CyprusVista

Canine residents of Cyprus rejoice - you now have your very own dog beach! Whilst pet dogs are banned from every other beach in Cyprus, Ayia Napa beach is now an official a leads off, pooch-friendly area. Mayor Antonis Tsokkos said; “It’s a place primarily for dogs, not people, and we hope they have a nice time there.”

Many Cypriots have strong views about dogs on beaches, but the whole issue took a dangerous turn back in June. Shortly after an argument on the beach with a 50 year old Paphos resident and his dog, another Paphos man ran over both the offending dog and his owner, killing them both.

George Perdikis of the Cyprus Green party told The Telegraph newspaper that this was not an isolated incident; “There is a lot of hostility towards dogs on this island… Very often you’ll see fights erupt between people who take their little dogs to beaches and other residents who just can’t stand them being there.” At least in Ayia Napa, dogs may safely scamper, sniff and swim without fear of reprisals to them, or more importantly, their human owners.

Some British beaches ban dogs during the summer months, usually between early May and mid October, with stiff fines of up to £500 if Fido’s paw strays onto the sands.

However, in Brighton where a total ban was suggested, the RSPCA and other groups cited many benefits of allowing dogs onto beaches:

• less dogs would be left in hot cars during the day by visitors unaware of the ban
• many elderly people rely on dogs for company and need somewhere safe to walk them
• both dogs and dog owners would be at more risk of obesity without regular exercise.

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In Spain, a group of animal welfare supporters in Santander took to the sands illegally this week to protest over the law banning dogs from Spanish beaches. The ThinkSpain website reports their major demand to be, “The creation of separate dog-friendly areas with a view to tackling the problem of the sharp rise each summer in the number of dogs abandoned by their owners immediately prior to setting off for their holidays.”

So, the Cyprus Ayia Napa initiative is very much to be welcomed, and let’s hope the rest of the world is watching this innovative experiment. After all, when dogs and owners can come to the beach together, it’s not the dog paying for the ice-creams, beers, renting the sunlounger, etc. Drive away the dogs, and you drive away the owner’s spending money too….

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photo by RobW_ at flickr.com

Popularity: 97% [?]

Here’s a question. One nation’s tourists are flocking to Cyprus in ever-increasing numbers, up almost 23% from last year, but which one?

The UK?

No. Tourist numbers from Great Britain were up this June on last, but only by 1%. Mind you, that’s still 187,000 Brits coming to Cyprus on holiday during June 2008, over 30% of all tourist visitors.

Greece?

No. The Greeks are actually staying away, their visitor numbers down almost 20% from last year.

Germany?

No - same applies as to Greece.

Russia?

Bingo! Visitor numbers from Russia are up a staggering 23% from last year, with just over 28,000 Russian tourists visiting in June 2008.

However, the most interesting tourist statistic may be the number of Cypriots going abroad for holidays in June, up 19% from last year. Just over 101,000 Cyprus residents went abroad in June 2008, and only 35,000 of them going to Greece. Indeed, the new figures from July 2008 back up this finding, with over 137,000 Cypriots leaving behind the sunshine for foreign climes.

So, is this the start of a new trend? If so, perhaps the canny Cypriot property owner will let out their rental properties to Russians, and jet off to somewhere with more water during the summer months! Certainly, anyone building holiday web sites in Russian must be in for a boom time…

I’ll drink to that:  Две водки пожалуйста !

photo by dreizehn28 at flickr.com

Popularity: 83% [?]

Cyprus Olympic skeet shooter Antonis Nikolaidis narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, when he lost in a final shootout to the Frenchman Anthony Terras. Both competitors finished with a score of 144 points, just behind the gold and silver contenders who both scored 145, setting a new Olympic record.

The bronze medal shootout saw the French holding the medal on the podium, and the Cyprus duo of Nikolaidis and reigning world champion Georgios Achilleos in fourth and fifth place respectively.

The winner of the  men’s skeet gold medal was 19 year old Vincent Hancock from the USA. Hancock won the world championships in his first year on the circuit aged just 16, and won in another nail-biting tiebreaker with Tore Brovold from Norway.

Women’s skeet shooter Andri Eleftheriou also missed out on medal glory, but secured a highly respectable seventh place in her final. Athletes Anna Fitidou (pole vault) and Alissa Kallinikou (400 metres) did not qualify for their next rounds.

Cyprus has yet to secure a medal in the Beijing Games, and a pragmatic President Christofias is obviously looking ahead to possible future glory as he returned from Beijing. He sent telegrams of congratulations to Cypriot footballs team Anorthosis, who are just one game away from qualifying for the UEFA Champions league.

Popularity: 85% [?]

In Britain it would be inevitable. After months of blazing sunshine and record temperatures the Bank Holiday weekend in Cyprus began on Friday with torrential rain and hailstorms. The unseasonal weather took Cypriot families by surprise, many of whom had travelled to the Troodos Mountains for a traditional picnic on this national holiday.

Just in time for the food to be unpacked, and everyone about to eat, the rain began at around noon, followed by a gentle mist, making roads in the region slippery and low visibility in the mountains. While coastal holidays resorts such as Limassol and Paphos still basked in sunshine and temperatures just over 30 degrees, Nicosia had a short but sharp rain shower that caused flash flooding in the Strovolos area.

However, the welcome rain is just a tiny fraction of the rainfall required to restore Cyprus’ reservoirs to anything like normal levels.

The holiday weekend traditionally involves many Cypriot families heading for the eastern coastal resorts from the towns. The inevitable traffic queues into Protaras, Larnaca and Ayia Napa had almost gone by Saturday lunchtime, as families enjoyed the sunshine and free entertainment laid on by the local councils, such as the free concert by the CyBC Orchestra in Ayia Napa tonight (Sunday 17 Aug.)

Popularity: 72% [?]

Limassol may be baking in heat this week, but a few residents of this popular Cyprus holiday destination will be right in their element! The Municipal Gardens in Limassol are one of the great secrets of the resort, two acres of formal gardens with a mini-zoo that kids will enjoy. As zoos go, it’s fair to say it’s more an aviary with added extras, but when the extras are a zebra and some cheetahs, no young animal fans is going to be disappointed. Add in an ice-cream in the cool shade of the trees overlooking the sea, and you have a lovely pleasant family morning excursion in Cyprus without needing a car.

In September, you should definitely leave the car behind, as the garden play host to the annual Limassol September Wine Festival. Cyprus wine is surprisingly good; after all, they have been growing grapes here for centuries. You can also sample Cypriot wines all year round at the four main wineries on Franklin Roosevelt street, or hire a taxi and visit to the vineyards on the peninsula beyond Paphos, for a day out with a difference.

For a short excursion from Limassol, the whole family will enjoy exploring the ancient Cyprus city of Kourion. If you don’t want to hire a car, you can catch a bus to this vast site from just outside Limassol Castle, which takes you direct to the ruins. This important ancient town was abandoned after a devastating earthquake in 365AD, but you can still imagine gladiators, senators and merchant wandering around the Roman villas, baths, agora (marketplace), and watching plays in the impressive theatre.

Just a few kilometres west of the Kourion, past the ruins of the Stadium, is the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates. The strange channels cut into the rock are not water channels, but early planters, originally filled with shrubs and trees to honour the woodland god.

And, of course, if the kids get restless with all this history stuff, there’s always Curium Beach just south of the ruins at Kourium, complete with a couple of tavernas.

The ancient city of Kourium, Cyprus. Photo by Jungle_Boy at flickr.com

Popularity: 43% [?]