Izmir, Turkey
Yeah, I'm still alive. And no, I haven't forgotten about the blog. As alluded to last time I haven't posted in a while 'cause I've been stationary and there hasn't been so much to talk about. Well, I recently made a short jaunt over to Cyprus and thought I would show some photos and talk about the place a bit.
In short: don't go to Cyprus in the off season. Busses stop running, the weather is a a mild 20 degrees (although not so bad for November when one thinks of Canada!), stores close for lunch and don't bother to re-open, and forget trying to do ANYTHING on Sunday.
Nevertheless, there were some highlights. As many of you know Cyprus is divided into two countries, the Turkish north and the Greek south. Nicosia is the last divided capital in the world, placed square in the middle of the border. There is a UN controlled greenline that is still very active and stringent (although quite passable) border checkpoints. Luckily the country is moving steadily towards reunification so the world's last divided capital may not be divided for long.
Border checkpoint between North and South NicosiaAdditionally, Nicosia has the biggest comic store I've seen outside North America so that was a plus. I didn't get over to the Roman ruins of Pafos, thanks in large part to the lack of busses, but I did manage to see a good deal of the Turkish north and the land has a lot of natural beauty. Dusty plains lead to green fields, towering mountains, and beautiful blue coastline. There are castles and ports in Girne, ancient churches in Famagusta and everywhere, Greek cathedrals converted to mosques. I don't think the catholics particularly approve but from the outside observer it makes a fantastic sight.
Yours truly in a ruined cathedral, Famagusta
Nicosia's biggest Mosque and former church
Girne harbour
A 3000 year old boat discovered off the coast - now inside Girne Castle
Former cathedral in Famagusta
Interior of the same Mosque
Cyprus also contains what could possibly be the most overrated monestary of all time. It's a four hour drive from the capital through windy backroads and small Turkish villages before finally tıy reach a long white building looking something like a barracks and a crummy tourist market. The end. Enjoy your stay. But it did have a good view:
View a few km down the road from the monastary
Unfortunately I don't have much to say of the Greek side except that their version of Nicosia is a little nicer with a few more conveniences. Limassol is a nice city but again busses are a problem. If you go, rent a car.
As for me, I have some good news to report. As of this Saturday I will be published in the Medicine Hat News. I'm pursuing papers more regularly over the last week and it seems to be paying off. Hopefully soon I'll have some bigger publications to announce.
Also I have a job here with a company called English Life that may or may not be worthwhile. THe pay is poor (although for Turkey it is outstanding. I make twice what my friends do for half the hours), and they want me to sign a one year contract which I will but do not intend to honor... hmm... world traveller... can you say flight risk? Still, they need me as much as I need them so for now it should work out okay. Right now I am thinking I will continue the expedition in another season or two. Gotta re-save some money after europe.
I also still await the near mythological laptop. It's current status is "stranded in Taiwan" with a couple false alarms for sending it. I've wanted to buy a second one in Turkey and sell it later but it's too hard to find a used one here that's reliable and the new ones are expensive as hell. I may be forced to continue with internet cafes for the foreseeable future. If you ever do a world trip and plan to make money while you travel by writing... well... GET A LAPTOP FIRST YOU FUCKING MORON! Little things you learn along the way... :)
Anyway, in the next few weeks I will post again with a special treat for all you engineer types. I have some part way numbers for you. I also plan to post a map of my progress one day. We'll see if I can sort some computer stuff out.
A bonus shot of the view from my balcony at home in Izmir
