Cyprus

After teaching my last class of the semester, it was a marvelous break to get away to the island of Cyprus for a few days. Cyprus is only 112 nautical miles across the Mediterranean from Beirut--for us, a quick 25 minute flight on Cyprus Air--but it feels like a world away. Cyprus is a member of the European Union, and the major language spoken there is Greek. All the roadsigns, menus, etc. were in Greek. Luckily for us, Cyprus's lovely weather makes it a vacation haven for the Brits, so most of the tourist-oriented things are written in English as well as Greek. It was the first place Jeff and I had visited since being in Beirut where we didn't need a visa. Passing through passport control in Cyprus was wonderfully easy, and provided a great start to our relaxing vacation.

One of the fun things about Cyprus was getting to sample some Greek food. We went to one place called Militjis that had a great view of the sea as well as super traditional food. Jeff had roast pork on a spit (hard to find in the Arab world), and I had tavas, which was lamb, potato, tomato, and spices baked together in the oven. And the ovens are these neat dome-shaped things out on the patio.

Some of the island's private homes had those outdoor ovens, too. Speaking of private homes, many of the places we walked past looked like charming little cottages with plants and flowers everywhere. It was neat to see that the whole island hasn't been swallowed up by tourism yet.

We were hoping to get to visit the natural history museum in Larnaca while we were there, but it was closed. There was, however, a weird little zoo area where huge birds like peacocks and pelicans were penned up in cages that were too small for them. Poor little things. That didn't stop us from posing for pictures in front of them, though:

A visit to Cyprus would not be complete without lolling around pool- or beachside in the Mediterranean sunshine. We slathered on the SPF 30 and did just that.

It was a wonderful respite from the noise of Beirut and the stress of grading. And since it's only a 25 minute flight, who knows, maybe we'll make it back there again!