Jan 04

The Mall of Cyprus, Nicosia

limassol, nicosia, shopping 4 Comments »
We decided to go on a second visit to Ikea last weekend. We also planned to combine it with a visit to the Mall of Cyprus next door to Ikea. It was a massive shopping/window shopping spree lasting almost 7 hours, that i ended up with a headache by the time we reached back to Limassol!
The Mall of Cyprus is quite impressive, designed on the lines of the big malls in the rest of the world. Carrefour and Debenhams occupy huge areas on the ground and first floor. One store called Public was interesting. It was an electronics/books store. The layout was very similar to Best Buy or Frys in the US. It had lot of options for electronics, though one must be crazy to buy anything in Cyprus, as the prices are quoted almost the same number of pounds as the price in US dollars. The books section was huge, probably the biggest i have seen un Cyprus. Other than these, we had the usual share of all the fashion stores. Vidhya tells me that the size of the stores here are much bigger than the ones within the city and they have more options. K-Cineplex is also there, so if you get tired of shopping or if you don’t want to accompany your wife on a shopping spree, let her shop while you can catch the latest movie.
The second floor has lot of restaurants serving junk food like Pizza hut, Mc Donalds, KFC etc. The icing on the cake was Haagen-Dazs, where i had milk shakes for the first time. I love all the ice creams of haagen-dazs, but the milk shakes were even better. It seemed that the whole of Nicosia had come to the mall that day just to have lunch.
On the whole, a trip to Ikea and the mall of cyprus could take the most of your day, but they are worth a visit from time to time.

mall of cyprus nicosia ikea mall of cyprus nicosia ikea mall of cyprus nicosia ikea mall of cyprus nicosia ikea

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written by Rajaram S

Jan 02

New Year Party in Limassol, Cyprus

cyprus, EU, Euro, limassol, top 3 Comments »
As always, we went to the New Year celebrations at the Municipal town hall in downtown Limassol. There was a big crowd, but where were the Cypriots ? Only a handful of them could be seen. Probably they came from families who didn’t know how to make black smoke and souvlaki. The rest of the crowd consisted of Asians, Eastern Europeans and even some turkish cypriots. Welcome to Europe!
I have been here more than 6 years and the change is getting more evident by the day. 6 years back, cypriots used to dominate any crowd (apart from the half naked britishers, in the summer). Nowadays, they are starting to become a minority, in the workplaces, in the malls, everywhere. This is the effect of joining Europe, becoming a part of EU. I am sure that the cypriots didn’t expect this side-effect when they wanted to join EU. For an average cypriot, rest of the world used to mean Greece and UK. Now things have changed. They are “forced” to interact with other Europeans too, those that they deemed inferior to them. I hope that the Cypriots take to this change in a positive way and welcome the interactions with new people and cultures.
The fireworks at this year’s new year celebrations looked a little special, probably because of Cyprus’ move to the Euro starting January 1st 2008 and they wanted to spend all the old Cyprus pound currency notes before that! But it was too cold to go out with a camera, so no photographs this time.
Happy New Year!

written by Rajaram S

Dec 31

Birdwatching in Akrotiri and lady’s mile, Cyprus

adventure, birds, cyprus, limassol, spring-in-cyprus, top 2 Comments »
It’s that time of the year when the birds are in “full bloom” in Cyprus. The migrating birds flock to Cyprus on their way across the Mediterranean. The Akrotiri salt lake and its adjoining marshes are excellent locations to observe these birds. The salt lake is also famous for the thousands of Lesser Flamingos which visit every year. I had been to the akrotiri lake many times in the past primarily for the flamingos and i have some decent pictures of those visit. I try to read a lot about birding activities in cyprus and came across Bird Life Cyprus. This organisation conducts regular birding field trips (yet to participate in one) and their website documents each of these trips and also gives lot of details on the “birding” related happenings in Cyprus.
I had mailed to few people from the contacts list for directions on some of the sites which i had found had frequent mentions on the field trips. Colin Richardson from Bird Life Cyprus was kind enough to give me detailed directions to the Phasouri reed-beds and the larnaca sewage works (along with Spiros Pools). I am reproducing these directions from his email. A big thanks to Colin for this.
—
PHASOURI REED-BEDS
As you describe, from Limassol past the Phasouri weekend market to the T-junction at the Akrotiri road. Turn left at the main road towards Ak. and along the line of trees, after 300metres a sign to the RIGHT says Cat Sanctuary, where you turn right and go past the cat sanctuary. After another 300metres approx. turn SHARP RIGHT (it says no through road, but that is not the case). It bends left and right for 200 metres and you arrive at the Phassouri reed-beds. It’s rather dry at the moment.

LARNACA SEWAGE WORKS, hide and Spiros Pools
From Larnaca airport head west towards Meneou village. After a speed bump as you enter the village turn obvious left, past two kiosks and a long term airport car park and you will head towards the sea. At the T-junction turn left. On the left is Meneou Pools, dry in summer and after 1-2km on the left across the salt flats you will see the raised timber hide at the edge of the raised sewage pools. Spiros Pools are the next pools on the left towards the desalination plant. The beach is directly on your right.

