Tag Archives: Cyprus

Nov 16 2017

Thursday Doors, 16/11/17. A door memory….

In 1990 I purchased my first house in Cyprus in a village outside of Paphos. It was an old village house, virtually a ruin. But my dream was to renovate a village house and this was it.

In 1993 we finally moved in. I had, by virtue of lack of funds, chosen the cheapest builder and the promised 8 month renovation time dragged out for 2 years. Close to completion we realised he was spending all our payments for work completed on brandy and after a few incidents we had to find another builder to complete.

The entry to the house was via the street, and through a courtyard. My desire for the street entrance was to find some old Cypriot doors and after searching for a long time, I finally came across a pair strapped to a tree at the back of the local junk dealers courtyard. Price negiotated, we delivered them to the carpenter who renovated them beautifully. Varnished and with brass handles gifted by my father, they were my pride and joy.

But, as the children grew and the village was just a tad too far from our business, we decided to sell. My one lasting regret is that I left the doors.

This morning, having an appointment close by, I decided to go and see whether they still existed.

Yes, they are there, now a funky blue, but still gorgeous. Regrets? Yes…

The street view, just an interesting blue door glimpse on the right…

Aren’t they gorgeous…

And they were mine once! Ah, well, they look cared for and I like the blue…

Linking with Thursday Doors hosted by Norm Frampton. Pop on over and see some of the other doors featured this week…

Nov 2 2017

Thursday Doors, 2/11/17. Finding village doors, Akamas, Cyprus.

Last time I posted in Thursday Doors, I hadn’t found any worthy doors in the abandoned village of Theletra, so we carried on to search in more of the villages leading towards the Akamas peninsula, the promentory leading to the northwest cape of Cyprus. There are no paved roads to the cape due to the mountainous nature of the terrain, but some dirt tracks are accesible if you enjoy some offroad adventure and some fabulous views.

This time, with sunset on it’s way, was not the day for being adventurous, so we headed to the end of the paved road via a few of the little villages that dot the landscape and I found a few, traditional doors, worthy of inclusion for this week’s post.

Not quite a village door, but not to be missed…

Post office boxes have doors too..(Pano Akourdaleia)

There is always a church in the village, this time with some unusual doors…(Pano Akourdaleia)

 

Old and very typical doors into a house yard…(Kritou Tera)

I love the handles of this one…(Kritou Tera)

Bright blue on the corner…(Kritou Tera)

And blue on the roadside…(Kato Arodes)

With brown character…(Kato Arodes)

Time for a coffee in a village square( Ineia), the priest, pithary ( traditional pots) and threshing board…

One last wrought iron door in the sunlight…(Ineia)

And a glorious sunset to finish the day…

 

Linking with Thursday Doors, hosted by Norm Frampton.Pop on over, click the blue frog link and check out some more doors this Thursday…

Oct 19 2017

Thursday Doors, 19/10/17. Searching hard for doors, Theletra, Cyprus….

I’m now back home in Cyprus for a few weeks and after an intense few days of cleaning and gardening and needing an escape, I linked up with a good friend who enjoys poking around the old villages in our district with a camera and I was very happy to find that she also loves doors!

We headed off to explore the village of Theletra in the Paphos district of Cyprus. The old village of Theletra is nestled half-way up the mountain and the new village is now built above. The old village was abandoned because of an earthquake that made the village susceptible to landslides. The exact date is not verified.

But, I found it difficult to find doors in Theletra, there are frames, with views, but every abandoned house is open to the elements, but I did find one…

Please hover over for the photos for the story captions…

Old Theletra, in the middle, New Theletra on top…
Through the frame…
Flora by the roadside…
An abandoned vista…
Half a door…
I think someone is living in the village, those plants look watered…
Back to the roots…
Pied a terre, literally..
A small wall icon home, no doors though…
No doors or roof…
Church seats, abandoned to the elements…
Collapsing inwards…
Even though the village is empty, someone still lights a votive candle in the wall icon…
And the view from the village…

I found the only doors at the village church. The outer doors were modern, unattractive and not worthy of inclusion sadly, but inside, finally a worthy door centrally placed in the Iconostasis ( In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis (plural: iconostases) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church.)

