For the first time since arriving in Cyprus, I actually felt like I was in a foreign country today. I think that may be because of the Old City portion of Nicosia. I don't even really know where to begin in describing today except to say that it was incredible and somewhat of a sensory and information overload (but in a good way!).
First we began with a walking tour of the Old City at a Venetian wall/bastille that has been standing since before America was founded (go USA with our young age and desire to tear down things that are more than 50 years old!). The tour guide was remarkable in her story-telling ability. She would make an incredible teacher because you get so wrapped up in her stories that you don't immediately realize you're learning simultaneously.
The history of Nicosia (remember, Cypriots call it Lefkosia) is so rich that naturally I can't explicate it entirely in one blog. But seeing competing Ottoman and British architecture and the ways that the churches have been altered to suit various religious needs/movements was impressive. And one of the things that I love so much about societies that have been around for a while.
I know, awkward picture, right? I'm not a photojournalist, apparently. But this picture gets my point across about the competing structures (kind of). When this church was built, it had the dome roof. Ever wonder why churches have domed roofs? Yeah, I never really thought about it either. I just thought it was aesthetically pleasing. There's a purpose though! Apparently, when Christianity was coming into it's own (back when it was believed that the earth was flat), people wondered where this "paradise" was that God and Jesus promised. So they looked all around themselves, at everything that wasn't earth (meaning they looked at the sky. 360 degrees.). They determined that paradise must be somewhere in the blue dome of the sky.... hence the meaning of a domed roof on a church! Or something to that extent.
Now, what you can't see in the picture is a door to the bottom left of the picture, on the side of the church that has a pointed arch, rather than a rounded one. Pointed arches apparently came around with Catholicism. Naturally, the conspiracy theorist in me (apparently there is one...) started thinking about the Da Vinci Code and the Knights Templar (who actually ruled Cyprus with King Richard the Lion Hearted) and the whole cup/chalice idea mentioned in Dan Brown's novel. Take it and run with it, if you want... I was intrigued.
The churches in Nicosia have changed hands/religions several times, and many churches were destroyed during the course of multiple rulers throughout history. But I hope to visit the inside of the churches on another visit to the Old City (so you'll get more chatter on this topic later, if you check back).
Let's see, we visited some touristy market areas where I'm sure I'll pick up some gifts at some point. We walked up to The Green Line, which is the dividing line between Greek Cyprus and Turkish Cyprus. I'd love to show you a picture of this, but the whole "no photographs" sign, guarded by a guy with machine guns kind of scared me out of it.
The archaeological museum was phenomenal. It was amazing to see artifacts from 10,000 BC. Um.... that's a really long time ago, y'all. There was a pice of pottery that had an etching of a cat on it (which happens to be THE oldest recorded image of this creature, even pre-dating Egyptians)! It was also fascinating to see the influence of various cultures on Cypriot pottery, jewelry et al. Greeks, Romans, Turks (before Turkey was predominantly Muslim), they're all represented. And, naturally, as Cypriots were influenced by these cultures, they took those ideas and created their own style. Similar, but different.
I don't want to write a ton of words and scare anyone away from my blog, so I'll stop here for the night. It's been a long, but lovely day here in the Mediterranean. And I think I'll close with a picture of doors. Because Nicosia has a lot of cool ones. At least to me. :)
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