Northern Cyprus: Lefkosa/Nicosia Under Construction

Somehow I don't think we're in Gaziantep any more. Nope. We're in Northern Cyprus.

This was our hotel. One window in our room was just to the left of the Turkish flag -- the white one is the flag of Northern Cyprus. At one point we had the window open and half the flag blew into our room. Northern Cyprus is a country to itself, but Turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes it. Turks go there to gamble -- lots of casinos -- and there are lots of expats living in towns along the northern coast. I was told that non-natives now outnumber natives.

We actually arrived after midnight. One evening in the damp cold month of February we learned that there were direct cheap flights from Gaziantep to Northern Cyprus. Three of the American teachers had made a visa run there in early December and reported good things. So my friend Judy, another colleague Jeremy and I booked a flight for the three-day weekend we had in April. Judy subsequently took a job as a newspaper editor in the Cayman Islands, so by the time travel day arrived it was just Jeremy and I.

This was the view from our window looking south. The Mediterranean is on the other side of those mountains. If you blow up this photo, you might see the Northern Cyprus flag on the mountains.

This is the other thing you saw from our window, and it really dominates the skyline of Lefkosa, at least on the Turkish side. It is Selimiye mosque, formerly St. Sophia's cathedral. It was built between 1209 and 1226. Human occupation of Cyprus goes back to 8500 BC and just about every major empire took turns occupying at least part of it. In more recent history Richard the Lionhearted obtained possession of Cyprus in 1189 during the Crusades . He sold it to the Knights Templar, who held it for a while and then sold it back to him. He then gave it to Guy de Lusignan who had lost his throne in Jerusalem, thus beginning the Frankish dynasty that lasted until 1489 when the Venetians took control. The last colonial rulers were the British, so everyone drives on the left side of the road, the sockets don't accept EU standard plugs, and you drink tea out of cups and not glasses.


The church, a classic gothic cathedral complete with flying buttresses and gothic arches, was damaged by several earthquakes, but what is really disturbing to the eye are the two minarets that take the place of the traditional gothic towers.

Not far from the cathedral/mosque is a recently renovated Han ( Büyük Han) that has largely been given over to local artisans. One traditional Cypriot craft was quite interesting. Woman raise silkworms on the island. However, instead of unwinding their cocoons for the silk thread, the cut the cocoons in pieces and use them to construct beautiful pictures. It has the feel of pictures made from shells. Quite lovely.

From the Han we went to the tourist information center which is in an old town gate in the city wall built by the Venetians. From this office we embarked on a walking tour. The center city of Lekosa really got run down. Now there is a lot of renovation going on and attempt to create sites of interest for tourists. There is a blue line walking tour; an eight-inch blue line has been painted through the city. It takes you to most of the points of interest -- some are more interesting than others.

The first stop was the dervish museum. At one time the Sufi order was wide spread, and almost every city had a Sufi lodge. Konya was the center of Sufism, but now it's all but disappeared except for Konya and Istanbul. However, there are dervish museums everywhere.

One of the most interesting sights was the our stroll through the Samanbahçe
neighborhood. It was built in the early 1900s as a "social housing" project. The buildings are all single story with red tile roofs. At the intersections there are water fountains, probably once the source of water for the area. Above is a man pushing a cart of lemons through the neighborhood. People did come out of their houses and buy from him. Frankly, it looked like a very nice place to live.

Actually the map of the tour was posted periodically along the way. It took a while for us to realize that the dividing like between the Greek and Turkish sides of the island ran right through the center of town. We kept trying to find a church we could see from our window but kept running into roadblocks. Then we got to the actual crossing point and we figured it out.


Of course the tour took us back to Selimiye Mosque and the Grand Han, as well as to the former St. Luke's church which has been turned into a workshop for artisans and the former St. Catherine's which was all locked up. The Armenian church and monastery is under renovation. And, in fact, it did look like there were actually people working there. However, there was a sign in front of the project listing the support fro the project. It wasn't local. It all comes from NGOs outside Northern Cyprus. We also walked past another church which had been converted into a workshop space for artisans. Toward the end of our day following the Blue Line tour, we we spent a bit of time in a so-called lapidary museum. It was mostly fragments of columns, friezes or steles, which are in abundance throughout Turkey -- not too interesting.

That evening we decided to try a restaurant from a guidebook we had on Northern Cyprus. It was located outside the central city, that is the part of the city inside the old city walls. The old city is quite dilapidated. It's clear that the are involved in many restoration projects and activities to make it more appealing to tourists. However, once you leave the old city, the picture changes completely. There are some nice residential streets, and the street on which the restaurant was located the were many chic stores, lots of foot traffic and unbelievable car traffic. Things were really hopping.

We eventually found the restaurant. There was one family eating on a covered porch at the back. Otherwise no one was there. We mentioned that we wanted some dinner. He said they didn't have dinner, just mezes, a collection of hors d'oeuvres --something like Spanish tapas.

