it was originally constructed
from Aleppo Pine covered in lead. It’s thought the ship was near 80 years old
when a storm took it to the bottom of the sea a kilometer from the coast of We
walk around the courtyard and descend into another tower on the seaside and
find at the bottom a weapons workshop diorama. I can hear the hammering of the
blacksmith as he pounds out the spears and knives that hang on the walls around
him. As we stand looking into this display, I can smell the hot iron and hear
each contact of the hammer (I was around just this kind of shop as a child, my
father used to work a forge and hot iron). I turn and look back up the stairs
we’ve just descended and imagine I can hear the soldiers running up and down
bringing weapons needing repair and collecting new weapons as they prepare for
battle. Listen, I do hear the chatter of soldiers, ah there it’s louder now –
and as I imagine it we’re over taken by a crowd of young men we guess they must
be Turkish soldiers on day’s furlough. There are a number of Turkish military
facilities around Once
we’re out of the weapons tower we ascend the wall of the castle and walk the
Venetian defense platforms atop the outer walls. The view is superb from up
here; the wind is steady but not to cool as it washes over the walls. We walk
nearly the entire length of the walls; first down one side and then up the
other. From up here we see the Anglican Church on the east side and the Greek
Orthodox Church to the west that houses the We’ve
now come fully around the top of the castle and descend the ramp way toward the
atrium where we came in. just before reaching the entrance again we detour
going up a short flight of stairs and through another tunnel to the Byzantine
Church of St George. This church was originally outside the castle but was
brought within its walls in one of the later restorations by the Venetians. The
church was built in the 1100s and it’s quite small but well preserved. It
consists of a single hall with an obvious altar platform on the north side. We’ve
spent several hours roaming within these walls and now we’re off to the small
harbor to the west side of the castle. We will circle around the harbor and
visit the Just
across the street is a curious tree, it’s called “The Loving Tree.” The sign
says it’s 175-200 years old and male and female always grow together. Its Latin
name listed is Bella Solarius. How many visitors do you expect stop to read
about a TREE? We
now continue our walk around the waterfront and head back into the city. We
don’t go far and we come to the We
walk around for a little while and then decide to return to the harbor for
lunch. As we draw closer to the harbor we’re stopped by a gentleman who offers
his card and suggests lunch at his place; Canli Balik Restaurant. We thank him
and figure, why not, so we walk to it in the direction he suggests. It’s a
little cool but we opt to sit outside anyway over looking the harbor. A young
lad brings us two menus; ouch, soup is 10 Lira! Once I get a grip on my wallet
we decide to try it ignoring the cost. We get two bowls of lentil soup. The
presentation is exquisite; the bowl sits on a large plate and the bowl is
mostly decoration with a small central cup for the soup. This much soup in It’s
getting a little too cool to dawdle here much longer and we go inside so Carol
can have Turkish coffee which she proclaims the BEST ever. I ask for the check
and part with 55 Lira to satisfy it! Needless to say, I’m scratching this place
from my dining list, there’s simply no way lunch should cost that kind of
money. We’ll forgo the ‘harbor view’ for a local café next time. We
decide to walk around once more to the Once
we’re back at the hotel we relax in the lounge adjacent to the lobby where
Carol has a Turkish coffee and I get a mineral water. Since it’s winter the sun
has already retired for the day and we simply enjoy each other’s company and
talk about our day. Our waitress stops by with our drinks and we talk for a
moment with her; it turns out she’s from Osmaniye just an hour east of Time
marches on; we decide to go to our room and freshen up before dinner. As I
close the room door we are again amazed by the roar of the waves crashing on
the rocks below. Even with the windows closed the sound of the surf fills the
void. Carol goes to the window and pulls it open, the volume increases four
fold. The breeze is very cool and the smell is clean and fresh. I close the
window now and we leave heading for the stairs to descend to the dinning room.
