Yeroskipou countryside

The second photo is inside the church in Yeroskipou at Easter time.  Nice one of the cross which everyone follows through the streets on the Friday night.

Easter cross

We started by the Agios Georgios church and walked along the coast a little bit before cutting back up through the countryside and round by the road back to the church.  I’ve had a look on a map for the name of the island but could only find a Greek name and dont know how to convert my keyboard to Greek however the letters are “Gero-nisses”.  ”Old island” may be the literal translation, but my Greek is a little rusty so don’t quote me on that!   Have a look at a map for Agios Georgios area and you will see it, just near the harbour. 

If you plan on visitng the Paphos area, then this area is a scenic half hour drive from the Kato Paphos harbour that is well worth it.

Here are the photos:

Western end of Cyprus in the Paphos district

Agios Georgios church

Geronisses island near sea caves

Small and quiet fishing harbour

“Gero-nisses”

“Gero-nisses”

A wheat field with luxury villas on a hill

Field of yellow flowers close to Sea Caves and Akamas

As Easter draws near, an air of festivity envelops the towns and villages.  During Holy Week (the week preceding Easter Sunday) there is a flurry of church-going, shopping for new clothes and baking. The smell of the traditional Cypriot flaounes cooking, combined with the heady scent of orange blossoms in the air and the sound of singing which emanates from the churches, creates an atmosphere of expectation – a feeling that something good is just around the corner.

Easter is the most important religious holiday in the Greek Orthodox Church.  The date of Greek Orthodox Easter is based on a modified Julian calendar. In 2010 Greek Orthodox Easter will coincide with Easter in the Western Churches which use a different calendar, the Gregorian. The date this year is April 4^th.

Thursday of Holy Week is when the wonderful aromas begin to waft out onto the streets as this is traditionally the day when housewives start preparing the flaounes (small loaves made of flour, eggs, cheese, mint and sometimes raisins). These are shaped into triangles, sprinkled with sesame seeds then baked in the oven. Tiropites (small cheese pies in puff pastry), paskies (small meat pies) and koulouria (biscuits made of milk, flour, spices and sugar) are also prepared. Eggs are hard boiled and dyed red in preparation for games on Sunday. Everywhere is a hive of activity.

On the Friday morning before Easter (Good Friday or “Great Friday” as it is called in Greek) families, carrying flowers, gather in the churches. The flowers are collected and used by young girls to decorate the Epitafios (Holy Sepulchre) during the service. The Epitafios is a four-post litter with a canopy in which the icon of Christ is placed.

Early Friday evening a solemn service is held in all churches where the decorated Epitafios is carried into the streets, for a short procession, then returned to the church for a continuation of the service.

On Easter Saturday two services are held in church – one in the early morning and another at 11 p.m.

Before the 11 p.m. service, which is called “The Ceremony of the Resurrection,” church bells peal out in the villages and towns of Cyprus calling everyone to come and celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Huge bonfires are lit in the churchyards and slowly people begin to gather there. Every person carries a large unlit lampada (candle) and there is a general feeling of excitement in the air.   

The church services start at 11 p.m. A few minutes before midnight the lights in the church are extinguished and the choir sings the story of the three women who arrived at Christ’s tomb only to find it empty. The lights are switched on again and the priest calls the congregation to “take from his candle the light which never dies.” The flame is passed from person to person until everyone is holding a lit candle. The ceremony then continues outside the church for approximately 30 minutes, after which the priest returns inside again to begin the special Sunday liturgy for another two and a half to three hours. 

At this point, a majority of the congregants leave to celebrate with family and friends by watching the firework displays which are held outside most churches, and to share a meal of the traditional Cypriot trachana (a creamy, savoury soup of wheat and yogurt) or magiritsa (a creamy, lemony soup).

The eggs which were hardboiled and dyed on Thursday are now used in a game where they are tapped against each other and whoever is left with an uncracked egg wins. The breaking of the eggs is symbolic of Christ breaking free from the tomb.

Easter Sunday is when the celebrations really begin. Feasts of ovelias (whole roast spiced lamb, cooked on an open charcoal fire) or souvla (large pieces of lamb or pork also cooked on an open charcoal fire), salads, vegetables, breads, cakes, biscuits, sweets, flaounes and wine are prepared. The smell of outdoor roasting permeates the island. Lamb is the traditional Easter meal as the early Christians adopted this symbol from the Jews who sacrificed lambs for their Passover celebrations.  