While we wondered where all the other people were, we knew you could easily make a meal off mezes, so we said okay. He then started bringing plate after plate, at least a dozen appetizers with a big bowl of the traditional tomato, cucumber and parsley salad and pita bread. It was clear we'd have more than enough to eat. However, after a few moments, more food appeared. There were the little meatballs that we dipped in a batter and then fried. Then kebaps and grilled meat. There seemed to be no end. I just couldn't keep eating. And by the time they brought the grilled chicken breast, which I couldn't even touch, the restaurant had filled up. We certainly needed the long walk home.

We had planned to bus over to the coast the next morning. However, we decided we'd try to take a look at the Greek side of Lefkosa/Nicosia. We'd seen the border crossing the day before only a few minutes from our hotel. After we were assured that it would be no problem returning, we took the plunge and crossed over. It was like going through some sort of time warp. You were instantly in what felt like a modern European city.

Brunch at Gaziantep University: Under Construction

Gaziantep University has a restaurant on top of the hill behind the campus. We can see it from the windows of our apartment building. My friend Filiz had been to Sunday brunch there and suggested we try it together. Unfortunately, it was raining that Sunday, but we grabbed our umbrellas and made the trek anyhow. The red poppies were just beginning to come out. I went back later and took pictures. We were certainly glad for the hot soup after we arrived -- a bit damp and cold. Because of the rain, we didn't get the fabulous view of the city you see on a clear day.

Carved pumpkin with springs of wild rosemary.

This was my plate. From the top: eggplant slices, tomatoes, olives, dried apricots, cheeses, green olive salad, scrambled eggs and a specialty made with kaymak. You take what is basically a white flour tortilla, and spoon kaymak (the top layer when you make yogurt out of whole unpasteurized milk -- they say) over it. Then you drizzle on some honey, sprinkle chopped pistachios on top and eat with walnuts on the side. Very delicious. They had all sorts of breads and good fruit preserves and comb honey. Of course, there is an endless supply of tea.

Things started off with the soup pot. Next on your left are the big bowls of preserves and honey. After that is the kaymak station. Cold cuts on on the raised trays and all sorts of cheeses at the base.

These are the different salads. In back are the cheeses and meats.

This is the other end of the table with the breads, fresh fruit, and hot entrees.

Another bit of vegetable carving with olives all around.

A couple weeks later I invited my colleague Hidayet Tok, former head of the English Preparatory School and now a professor in the Education Department, and his family to brunch. His wife Fatma has been so generous about entertaining us at her home. Their son Emre is a freshman in high school and daughter Elif is taking fencing and guitar lessons. The women in that family are really firecrackers. I like them all a lot.

This is what happened to the top of the pumpkin.

Lilac blooming in the park below us.

First Gaziantep Picnic

Several of my students from last term had suggested that we get together on a Sunday afternoon. I had expected that we'd go somewhere, drink tea, and chat. However, when they came to pick me up, they informed me that we were going to the zoo and then for a picnic. I had been to the zoo a couple of months earlier. It had been a pleasant afternoon but cold and a bit blustery. This time is was sunny and pleasant. All of the animals were out, enjoying the day. When we got to the camels we found a zookeeper who was quite chatty. He got them to come over to the fence by whistling. A bit later he went and got hay to feed them. There was another zoo employee with a walkie-talkie who was full of all sorts of information. He actually accompanied us to a few more exhibits.

As you can see above, the peacocks were strutting their stuff. ALL of them had their tails fanned and were trying to get the attention of a seemingly bored group of females. The zoo also has two white peacocks (you can see them behind the fanned tail of the bird in the photo), and they, too, eventually got into the action. It was quite an impressive sight.

The Gaziantep zoo is relatively new: 6-7 years old. It's the largest acreage-wise in Turkey and appears to be well maintained. They are just opening an elephant house and are already redoing the raptor area. When Ted and I visited in February, we saw the owls and hawks. Now that area is closed and is being redone. Hopefully the raptors will soon have a nice new home.

The area around the zoo is all pine forest. There are a lot of reforestation projects in the area, and they seem to plant only -- or that's how it looks to me -- this type of sort of bushy pine. All around the zoo there are picnic tables scattered throughout these woods. We drove around until we found a suitable spot and then the students went to work.

Abdullah getting the fire started.

Nur expertly chopping tomatoes, cucumbers and onions to eat with the kebabs

Burak keeping the fire going

Eggplants grilled. These were later mashed and mixed with yogurt and some veggies. Yummy!

Mesut (in red) rolled the chickn wings in a spice mixture and cut up the chicken breasts and thighs for the kebabs

Chicken wings and a couple of onions on the grill

Photo's a bit blurry but we did have a feast! Looks like Mesut is in the background, hunched over the grill.

Mali trying out the hammock

Van Day 3

The famous Van Breakfast -- and they hadn't brought the pita bread yet!

