Cyprus

[Michel Carleer]

It seems everyone was heading for Cyprus lately: I was in Paphos for 10 days last week and a half. Returned last night, just in time, the temp yesterday was 37 celsius and rising.
Hi Brian,
Michka

[Ant]

I flew out of Paphos yesterday about 5:00PM I stayed over the other side near Polis, absolutely superb, it sure was getting hot

[This_Idiot]

Mebbe that's why Brian's so quiet this week !

(luv ya really Brian, one of these days I'm coming over so you can get your own back - I didn't really mean it about yer teeth, honest).

Does anyone remember a short series of sitcoms (here in Pal land) about a group of Brit ex-pats in Cyprus ? Needless to say most of the dialogue took place in a bar. It must have been early 80's (I think).

[Michel Carleer]

Yes. And now that I spent some time in Cyprus, I do understand why Brian landed there: everything is so british! Even the car license plates look like the real ones, you know, white in front, yellow at the back, with the special squary font, and with the impossible to understand numbering scheme
Michka

[Brian Ellis]

Hi guys,

It looks like we should start chapter meetings over here

Yes, it's been pleasantly warm here over the last few days: slightly cooler this morning. Not warm enough to start the aircon, though, although I did think about switching ot on last night, but was too lazy to get up to find the zapper. Where I am (300 m up in the foothills of the Troodos massif, not very far from Stavrovouni), it is usually a degree or two cooler than Nicosia and a degree or two warmer than the coast. However, the drier air here makes it a lot more tolerable than the coast, where the humidity can be really oppressive, especially when the temp rises over 40°C. I've a friend in Larnaca who collects over 10 l of water per day from his aircon in summer.

Ant: I agree with you, the Akamas region is superb, but don't shout it out loud (we don't want masses of tourists coming over to spoil it!). The only reason we didn't settle there is the hassle to and from Larnaca Airport (I travel a lot).

T_I: I've had quick looks here most of the time, but I'm overstretched just now. Week before last, I had to inspect 7 factories in Egypt for the UNEP and then write my reports. On Tuesday of next week, I'm making a flying visit to the UK as a speaker/member of the Executive Team of an IEE Professional Network and I had to prepare my presentation. Later next week, I'm going to Switzerland to sort out some computers for a language school which my daughter runs. After that, I'm going to Patrickland for a UN conference in Montreal etc. etc. etc. This is what it's like to be retired! Never been so bloody busy in my life! To cap it all, (no pun intended), I broke a tooth last week and am having to have it crowned, so I've been toing and froing to the dentist like gangbusters. It was therefore very indelicate of you to mention teeth, although I'll forgive you as you couldn't have known!

I don't know the sitcom you were meaning. I know the BBC made a pathetic soap here a coupla years ago, called Sunburn. About a group of tour operators and their victims. So popular that they withdrew it after four or five episodes! When they were turning it, in Ayia Napa (the Ibiza of the E. Med.), the Cyprus Tourism Organisation were thrilled to death because they thought it would attract twice as many Brit tourists. If anything, it probably revolted more!

Michka: talk about the pot calling the kettle black: what could be more incomprehensible than the vehicle licensing numbers in Belgium? In the UK, if you know, it's easy. The single letter represents the year of registration and the last two of the group of three is a code indicating the place of registration. The first of the three and the three figures are serial nos. Over here, you see relics of four systems. Originally, a single letter represented the district (N for Nicosia, P for Paphos etc.) followed by 1-4 digits in serial no. This was followed by the district letter and a serial letter and 1-4 digits. I'm not sure when, but it may have been after Independence in 1960, they just did 2 letters + 3 digits, irresepective of the district (centralised). Since about a dozen years or so, they have had 3 letters + 3 digits in serial order for the whole country, but they miss out many letters (e.g., about 2 or 3 years ago they seem to have jumped from EZZ to HAA or thereabouts). I don't know, but I have a feeling that they use only the letters which look common to both the Roman and Greek alphabets, so that F and G are no-go. So you can judge the approximate date of registration with this series. Simple!