From Sunday lunchtime until Tuesday night, in village squares and churchyards, traditional food, games and live traditional Cypriot music are to be found. Everyone, Cypriot and non-Cypriot, is welcomed and usually greeted with an enthusiastic, Kopiaste! Christos Anesti! Or Chronia Polla!

Happy Easter!

I believe that I can guess which one most of us would choose – the second.

A few weeks ago we discovered Dori’s, a Lebanese  takeaway that had recently opened in Paphos and provides just such an option. 

Tender, marinated, spiced chicken breast souvlaki (kebab) served in large Lebanese pitta bread, filled to bursting with mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce and pickled cucumbers. This can be ordered hot or mildly spiced, with or without garlic.  If you’re not fond of chicken, there’s the tender, marinated beef kebab with garlic and spices.

Vegetarian?  Try the fried eggplant and cauliflower with hummus, tomatoes, lettuce and pickled cucumbers, or the mix of vegetable and mushroom souvlaki marinated in a special sauce.  Falafel (chickpeas blended into a puree and combined with various spices, rolled into  balls then fried in oil, is also available as is labneh (strained yogurt with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, mint leaves, olives and olive oil).

Dori’s has a large variety of choices available including grilled, marinated  chicken breast, baby fish and freshly prepared French fries.

We have ordered from here several times – it is always sparklingly clean, the service friendly and helpful and the portions are large.  It did, however, take time to prepare our orders, so it’s probably a good idea, if you don’t have much time on your hands, to drop in and pick up a menu beforehand, then phone in your order 30 – 45 minutes before you need to collect it. Or, you could simply sit and relax with a soft drink or a cold beer and wait while it’s being prepared.  Either way we think it’s worth it.

Dori’s, 13 Tepeleniou St. (that’s the one-way street where the electricity office is located, and Dori’s  is on the right-hand side, a few metres before the electricity office), Paphos.  Tel: 26 22 25 80.

 Mexican food is my specialty. I owned Mexican restaurants for years in Chicago and in Virginia before I moved to Cyprus and I just love the food.  Of course, this is not authentic Mexican and totally different than the Mexican places I owned myself.  It is more the cheap and cheerful variety in my opinion and very tasty. It is more expensive than in the US, but in comparison to other foods in Cyprus it is on par with the cost of living and other fast food places.

People outside the U.S. always have to mention the fact that according to the statistics the U.S. is fatter than anyone else. I have always said that once any country has McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell it will have the same problem that the U.S. has with obesity. From what I hear obesity is starting to creep up on the Cypriot population too.  The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that 2 out of 3 Cypriots will be obese by the year 2015 caused by poor eating habits and lack of exercise due to excessive TV watching and video games (for the kids).  Depsite these grim facts I still enjoy Taco Bell and think others will too.  Just enjoy all these indulgences in moderation and keep up with some physical activity!   

If you have been to the the Limassol, My Mall, Taco Bell share your thoughts and opinions or give us a restuarant review!

http://www.cyprus101.com/blogs/cleo_shahateet/archive/2009/10/09/h1n1-jabs-or-not-seasonal-flu-shots-or-not-we-weigh-in.aspx

Since I think the name My Mall is not a very good one and there seems to be firstly, a lack of creativity in the ranks of the builders and developers of the malls in Cyprus when it comes to names, (ie. The Mall in Nicosia, Paphos Mall in Paphos which is not a real mall. Seconldy, they will eventually change the name again so I thought it would be a good idea to start giving them some ideas ahead of time, in case they don’t hire a marketing company to do the research for them.

Here are some names I came up with, let me hear yours:

Mediterranean Mall with a double M logo, Moufflon Mall with double M logo again, Harbour Mall, Marina Mall, Eastern Med Mall and lastly, since the heat of the summer is at times overwhelming and the mall can be your oasis from the heat (free air-conditioning) for many, I think The Oasis Mall would fit perfectly.