When you tell someone you're going to Van, the first word out of their mouth is "breakfast." Van is famous throughout Turkey for its breakfast. Actually, our hotel had almost the same thing, but we decided to try one of the local breakfast establishments. There were the usual tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives. But there was also a special Van cheese made with herbs collected in the mountains, a local version of kaymak, skimmed off the top of yogurt made with whole, (I'm assuming unpastuerized) milk, tahini (foreground) that you mix with a sweet sauce made from grapes, a kind of "cream of bulgur" fried in butter, other cheeses, fried eggs and sausage, etc.etc. We had a marathon day in front of us and didn't actually eat again until we were on the plane home.

It was Easter Sunday. Our route was to take us east and slightly south of Van to visit two castles. The road took us by this beautiful lake, actually man-made as the river had been dammed up. Gorgeous day.

The first castle, apparently the most photographed in Turkey, was Hoshap. The photo above certainly isn't prize-winning, but I chose it because if you look at the hill to the left, you'll see the remains of a watch touch. Actually, if you click on the photo, you'll see the remains of walls that we built as a first line of defense. The original structure was built by the Urartians, but what remains today is mostly Ottoman.

I liked this picture of the entrance. We were the only ones there. There is a watchman who will let you in for a small entrance fee -- I think we paid 5 TL for two. The iron doors are original.

The entrance is the only part of the original remaining. Strange to think people went up and down these stairs for over 2,000 years.

A view of the road leading to Iran, taken from the castle

View from the back side. The entrance is on the right side.

We were stopped at a military checkpoint coming back from Hosap castle. These Kurdish women, who were traveling to a wedding were stopped too. They actually went through our luggage. There's a lot of smuggling across the Turkish-Iranian border, mostly unleaded gas and heroin. We took the opportunity to get a picture.

From below Chavustpe castle looks just like any old ridge. However, there were actually two fortifications here. You see one on the knoll to the right. However, there is a "lesser" fortification on a knoll to the the left -- out of the picture.

View from Chavustepe across very fertile plain into the snow-capped mountains.

The winding canal to the right of the road is the original Urartian canal built to bring water to Van, about 50 km away. It's about 2,500 years old!

Mehmet Kushman, the caretaker at the site, lives in a nearby village. He was hired on during the original excavations and ultimately taught himself to read Urartian. He's one of only 38 people in the world who can read that language. All of his children are university educated and his son studies archeology and is planning to follow in his father's footsteps. Mr. Kushman also showed us with great pride an invitation to a conference in Los Angeles to which he was invited and which he attended. He said he's been involved with Chavustepe for 49 years! He has carved the Urartian alphabet and numbering system into a basalt plaque, which he sells.

Above left is the god Haldi surrounded by the Urartian numbers. On the right is the Urartian alphabet.

The inscription Mr Kushman is reading refers to the reason for the building of Chavustepe. It was built between 756-730 BC by the Urartian king Sarduri II. In this inscription he recounts the greatness of his father, Sarduri I. He says he knows that he is now king because of his father. Sarduri II tells how he found this plain without fruits, without vegetables or anything needed to survive. He was determined to recreate a wonderful place for his people to live and he was doing it in honor of his father. He also notes that anyone who might try to interfere with this place would lose the favor of Haldi, the chief god in the Urartian pantheon.

The little circles are the tops of buried storage jars. They still contain wheat.

Carbonized wheat taken from the storage jars

One of the reasons I wanted to travel to Van and the reason I chose the Easter weekend was Akdamar church, on Akdamar island. It is a former Armenian cathedral, the Church of the Holy Cross, built by the Armenian King Gagik between 915-921. It was actually part of a whole complex out on the island. You can still see the graves of the monks who lived there. There were terraced gardens below the church, on the side facing the mainland; the terraces are still there. There was also a palace, although we didn't see any remains. That doesn't mean they aren't there, however.

Church from below, walking up from the ferry dock

The entire church is wrapped in bas-relief. There is a kind of border with botanical images below the roof line. Some say it depicts flora through the seasons. Below that there are larger-than-life scenes from the Bible, like Adam and Eve eating the apple from the tree of knowledge, Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac on an altar, etc. They are quite amazing.

David and Goliath

Story of Jonah and the whale.

Of course, they had never seen a whale so they had to imagine what one would look like. The head's a bit strange but otherwise they weren't too far off. The interior was once covered with frescos. Quite a bit remains but there is still room for restoration. What I had hoped to do and was able to carry out in a modified way was to play some sacred music in the church on Easter. I took along my iPod and battery-powered speakers. After consulting with our guide I set them up and started playing the Kyrie from John Rutter's "Mass for Children." Of course, the guard came running, but was assured by our guide I wasn't doing anything "religious." However, we were also under time pressure as we had to catch a ferry back to the mainland and then get to the airport by 3 PM. So I could play as much as I wanted. But at least the sacred nature of the church was "recognized" on Easter -- even if just a little bit.

Not certain but it may be the ascension as well as Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday

Crucifixion

Parting view -- the church against Mr. Artos with the almond trees in bloom