However, having not lived in the UK since 1963, we chose this island not because of any pretended resemblance but because of its differences. I could NEVER live in the UK again: it has changed so drastically in the last 40 years and most certainly not for the better. Of course, the main reason is that we could not continue to live in Switzerland on a pension for economic reasons, so we found a place where the cost of living is so much lower, with a good climate, with friendly people (like Switzerland??? ), at least away from the minority of sharks trying to milk the tourist. And Margaret and I are both very happy here, with a standard of life much higher than we had in Switzerland.

BTW, if anyone is interested in acquiring a property for holidays and/or to retire here, I suggest that now may be the best time. The analysts forecast a massive rise in property prices when Cyprus is admitted to the EU, possibly in 2003 or 2004.

The next time any of you guys come to the Island of Love (or Sex in Ayia Napa), drop me an e-mail beforehand. If I'm around, we may be able to meet to crack open a bottle of the local wine or eat a souvlaki together. I'm sure that we all have mental images of each other that are totally wrong

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Brian (the terrible)

[Patrick]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">After that, I'm going to Patrickland for a UN conference in Montreal etc. etc. etc.</font>

Hey Brian, I feel rather special that you'd refer to an entire country using my name!

How about a very quick history lesson? Why were (are?) all those Canadian soldiers stationed in Cypress over the years as part of the UN peacekeeping force? Who were they trying to keep apart? Was (is?) it Greeks and Turks? What is the situation now?

[Michel Carleer]

Brian,
Of course, my post was kind of a joke. Anyway when I speak about being so british, I mean some 40 years ago, not now. And I do certainly agree that there are more differences than similarities between Cyprus and the good old UK. But still, I found in the management and servicing of hotels and restaurants some reminiscence of my young years in South-Africa, Rhodesia, Kenya or even Egypt. That was some 40-45 years ago. And at the hotel I stayed in Paphos, you have to get properly dressed for diner: at least a tie and all that goes with it, long dresses for the women are most welcome. Small children are allowed to eat with their parents however. Which was not permitted in the above mentioned countries when I went there.
As for the belgian license plates, they are simply formed of 3 letters followed by 3 numbers and distributed in alphanumerical order. Don't try to find a meaning, there is none. Which is quite different than having some kind of semi-secret and half-approximate coding into it
Michka

[Brian Ellis]

Michka

Happily, there are still (a very few) hotels that try to maintain the standards. Of course, the most prevalent reminiscence of colonial times is seen when you enter a restaurant: chips (French fries for our transatlantic friends) with everything, but just not any old chips, real fat, soggy English style chips, yuk! We went to an "Italian" restaurant for a lunchtime snack the other day: I ordered spaghetti bolognaise and Margaret lasagne verdi al forno. Believe it or not, both came with chips: guess which restaurant has now been blackballed. Unfortunately, the local potatoes, which are a major export crop, are totally unsuitable for chips, albeit excellent for baking. Bintje spuds are unknown here, these making excellent chips, if double fried, like they do chez toi.

Patrick: even the briefest history would take me at least 72 hours to write. Suffice it to say that a) the Turkish military started to invade the island in 1974 b) they grossly violated the human rights of the inhabitants, especially the ethnically Greek Cypriots who were forced to seek refuge by fleeing to the south c) the UN instituted a "green line", behind which the Turkish army had to stay, pending a rapid settlement of the dispute: it is still there today and Nicosia is the only divided capital city in the world (as sealed as Berlin was). d) The UN police the green line to prevent (not very successfully) the excesses of the Turks. e) This armed force, UNFICYP, is still there, 25 years later, composed of soldiers from many countries. f) Semi-continuous talks between Turkey, Greece, ethnically Turkish and Greek Cypriots always break down because neither Turkey nor the Turkish Cypriot leadership (a puppet-pseudostate with the strings pulled from Ankara) will recognise any of the Security Council resolutions or any other international rulings (including the courts of justice and of human rights), despite enormous concessions offered by the legal Republic of Cyprus. The so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has not been recognised by any country in the world or the UN, with the single exception of Turkey. Regretfully, the whole thing started by a machination of a secret deal which went sadly wrong, between the USA and Turkey. Henry Kissinger was the main protagonist who sparked Turkey into action with the help of the CIA and the supply of US arms, because he wanted to get rid of the Greek military junta.