I will try to come up with more and will post them as they come. Let me hear some more cool names

Beaches and the Mediterranean are relatively calm in comparison to oceans, but don’t be deceived as there have been many fatal accidents and near drownings. Recently, a mother was standing in the sea holding her 11-month-old baby boy when a strong wave went over them. The mother could not hold on to her baby – the wave combined with the strong current took the baby away. Despite speedy bystanders who helped find him at the bottom of the sea then desperate measures to revive him at the scene, they ultimately could not save him. He died 2 days later at Nicosia hospital where he had been urgently transported. It is a tragedy that I hope no one else has to endure. The beach in question is in the Kissonerga area of Paphos and does not have warning signs or a lifeguard. Many people swim at these quieter beaches and it is a luxury to have so many beautiful and secluded beaches to relax on, but when swimming, please try to remember the following to avoid any more tragedies.

1. Never swim alone.
2. If you are caught in a rip current, swim sideways until free, don’t swim against the currents pull.
3. Don’t rely on floatation devices alone to protect children, but always make sure they wear them.
4. Alcohol and swimming don’t mix
5. Never dive into unknown waters.
6. Never become overly confident.
7. If you are in trouble shout, wave and call for help.
8. Only swim in designated areas (if posted)
Combined with swimming and water safety, heat exhaustion is another factor that goes hand in hand with long days at the beach. The Cyprus sun is strong and the humidity and temperature get so high it can be debilitating. Even if you can not feel the heat because you are in and out of the water or in the shade you can still become overheated to the point of exhaustion.

I have personal experience with this in the August, Miami heat – weather comparable to Cyprus. My wife and I spent a couple hours on the beach, strolling, by the pool then when it cooled down at around 6pm, we went for a slow jog on the beach. Then the problems began…it was over 100 degrees yet she was trembling, shaking and dizzy. To make a long story short we spent the night in the hospital where she was administered a potassium drink and 5 bags of IV fluid to rehydrate her over a 24 hour period. X-rays were taken of her lungs and a CAT scan of her brain to ensure there was no dangerous swelling due to the heat. This was a learning experience and she was fine but we had a scare as it all happened before we knew it. A mistake we made was that once we had realized she was dehydrated, I encouraged her to drink water. This only depleted the electrolytes in her body making her worse. She needed something with salt to replace what had been lost. This brings me to what you should do to avoid a potentially fatal situation or something like what happened to us:

1. Make sure to drink enough fluids like Gatorade or Lucozade and Water.

2. Stay in the shade or air conditioning if possible.

3. Wear loose, light clothing

4. Avoid drugs, alcohol, caffeine and sugar which can cause dehydration.

5. Be especially careful with babies and the elderly who are more susceptible to heat exhaustion.

6. Exercise in the early morning/late evening or inside if possible.

Lastly, always wear sunscreen. A child can burn within 10 minutes! Sunburns can be extremely painful, dangerous and increases the risk of future skin cancer. Please remember these basic and key points to staying safe during the summer. If you have any additional pointers please share them with us so we can all have fun and enjoy our summer in Cyprus or wherever you may be!

Paphos Villa in Sea Caves Area

The ground-floor features a spacious open plan living area, divided into distinct areas. The lounge area is transformed seamlessly into an impressive cinema room by the touch of a button with remote controlled blinds, projector screen, and built-in surround sound system. All technology is controlled remotely including the flush fit gas fire, built-in ceiling A/C units and mood lighting sytem for the house and garden.

The stylish kitchen is superbly equipped with granite worktops and Meile appliances, combination oven & microwave, built-in coffee machine, double hob including fryer and griddle system. All bathrooms are fitted with high quality finishes, including Grohe electric taps and wall hung toilets.

A double granite staircase leads to the first floor hallway, study area, and impressive balcony at the front of the house with wonderful sea views. Two large double bedrooms, each with en-suite shower room, lead to a semi circular balcony from which there are stunning mountain views. The fourth bedroom can be used as a self-contained studio, staff quarters, guest accommodation, or a gym/games room.

The outside areas are designed with outdoor living and entertaining in mind, with a large outdoor bar and kitchen, and domed gazebo eating area, covered with grape vines and seating for up to 14 people. The heated swimming pool has a built-in spa. There are changing facilities including a sauna and steam shower. The swimming pool water & irrigation for the mature garden is supplied by its’ own well. The land around the home is mature with conservation land in front and green area with fruit trees behind

For more photos, information and virtual tour click here.