10 Observations of Nicosia

A few of the things we've observed thus far in Nicosia, or Lefkosia as the Greeks like to call it.  


One of Nicosia's many orange trees

1.  There are orange trees everywhere.

2.  There is no such thing as a straight road, which makes maintaining any sense of bearings difficult.  The road system has largely evolved around the donkey tracks that were in place long before vehicles were ever here. 

3.  The Cypriots love a good traffic jam.  In fact, we think this is a bit of a national pastime each day to build community. 

4.  Even though Cyprus is part of the EU, the people here drive like it's the middle east.

5.  There are several peak hours every day, depending on whether people:  a) work for the government b) are dropping their kids off at school at 730am or picking them up at 130pm c) work for private business which has standard hours d) are heading home for a siesta in the middle of the day or returning to work after a siesta.  So you get the point, traffic is busy most of the day but there are some notable 'peaks'. 

6.  People here LOVE to drive everywhere.  Lots of strange looks for anyone contemplating a walk or stroll along the footpath.  A drive-in supermarket or church would do a roaring trade here.

7.   The city is a chaotic mix of new and old.  New apartments, office buildings and houses interspersed with pockets of old neighbourhoods, narrow streets and ancient houses.

8.  No one here particularly likes looking to the north into the 'occupied' areas of the country (although the giant flashing Turkish flag on the mountains to the north of the city is kind of hard to ignore at night)

9.  There are cats everywhere.

10. The people on the whole are very friendly, and everyone has a cousin or brother/sister in Sydney or Melbourne.