Although it is very pro-Greek extremist, http://www.mit.edu/people/petros/cy_body.html may be the ideal site to learn more, if you wish, even if only for a whole host of links to other sites, many of them a little easier to digest. What I do not understand is why the Massachussets (spelling?) Institute of Technology has permitted such a propagandist anti-American site on its server. BTW, it takes a few minutes to download if you are not on a super-fast system. Hope this helps you understand a very complex situation which shows that the UN is virtually powerless and that successive US governments and Presidents have done nothing to right the wrong they caused, other than send "envoys" between the protagonists and who have achieved nothing other than spout forth kilometres of platitudes. Well, you did ask for it, Patrick.


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Brian (the terrible)

[petrosKomodromos]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Brian Ellis:

Although it is very pro-Greek extremist, http://www.mit.edu/people/petros/cy_body.html may be the ideal site to learn more, if you wish, even if only for a whole host of links to other sites, many of them a little easier to digest. What I do not understand is why the Massachussets (spelling?) Institute of Technology has permitted such a propagandist anti-American site on its server. BTW, it takes a few minutes to download if you are not on a super-fast system. Hope this helps you understand a very complex situation which shows that the UN is virtually powerless and that successive US governments and Presidents have done nothing to right the wrong they caused, other than send "envoys" between the protagonists and who have achieved nothing other than spout forth kilometres of platitudes.
</font>

Dear Brian, thanks for referring to my page but I have to make two comments.

1. "it is very pro-Greek extremist": I am not either proGreek or extremist. I love Greece as ethnically I am Greek (as any person loves her/his ethnic background and culture) but also for what Greece has contributed to the Western civilization.
I also love cyprus which is my country tyo which I wish i could live in peace and freedom with all my other compatriots (Turkish/Greek/Armenian/Latin and Maronite Cypriots) respecting each others beliefs, culture and habits, without the presence of foreign military occupational forces. Is this desire for freedom extremist?

Let me copy from my page what Kazantzakis has once writen and which apply to all Cypriots:
"What first truly stirred my soul was not fear or pain, nor was it pleasure or games; it was the yearning for freedom"


2. Regarding your question about MIT allowing my page to be hosted on its server, I have to say that as an MIT student and employee I have the right to express my personal beliefs taking of course all the responsibility of what I write. If even a single word of what I write is wrong anyone in the USA (especially those critisized) has any legal right against me and I provoke them to do so as I can proove to anyone the dirty games played by Kisinger and CIA on the dead bodies of defenseless people in Cyprus. Do they dare to question what I write? No... and they know better why they do not, regardless the power they have acquired through their dirty games at expense of millions of human lifes (referring to other places and not not only Cyprus, such as Chile, Laos, Cambotia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Honduras, ... the list is too long..).

Dear Brian, I hope you have a great time in Cyprus. I miss her incredibly too much.

My best regards from Boston
Petros

[This message has been edited by petrosKomodromos (edited 26 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by petrosKomodromos (edited 26 May 2001).]

[Brian Ellis]

Yia sou, Petro

Well, that was one reply that I did not expect!

Are you interested in video work that you happened to hit on it so soon after I wrote it?

It is clear that you are passionate about the political situation that this country is in, but I'll not discuss this much further as it is off-topic for this forum. We are basically in agreement. However, to inform those who do not know it, I'll say there is a general election taking place here today. It looks as if the ruling coalition will change somewhat, if the polls are anything to go by; the majority party will possibly be AKEL (which can be described as moderate communist). Whatever, this will bring fresh blood into Parliament and this is, in my opinion, badly needed. The three main leaders up to now, President Clerides, House-leader Kyprianou (also ex-President) and ex-President Vassiliou are all very old men, in politics for over 40 years. They are all respected, but the younger blood that will be coming in may help to provide a better united base for negotiations. Glafcos Clerides has been trying to negotiate with Rauf Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriot leader, since 1968 officially (1964 privately), with no success in over 30 years. The real problem is that Denktash has no room for manouvering to find a solution, because his hands are tied by a Turkish knot and he, himself, is also an old man.

