Finally got the flip flop photos…

Ru

It was my fourth trip up the hill in Sipahi to the Ay Trias Basilica: the third for the purpose of taking a photo of the sandal mosaics.  I left about 7:30 and it was a lovely morning for a walk.

Self-portrait…..with camera….

Here are the sandals….and the pomegranate tree mosaic to the left of the lower pair of sandals.

And here is the puppy that followed me home….

He was so sweet!

I was just taking my flip flop sandals photos when this puppy appeared dragging a raggedy old tattered length of twine.  It was also tied around his neck and was so tight I was afraid he’d choke if no one took it off.  But the knot was too small and there was no room to work it.  I hurriedly took one more photo deciding the puppy was more important at that moment. On my way earlier I had passed a house and said hello to a man who was just going inside.  I decided to take the puppy back there so we could cut the noose from his neck.  After that I was hoping the puppy would “just go home.”  I tried to flag down a truck to get some help but the young men in it thought I was waving and just waved back.  Then no one was at home where I’d seen the man or at the house next door where I heard a radio.  I called “hello” both places and no one answered.  So I went back up the hill and turned left at the basilica because I knew there were houses that way from a previous walk.  Thankfully there were people in a small side porch and they came out.  I think it was a woman and her father or father-in-law.  I mimed what I needed and they understood and got a scissor.  I was a bit reluctant as Muslims think dogs are unclean and I was asking to borrow a utensil that would touch the dog.  But they were very understanding and gave me “a good scissor” and I cut the twine which the man seemed to want.  They didn’t know anything about the puppy but thought it was cute when he followed me back down the road.  At one point he disappeared behind a house and I hoped he’d gone home, but then he came running after me.  Without the twine I wondered how I would get him across the main road to the marina where the staff could help deal with him, but he came when called and stayed right at my feet.  (Love at first sight for me and the puppy.)  Thankfully the guys at the entrance gate were sympathetic and took the puppy which seemed tired and certainly thirsty and hungry.  I had tried earlier to give it water from my hand but finally at the marina gave it water straight from my bottle.  Randal and I stopped at the gate later in the day on our motorbike and were told they’d found “home” and puppy.  Those are the words we understood.  A new home or its old home I don’t know.  There is no ASPCA in Yeni Erenkoy and Serife who works in the office told me that many cats are just dumped off.  Maybe I’ll check on the puppy again, but we just can’t have a dog with our travels so I did what I could do and can only hope for the best for the puppy. 

The walk up the mountain in the morning is lovely and the basilica worth several visits.  I’m sure I’ll go again. (But no more puppies!)  Here are more photos of the basilica.

There is a fence but the gate is open and the ticket booth never manned.

I love getting to go back as often as I like without having to pay.  At $10 or $15 for some of the sites in Turkey, you only go once but later realize what you hadn’t seen so want to return.  But not for that much money.  So free or even a few $$ like the Mevlana Museum in Konya is much better.  Places get to be like old friends when you can come and go.

So signs, no information, just a chance to use your imagination.

Mosaics

The sandals are at the far end….just about my size..and I have big feet, size 10 or even 11 and the pomegranates…which I almost cropped off to show the sandals!

“The narthex and nave are extensively covered with mosaics, mostly geometric patterns.  In the northern nave, however, there are some exceptions. In particular, a pomegranate tree, alongside a pair of sandals.  Pomegranates were used by the early Christian as a symbol of resurrection and everlasting life. The sandals are a little bit more of a mystery. It is possible they were a reminder of the time when Moses took off his sandals in order to meet God in the desert. It is also possible that it is a reminder of the time that John the Baptist described the coming of Christ, explaining that he was not even important enough to remove the sandals from Christ’s feet. More likely, though, is because they are close to the pomegranates, they simply represent the journey through this world to the next. Although sandals as a symbol, are found elsewhere in the Middle East, this is the only known example in Cyprus.”

http://www.whatson-northcyprus.com/interest/dipkarpaz/aya_trias.htm (Or maybe someone saw into the future and knew the popularity of flip flops!) This is a really good website and gives lots of information about the basilica and church architecture of the period.

More examples of mosaics.

There’s just something about stone…

I had 2 years of Latin and can recite the passive endings of something but that’s about it if this is even Latin though it doesn’t have Greek symbols.

“One thing we do know about the basilica, however is who paid for its building. A mosaic inscription in front of the main apse, credits a deacon by the name of Heraclios. At the western end of the nave, we can also see the names of Aetis, Euthalis and Eutychianos as benefactors.” http://www.whatson-northcyprus.com/interest/dipkarpaz/aya_trias.htm