As we approach the waiter at the door we give him our suite number and go in. Turks
are not early diners but the place is already a buzz of people both seated and
milling about the dinner selections. We each chose our meals from everything
offered and find an empty table. The food selections are different this evening
and we both eat more than we should, HaHaHa. A buffet is a dangerous thing for
those who appreciate the art of grazing. We continue our conversation about our
discoveries of the day and talk about our next trip; yes, we will return. With
a very pleasant meal concluded we retire to our room and Carol clicks the TV to
life. We watch more BBC Prime and then slip off to prepare for the coming day’s
adventure – Bellapais Abbey, good night. My
awareness of morning comes with the room fully illuminated. There’s no sun to
greet this fine morning; the clouds are heavy and the morning is gray. I look
out across the Once
Carol discovers the new day, she’s up and we dress for breakfast. The buffet is
again bountiful but we restrain our urges to over indulge. We have the typical
Turkish breakfast and depart for our room. We collect our things and make a
sweep of the closet and dressers to be sure we have all we came with. We each
pack and prepare to leave the room. We will leave our bags at the front desk
and spend the morning touring the Abbey up on the mountainside. The
front desk clerk is more than happy to take charge of our bags and we go in
search of a taxi. We look for Halil but he’s not available; the next taxi in
line is a six-door Mercedes – a limousine! I protest we don’t need anything
this size but the driver assures me the cost is the same, every cab is metered
you see. With that, we simply climb in and ride off for the visit to the
Bellapais Abbey. We
ride for maybe twenty minutes noting the lack of signs as we go; there was a
sign off the main highway but we’ve seen none since that one. I tell Carol how
difficult I think it would be to find this place on our own without a proper
map or local instructions. We begin a gentle climb and make a left turn; we
continue the climb curving right now and then reach the It’s
just after nine and we learn it opens at nine, that works out well. Right here
as we get out of the taxi there’s a refreshment stand and a gentleman offers us
tea; we thank him but beg off until we see the building we’ve come to visit.
There’s a small tour group already there and a young woman is explaining the
attributes of the structure. I walk over to the ticket building but no one is
there, the gentleman who offered tea says to wait a moment the guy will be
along shortly. In just a few minutes I see the young man coming from inside the
courtyard of the Abbey and I walk with him to the ticket booth. I give up the
18 Lira entry fee and get our wonderfully illustrated 4 x 7 inch tickets.
Unlike our castle tickets, which were adorned with only a castle photograph,
this one has two photos, one of the Abbey and a second of This
original structure was built between 1198 and 1205 for Augustinian Monks who
had come to The
tour group heads to the church so we walk the courtyard and descend into the
cellar and kitchen complex. This area is well preserved and contains a lovely
stone floor. Once we ascend, we enter the refectory. I notice the pulpit
attached to the wall toward the front of the hall on the left and I find the
stairs to ascend. There’s a tiny stairway within the stone wall and I go up to
stand in the pulpit. What a great view! The word coming from here must have
been well received throughout the hall. Next
just out the door I spy a sarcophagus and go to view it more closely, I find
there are actually two; one well ornamented on the exterior while the other has
a plain surface. Our literature does not discuss their significance at all. Now
we walk toward the rear of the building circling the cloister as we go. The
cloister is open to the elements and is now a beautiful green lawn, I would
guess it’s probably 15 by 20 meters square. To the east of the cloister is the
undercroft and chapter house both in a semi-state of ruin. We
hear the tour group outside now so we move around to the church. This is a
currently active Greek Orthodox Church. It’s fairly dark inside and it takes a
moment for the eyes to adjust but what an incredible place! The front of the
church is adorned with icons, there must be twenty or thirty of them. There’s a
wood pulpit attached to the wall with a curved wood stair leading to it. I opt
out of a climb this time because it seems out of order in a functioning church.
All of the wood is dark, either painted or natural, and obviously OLD. The
bench-like pews have been set to the side leaving a wide isle open down the
center of the church. There are three chandeliers suspended from the high
ceiling but there light does little to fully illuminate the sanctuary. Think of
it; this church has served for over 800 years! What
an amazing structure; we retreat reluctantly extremely pleased we had the
opportunity to stand in such a marvelous building. If only we had the privilege
of attending a service (I doubt I would understand any of it) in this great
hall. As
we reenter the park, the gentleman who offered us warm greetings on our arrival
again offers tea or other refreshment; we sit and except his hospitality. Our
taxi driver is already having his third or forth tea, we’re quite certain.
After tea we walk across the street and check out the shops that offer local
tourist fare; we purchase only a book written by a local author highlighting
the attributes of the Our
visit was just over an hour, we thank the driver and return to our hotel. We’ve
had a great time and it seems as though we’ve been away a week not just two
days. There’s far more to see and experience here – this will not be our last
trip to
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