I will add just one more thing, being of British nationality: the real basic cause for the situation today goes back to the 1950s and the incompetent handling of the situation then by the British, who laid the groundwork that allowed the subsequent events to take place. I was here in 1951-3, when the island was peaceful and Greek and Turkish Cypriots literally lived side-by-side in many villages and towns. I was here again in 1956, by which time the situation had already started to deteriorate mainly because of the brutal repression by the Brits of a movement expressing a wish for Union with Greece (Enosis), which would not, of course, have gone down well with the Turkish minority. This resulted in the formation of a Greek terrorist movement (EOKA) which targeted British interests from 1955 on. The ethnic rift was sealed when the Brits used the Turkish Cypriots to help repress both Enosis and EOKA. When Independence was negotiated (1959-60), the Brits allowed into the Treaty clauses which permitted the later events to occur. We also have a lot to answer for, in laying the groundwork (and not only in Cyprus).

Enough of politics! Weather here today is hot (36°C) and sunny. I spent half-an-hour this morning watching a family of hoopoes at the foot of our garden. Although we had some, as birds of passage, in March, this is the first time I've seen the results of breeding, very rare at this altitude (300 m). Breeding is more usual above 1500 m, but still not common. There appear to be two young. Unfortunately, they were too far away with too many obstacles (trees) to be able to film, as they are really beautiful birds, especially when they flash their orange crests.




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Brian (the terrible)

[Brian Ellis]

The predictions were right. The Communist AKEL party received the most votes yesterday, by a slim 1% margin, totalling about 35%, over the medium-right DISY party. Clearly, nothing will really change, as it will remain a coalition over the spectrum. It will still require the "opposition" party plus a number of the members from most of the smaller parties to defeat anything in Parliament. The small ones could never pass or defeat anything by themselves, either, so everything makes for stability, even if theoretically we are now the second commie island in the world! Such is democracy and it shows the advantage of a multiparty system with proportional representation over a bipartite one where one person defecting can rock the boat (happily!).

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Brian (the terrible)

[petrosKomodromos]

Dear Brian yia soy!
Hope you are having a great time in Cyprus!
Best wishes
Petros

[petrosKomodromos]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Brian Ellis:
I was here again in 1956, by which time the situation had already started to deteriorate mainly because of the brutal repression by the Brits of a movement expressing a wish for Union with Greece (Enosis), which would not, of course, have gone down well with the Turkish minority. This resulted in the formation of a Greek terrorist movement (EOKA) which targeted British interests from 1955 on.
</font>

Dear Brian, after rereading your earlier post I have two very short comments:

First, I appreciate your courage to admit the role of Britain oppressing the Cypriots and their basic human rights and freedom and creating the whole situation with so many victims by applying the usual dirty "divide & conquer" approach.

Secondly, I wonder whether the, mostly teenagers, men and women who joined EOKA in order to liberate our country and unite it with our (for thousands and thousands of years) motherland, Greece, according to the deep desire of the overwhelming majority of the Cypriots are terrorists as you claim above. Was Evagoras Pallikarides the hero high-school student, athlete and poet, who was hanged on the name of her "majesty" (travesty would sound much more proper), a terrorists? If yes, I guess every decent and moral person on this planet should also desire and aim to be a terrorist...

Best regards
Petros

PS: If you can find any book, in english if you do not know Greek, I would suggest to read some of the poems of this magnificent young boy who had the courage to die singing for the beauty of freedom and love. The worst crime is not the execution of young people who strive for freedom but to spill their morality by naming them terrorist, while they were the purest expression of heroism.

[This message has been edited by petrosKomodromos (edited 31 May 2001).]

[This_Idiot]

Petros

This isn't a political forum.

While I'm happy to permit off-topic banter of virtually any variety (as long as it is legal and not family-unfriendly), I draw the line at politics, religion and racism.

Please cease.

Chris
(This_Idiot)
Forum Administrator

[petrosKomodromos]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by This_Idiot:
Petros

This isn't a political forum.

While I'm happy to permit off-topic banter of virtually any variety (as long as it is legal and not family-unfriendly), I draw the line at politics, religion and racism.

Please cease.

Chris
(This_Idiot)
Forum Administrator</font>

Chris,

I just replied in good will to something earlier stated regarding my country to which you had not made such intervention.

I am not sure what really bothered you.... the travesty? But anyway, I cease for ever to write to this forum as I do not like restraints subjectively imposed by administrators.

Petros