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In September, Michael and I spent some time in beautiful Cyprus. These few quiet days over Christmas have meant that I’ve finally been able to get to the photos of our time there, and make this slideshow :).

Even though it was the end of summer that we were there, it was still incredibly hot. To give you an idea, we arrived into Cyprus quite late in the evening, and at our villa close to midnight, with the temperature at that time being 30 degrees! Thankfully the air-conditioning indoors was excellent! In the photos here, the temperature was typically around 40 degrees! What was especially lovely was going for walks around the coast and discovering little secluded coves, where you could just go into the water there and then, and cool off. Photos 67 – 69 are of one of these coves that we came across, and the water was like crystal.

We were based in the south-west of Cyprus in Paphos, and would often make the journey to the harbour to walk along the promenade there, or have a meal. I spent my birthday at the harbour, and have also included some photos of Michael and me on the day. There are a couple of me having a hand-massage by fish! There is a bit of a story as to how this came to be, but in the end, I thought I would give it a try. The little fish actually nibble at your hands, not so that it hurts, but it does feel weird!

We travelled north to the capital city of Nicosia. The city is actually divided so that whilst we were there, we went through immigration, and crossed the border into the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. There are photos of what was formerly St Sophia Cathedral, and is now the main mosque in the city called Selimiye. The construction of the cathedral began in the early 1200s, and the exterior reflects the Gothic style of this period (I have included photo 43 as an example of this). At the time of the Ottoman occupation of Nicosia in 1570, the cathedral was turned into a mosque. There are one or two photos of the interior as it is now (photos 44 – 46). Büyük Han, which translates as ‘The Great Inn,’ was another really interesting part of our visit (photos 52 – 56). This caravansary, with its beautiful construction, was built in 1572 by the Ottomans. It now functions as an arts centre with galleries, workshops, souvenir outlets, and a café.

I’ve included a number of other impressions of our time on this beautiful island – there were many wild cats, and you’ll see a photo of a couple of dear little kittens who kept us company at our villa (photo 71). There is also a photo of some quite magnificent-looking cliff-side mansions under construction (photo 65). A local explained to us that one of the industries that has been most hard-hit in the recession in Cyprus, is the building industry. It’s meant that many constructions have simply had to be left as is, half-way through the building process. Though I’m not sure if this was the case with the homes in this photo, in our time on the island, we did come across many of the partially-constructed “skeleton” buildings, described to us.

The fruit and vegetables is also something to mention! The quality, size and taste of the produce – nectarines, peaches, watermelons, tomatoes – everything! – was wonderful! It has to be all that glorious sun! And lastly, the sea and the sky as the days dawned, and the sun set. These scenes were breath-taking. Stillness and glory. Moments of God, and of gratitude to Him.

~ by Birgit on December 28, 2012.

Posted in Photos and Slideshows, Travel