CyprusVista

Since 1974, the map of Cyprus has been dominated by the division of the island by the UN Green Line, marking the border between south Cyprus and Northern Cyprus. However, it should actually been the Green Lines, plural. Thanks to historical anomalies, there is a tiny pocket of North Cyprus territory tucked  inside south Cyprus, at Kokkina.

Kokkina lies on the west coast of Cyprus, along the main coastal road from Polis to Kato Pyrgos. Kato Pyrgos is the last major town in south Cyprus before the border, on the edge of the wide sweep of Morphou Bay. The closest border point  is at Limnitis, a small village near the ancient palace at Vouni, and yesterday it became a political hot-spot for all the wrong reasons.

Last July, South Cyprus had allowed around 1000 Turkish Cypriots to visit Kokkina for an annual event commemorating the bombing of villages in the area during the troubles of 1964. Kokkina is now a military zone, as the original residents were all evacuated to the Yenierenköy in the Karpas peninsula in North Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriots visitors were allowed into south Cyprus at the Limnitis border point, which is not officially open for border crossings.

However, when a group of pilgrims from Kato Pyrgos wanted to use the crossing to celebrate Mass at the Christian Orthodox church at the monastery of of Saint Mamas, (Agios Mamas) at Güzelyurt (Morphou), the authorities in North Cyprus decided not to give permission for the group to cross at Limnitis. The Mass was to celebrate the Saint’s day, in a beautiful church that shines with Byzantine art, embellished with gold leaf.

Crossing the border at Limnitis saves literally hours of travel via the normal open border route, which involves driving to Nicosia, back down to Peristerona, through pretty tortuous mountain roads to the coast, and round Pomos Point, to end up less than 15 kms west of where you started!

Sadly, such a decision comes just before the start of the UN-organised head to head talks between President Christofias of south Cyprus and  North Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat. The two leaders had already met in March and stated that “The issue of the opening of the Limnitis crossing and other crossings is also on the agenda for the coming meetings of their advisers.”

However, the North Cyprus authorities still do not regard Limnitis as a a crossing point - yet.  Let’s hope it stays high on everyone’s agenda, for the benefit of residents on both sides.

Golden frescoes at the church of St Mamas. Photo by Ai@ce at flickr.com

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It’s not often that football teams from small nations such as Cyprus get a crack at the big time. Yet UEFA seems to be embracing the idea with confidence as from next season, the UEFA Champions League has guaranteed five slots in the group phase of the competition to any champions in leagues rated between 16 and 53.

However, Anorthosis Famagusta won their place in the Champions League by a 3-1 aggregate victory over their Greek rivals Olympiacos CFP. Anorthosis Famagusta’s team moved south in 1974, and are now based in Larnaca. They may draw small crowds compared with their Champion League opponents, but they do have a few aces up their jersey.

Their top scorer is a Polish player, Lukasz Sosin, their manager is the former Newcastle United striker Temuri Ketsbaia (Georgian by birth), plus they can call on the skill and experience of former Brazilian star Savio.

Coach Ketsbaia was under no illusion, however, about the task ahead of them. Speaking to reporter John Leonidou on the UEFA website, he said; “In football, you don’t achieve your dreams by going to bed at night and waking up in the morning to discover that you are in the Champions League. You need to work and that’s what we will continue to do now that we are in the group stage.”

Defender Andreas Konstantinou was equally pragmatic; “For a lot of us, this could be our one and only chance of playing in the Champions League so we need to savour this moment. I think celebrations are in order but we will then need to get our feet back on the ground and concentrate on our upcoming league game.”

And chairman Andreas Pantelis would go to any lengths to support his new heroes; “Some people have told me that they were surprised that the chairman of a club would travel in the coach with the players. Never mind the coach; I will go by bicycle if need be.”

Anorthosis are in group B, playing against Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos (in a Greek speaking derby) and  the legend that is FC Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan). Their fixtures are as follows:

16.09.2008    v    Bremen                (A)    20:45
01.10.2008     v    Panathinaikos    (H)    20:45
22.10.2008     v    Internazionale    (A)    20:45
04.11.2008     v    Internazionale    (H)    20:45
26.11.2008     v    Bremen                (H)    20:45
09.12.2008     v    Panathinaikos    (A)    20:45

Photo by hasan_e_beton at flickr.com

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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: 75% [?]

It’s hard work, being married to soccer superstar Wayne Rooney. The Mirror newspaper reports that his new wife Coleen McLoughlin has only had a month to recover from her honeymoon, before she’s taking another holiday, in Cyprus. This holiday, her NINTH this year (yes, you did read that right) is a family affair, as Coleen has treated her mum and dad to a week in the Cyprus sunshine at the exclusive Elysium Hotel in Paphos. Husband Wayne, however, is back in Britain, hard at work training with the Manchester United team for the new season.

However, quite why the newly-wed Coleen decided to use a hotel sunbed during her stay is a bit of a mystery. Not only has she enjoyed the sunshine in Barbados, Miami, Italy, Las Vegas, New York and Tenerife this year, but with the current sun strength in Cyprus, she could get a tan in 10 minutes on a plastic sun lounger by the pool…

However, that is all the Cyprus sun she should expose her skin to even when using high factor sunscreen - 10 minutes. Weather experts are warning that the hot weather front just reaching Cyprus also brings high UV radiation. With temperatures set to reach 35 degrees in coastal resorts such as Paphos, holidaymakers are advised to avoid being out in the sun between 11am and 4pm, always to apply sunscreen to any exposed skin, and wear a hat.

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The case of the nine British soldiers accused of starting a fight in a Aiya Napa club has once again thrust the question of British troops in Cyprus into the limelight.

The nine soldiers, who were serving with the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers at Dhekelia, were acquitted on all charges after the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to link the men to the incident, and that the process of identification of the suspects at the local police station was not fair.

The simple truth is that the nine young soldiers should not have been in Aiya Napa at all on 2 February, 2008. The armed forces have banned all military personnel from the centre of the all-hours party town after a string of incidents.

While the soldiers have already been punished through the army’s own internal disciplinary processes, discipline on this so-called ’sunshine posting’ does still remain a concern. Speaking on BBCtv, the spokesman for the British forces in Cyprus, Nick Ulverts, admitted that the disciplinary record of troops on the island was only “relatively good”, and promised that less incidents should happen in the future. “There are checks and balances in place, … and they are there for a good reason”, he added.

The relationship between the local Cypriots and military personnel stationed on the two British bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia is a delicate balance. The two bases cover more than 100 square miles of land, and employ over 3500 service personnel and civilians. The spending power of these personnel and their families contribute large amounts of money to the Cypriot economy. (Not every business in Aiya Napa welcomed the ban on generous-spending service customers. )

However, Cyprus businesses may need to make the most of this source of income before it disappears. Whilst the British Ministry of Defense are keen to keep their “foothold at (this) strategic point in the Mediterranean”, the situation in a non-divided future for Cyprus would be very different. President Dimitris Christofias has declared that there would be no place for foreign military forces in a unified Cyprus, which can only be bad news for beer sales….

Popularity: 43% [?]