The door, in the Church, part of the Iconostasis…

Linking with Thursday Doors, hosted by Norm Frampton. Pop on over to his link, click on the blue frog link at the end of his post and check out some gorgeous doors this week…

 

Sep 1 2017

Skywatch Friday, 31/8/17. A Cyprus sunset…

Sunset at Paphos harbor. The oddly shaped silhouettes are part of an installation for Paphos’s hosting of European City of Culture 2017. They are the local school’s creative interpretations of the Lemba lady from the Chalcolithic Period.

Linking with Skywatch Friday…

Aug 10 2017

Thursday Doors, 10/8/17. To Apostolos Andreas Monastery, Cyprus…

 

Cyprus has been a divided island since 15 July 1974 when a coup d’état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis, the incorporation of Cyprus into Greece.

This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus the following month after a ceasefire collapsed, and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots.

A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983; the move was widely condemned by the international community, with Turkey alone recognizing the new state. These events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute.

The Green line divides the North from the South, supervised by UNFICYP. Turkish Cypriots are in the North, Greek Cypriots are in the south and whilst the Turkish regime opened up several crossing points in April 2003 to allow movement across the Green line for both sides, the situation today remains unresolved, despite many years of negotiations to open up the island to joint rule.

Cape Apostolos Andreas…

Apostolos Andreas monastery is situated just below the tip of the Karpass peninsula in Northern Cyprus. The monastery is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is an important site for the Cypriot Orthodox Church. It was once known as “the Lourdes of Cyprus”, served not by an organized community of monks but by a changing group of volunteer priests and laymen. Both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities consider the monastery a holy place. As such it is visited by many people for votive prayers.

Now the Green line crossing points are open to all, the roads are vastly improved and the journey much easier. On my last visit 6 years ago, I found it sad to see the monastery in such a dilapidated state but there has been renovation funding from Church of Cyprus, EVKAF Administration and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the buildings are now under a restoration program which appears to be partially completed.

Apostolos Andreas Monastery…
Traditional arches at Apostolus Andreas…
Door at Apostolos Andreas Monastery…
The Iconostasis at Apostolos Andreas Monastery…
Waiting for renovation…
Renovation completed…
Old door in the village of Γιαλούσα (Yeni Erenköy)…
Traditional doors at Γιαλούσα ( Yeni Erenköy)….

Linking with Thursday Doors, hosted by Norm Frampton. Pop on over and check some more doors today…

May 22 2017

Weekly Photo Challenge: Heritage (1) …

Cyprus Heritage.

Woman with child, circa, 2000-1800 BC, terracotta.
I photographed this figurine in the wonderful British Museum, London on my visit in 2016.

The flattened form of these distinctive terracotta sculptures has led to the term “plank figurines”. They have been found in both graves and settlements, but their function is uncertain. They are usually interpreted as either a mother goddess or a woman with a child. Not all examples hold children however, and the sex of others is unclear. Nonetheless they are probably connected with fertility, childbirth and sexuality.

Isn’t this a beautiful heritage example from ancient times in Cyprus?

Heritage

Mar 23 2017

Thursday Doors, a little Konia door, Cyprus, 23/3/17…

Its a short little door post this week. My (not-so) trusty computer is still in rehab.

In my Cyprus village I pass a lovely little door most days, one of the old iron-work doors that were so popular on the island, probably during the 1950’s to 60’s.

I’m so noticing doors now, since I joined this weekly event. Previously I flashed past it on my way to somewhere, but this morning I stopped, shot and admired.

I received some sideways glances, but smiles all around when I indicated that I was admiring. It’s nicely kept too…

The door…
The door plus the little house it belongs to…

Linking with Thursday Doors, a weekly event hosted by Norm Frampton. Pop on over, hit the blue button and check out some more of today’s doors…