Paphos (Cyprus)
ETAPS 2010, 20 - 28 March, 2010
Around: Some interesting flora around paphos. Above left and below are big cactus plants. Left below are chrysanthemums. Above is a fig tree and I have no idea what the one on the right is a picture of. Below right is a loquat tree. I have great childhood memories of climbing these trees in search for the tasty fruit. Unfortunately, I did not get an opportunity to taste it in Cyprus.
Above: Went back to O’Solomons Irish Pub (hey its the closest affordable place). Ordered the “Darling Day Grilled Chicken Burger” and “Chips”. Yup they are called Chips here not fries.
Above: Keftedes (meatballs). Another local cypriot dish. Much like Pakistani Koftas. Spicy and full of flavor
Left: This has GOT to be a first. A regular public bus stop in Paphos. Only this time three people sitting using laptops like there is no tomorrow. Yup you guessed it, this is the bus stop right outside the venue hotel.
Left: Figured I should take a picture of the banner announcing ETAPS
Right: As soon as I would get off the elevator to get to my room at the hotel I would see this old wooden chest.
Above: The lemba Experimental Village. The picture in the center above are the remains of a village from 3000 BC. The Lemba Experimental village was a project by the Republic of Cyprus to construct replicas of how they believe houses were constructed back then. The idea was to leave these houses to the forces of nature and to monitor whether they start taking the shape of the ruins that were found. Above right is one of the replicas (only some tens of years old) already in relatively “new” ruins.
Both Sides: Pictures from the “Arts” College. Mostly sculptures showing twisted human forms and other weirdnesses.
Around: Old monestary near the mountains of Pafos. Legend has it that this monk gave up life in the city and came to live in a cave (entrance was top left door in the picture above). Inside the cave there are some amazingly well preserved frescos. Photography is strongly prohibited but I figured if I do not use the flash it should be alright.
Above and both sides: Espressos :)
Now that the trip has ended I can safely say that the best Espresso (and the most expensive) I had in Cyprus was at the Coral Bay Beach Resort (our conference venue). (picture on the right).
Below: CYPRUS coffee. The locals took offence if I asked for a Turkish Coffee. The sense of pride in the country runs strong, maybe even stronger than their coffee. Also like any civilized nation they have learned to always give a small glass of cold water with their coffee.
Both Sides: Adonis Waterfalls.
A tourist trap. They have some elaborate story of how taking a dive into this murky pool of water can make a woman fertile and what not. Nevertheless in a land where fresh water is scarce a waterfall seems to be an attraction. The water was really really cold.
Above and Sides: Georges Fun Bus tour, by far the highlight of the trip. George is a funny guy who takes small groups (we were only 7 on this particular trip) to some not necessarily best attraction near Pafos. However, his personality and jokes will keep you laughing the entire day.
Plus he made an excellent BBQ right at the back of his bus.
Left: Craving for a non beef or lamb dish I ordered Chicken a la Creme at one of the restaurants in Coral Bay. I wasn't disappointed. The serving was reasonable and combined with the Houmous and Pita appetizer I was quite stuffed by the end of this meal.
On the last day in Pafos I went on a conference organized excursion up in the Troodus Mountains. These pictures are from one of many quaint little villages nestled in the mountains. Each village has a church and a village square where the men gather to play board games and drink coffee, while the women do the work (mostly growing grapes). Each village has their own little vinery where they make wine for local consumption whereas the rest of the grape harvest is sent to the nearby cities.
Trivia: because of the huge supply of grapes, and not much demand, grapes are sometimes sold for as little as 7c a pound.
In the Troodos mountains there are a number of really old Byzantine churches. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside them. Greek Orthodox Churches are unlike any I have seen before. Large chandeliers are every where. The church is most often in the shape of a cross. The front of the church has a huge wall made of wood covered in actual gold. Mostly pictures of disciples, Virgin Mary and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This particular monestary is reputed to have an actual piece of the cross on which Christ was crucified and also an icon of an actual drawing of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. These were covered and no one is allowed to see them as a sign of respect.
The grave of some important monk. The tour guide did explain why he was important but at that point I was half asleep and could not really remember what she was saying. Neverthless the statue was quite impressive so I imagined that he did deserve a mention :)
The scenes from up top Troodos mountains. The picture on the right shows the highest peak (Mount Olympus). People familiar with Murree (Pakistan) will notice the similarities of the scenery. Having visited such places so many times I was not too thrilled by the beauty around me. The rest of the people in the tour seemed to thoroughly enjoy the mountains.
Back from the long day in the mountains I had no intention to go walking into the Coral Bay Strip to search for food. Instead decided to eat (for the first time) at one of the hotel resturants. I ordered the Coral Burger which did not disappoint.
Blurry picture of the departure gate at Larnaca International Airport.
Guess what this is: Munich airport, German Engineering!
I was delighted to find that the Germans have still resisted the temptation of getting on the “make smokers social outcasts” bandwagon. A nice clean and excellently ventilated smoking room at Munich Airport is proof that a well ventilated smoking area IS technologically feasible.