Hope everyone had a Thanksgiving with family or friends which is the best part of Thanksgiving. We had dinner on BeBe with Bill and Judy and there was enough food for all of you to have joined us. We had chicken and cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce that both Judy and I had bought somewhere once upon a time, roasted vegetables, peas, rolls, gravy apple cake and caramel ice cream. There was champagne and wine but I stuck to my "no wine" pledge and had diet gingerale. More room for food! Luckily Randal and I had joined the Deks hike up into the hills that was about 4.5 miles. I’ll share those photos next email.
No big shopping day here. We did go into Yeni Erenkoy for a new watch battery. I’d bought my watch in Kota Tinghy years ago for less than $10 and it has worked like a champ ever since. I guess it deserved a new battery.
There is a cheese factory in the village and maybe one day we can see it. Shops sell the local cheese. Interestingly, olives aren’t readily for sale because everyone grows their own so there’s no market!
Ru
A new hike and lunch at Deks, Wednesday, the day BEFORE Thanksgiving.
This morning Randal and I went off on what hopefully will become a daily walk somewhere. We left the marina and walked north rather than up the hill toward Sipahi and the basilica. We looked for some paths up into the hills which are covered with scrub, stone walls, or farm fields. Eventually we found one that led up the hillside to two abandoned homes, an abandoned church and an active farm. After our walk we motorbiked down the road for lunch at Deks a local restaurant and bar that caters to xpat and visiting Brits. You can get roast beef or fish and chips. But you can also come for free Turkish lessons, the weekly hike into the hills, bingo night to raise funds for the wild donkeys and there are even books for loan or trade. I had done an early load of laundry; if it’s sunny I do laundry because there will be rain every so often. I left it our while we walked my logic being if It looked at all like rain we wouldn’t be going for a walk. By the time we got back it was dry enough to bring in and hang for the last bit. I’m learning to do small loads so if I do have to hang it inside there will still be room to walk around.
Off the beaten path..
The stone walls were used to create terraces for farming. Now you see scrub and stones.
An abandoned stone home in a beautiful setting overlooking the Mediterranean.
This was a back window: now grass grows and the wood roof has decayed away leaving it open to sun and rain. The wood could have been taken off the doors, roof and windows to use for another purpose.
Who lived here?
The owner of Deks told us that much of this land was owned by the Green Orthodox Church and had been rented out at very low rates for long life time leases. When the Greeks abandoned the land, the Turkish government took over the Church land and continued renting it out, now to Turkish Cypriots at the same low rates. When we asked about walking around through the hills, she told us that the Cypriots didn’t mind and would more likely invite us for tea.
We kept walking and found this dirt road that led up to an abandoned church and another house.
Across the way, on the sea side of the main road is where we’d had our picnic lunch Monday.
Abandoned Greek Church
Another abandoned roofless home.
The marina is visible from the top of this hill.
On the other side of the church is an active farm with a herd of sheep. A truck passed us on its way out and I called merhaba (hello) and they waved and said hello.
Lunch at Deks of lentil, carrot, ginger soup and cold meze of cheese, yogurt, olives, sundried tomatoes, peppers, pickled beets and bread. The olives came from the orchards of the owners of Deks and they were wonderful, olives and the owners come to think of it. The owner, Kip, explained to us the whole process or picking and curing and flavoring the olives. The less perfect olives are pressed for oil. Normally Deks sells jars but this year the harvest was so small due to the weather that they have none other than what they serve in the restaurant.
Books to share even if one now has a Kindle!
We ate outside on the sunny porch.
Just next to Deks on the road is the 15th century Ayios Thrysos Church. (The tour book from the local tourist association say 15th century BC but that couldn’t be possible for a church.) Next to Deks is the small Byzantine Church Randal and I had visited when we were first in Cyprus. Today I noticed the door to the Ayios Thrysos Church was open so we went inside.
“Whitewashed with no fresco and empty except for a few wooden pews and the shell of the iconostasis.”
These cardboard icons represent what the frescos must have looked like but many have been taken from the churches.
On Thursdays at 9 am a walking tour starts at Deks and anyone can go. There is no charge and it’s led by Deks co-owner, Denise. Randal and I joined the Thanksgiving morning tour and that’s my next email.