—–
Last weekend, i went to the Phassouri reed-beds and was surprised that i had never noticed such a huge wetland so close to where i used to roam around always. There was only one big water pool and there were hundreds of small birds there. I photograph birds, but have absolutely no idea of what they are. The only distinction i make is as follows: If it is white, it must be a sea gull, if it is small and black, it must be a duck. The rest are all “wow, a new bird” for me!
We were greeted by this cow when we parked our vehicle close to the reed-beds. He didn’t see to mind us being there. We saw hundreds of small black birds (probably ducks!) in the pool and they promptly flew off the moment we approached close enough for my lens to focus on them. We didn’t manage to find any other birds there though we managed to find a new interesting driving route to reach the sea from Akrotiri.
We then proceeded to Lady’s Mile beach through the earthern road to the Cat monastery. The approach to the salt lake was much easier from this earthern road. From the other directions (either from Lady’s mile beach or from the Fasouri planatations), you have to walk a lot to reach the edge of the lake. But, from here, the lake practically started where the road finished. We found few flamingos in the nearby pool. It’s time to change my lens because it seems to have completely lost its sharpness.
I decided that we had had enough of birding and was driving back through lady’s mile where we , surprisingly, saw almost a dozen flamingos very close to the road. I had very rarely seen them on these pools. These pools are almost always exclusively occupied by the sea gulls.

I also saw a “new bird” flying overhead. It was black, but didn’t look like a duck.

Another new bird which was wandering near the edges of the pool.

I got some nice flamingo shots at this location. I also went into the pool a little distance to get as close as possible to the birds without disturbing them. A good 2.5 hrs spent. Decent photographs, two new birds, could i ask for more?

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written by Rajaram S

Dec 07

Flying in Cyprus

adventure, cyprus, limassol, top, troodos No Comments »

Just as always, I was browsing around for something new and interesting to do in Cyprus. I came across a website which advertised pleasure flights over Cyprus. Looked interesting! So, i sent over an email to the contact address asking for more details. I didn’t expect an answer, as my many previous attempts to contact websites advertising sea kayaking around Cyprus or Hot Air Ballooning over Cyprus didn’t get any replies.
But, I got a reply within a day. The website “Flying in Cyprus” was not an amateur attempt at a website, but a full fledged one giving lot of information. They have sightseeing trips as well as planes for rent and even flight training programmes.
Some details on the sightseeing trips they offer
  • The flight lasts for around 45 minutes
  • The flight starts from Larnaca, goes towards Limassol, then towards Troodos and then back to Larnaca
  • The price is 85 CYP + VAT per person
  • The plane can accommodate two passengers at a time

They also have helicopter trips, but they are more expensive at 250 CYP per person. I would love to go for this flight trip, especially since there is snow on troodos now. I have always wanted to have a better look at the dense Paphos forests just to the west of troodos, but Vidhya isnot very interested in this. If i convince her, you can see lot of photos here!


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written by Rajaram S

Nov 22

Mundial Circus in Limassol

cyprus, limassol, top 1 Comment »

The Mundial Circus is in Limassol from November 22nd. They are setup at Agios Tychonas next to the Marathon Hotel. Entry fee is 10 CYP for adults and 6 CYP for children. I had been to this circus when it last came to Cyprus few years back, but I am not able to find the photographs. Once i find them, I shall update this post. If you visit and have photographs, let me know and i shall link to the same.

written by Rajaram S

Oct 04

Camping in Governor’s Beach, Cyprus

camping, limassol, picnic, sea, top 1 Comment »
Few weeks back, we had been camping in Polis in the north western corner of Cyprus. We wanted to go camping again, but were bored to drive more than an hour to reach Polis. So, we went to a camping site near Governor’s beach, which, even if we follow the speed limit, takes little more than 20 mins to reach. So, even if we get bored there, we could always drive back home anytime during the day/night.
This camping area is just to the left of the actual beach (you have to take a left on the way to the beach from the exit). It looks much more organised than the Polis camping area. But, the number of people with tents was almost negligible. Most of the people had their own caravans (some with even a satellite connection with the dish hooked up outside the caravan). I heard that the slots are kind of permanent and rented out to people with caravans. But, we liked the place. It was much more peaceful than in Polis and Vidhya liked the absence of dogs here.
It was Vidhya’s birthday and it was a nice surprise with the gang organising a cake cutting ceremony and giving us lot of gifts.
Btw, if you go for camping, don’t forget to take along someone who will always volunteer to show the way for you by holding a light (as you can see in the photos above). Sarvesh also gives a Statue of Liberty pose below.
The beach is just a short walk away. Governor’s beach is known for its blackish sand and clear waters. If you keep walking down the beach, you can see interesting cliff formations and also small caves. An ideal camping site, close to home!

written by Rajaram S

Sep 20

Cyprus on red alert against possible invasion

cyprus, India, larnaca, limassol, top 1 Comment »
The more popular you become, the more threats you get. Cyprus has developed into a hot tourist destination for all of Europe and hence is eyed upon as a prime location for emerging touristy business opportunities which are almost as worth as oil. So, many countries try from time-to-time to invade Cyprus.
Late last year, US sent one its aircraft carriers to invade the town of Limassol. But, the Cypriots were one step ahead of America’s plans. As you can see in the photo below, Cyprus sent out its state-of-the-art attack cruiser to threaten the USS Dwight D.Eisenhower and the plan worked, with the nuclear powered Aircraft carrier beating a hasty retreat.

Now, India has sent three of her ships to the port of Laranca in an attempt to invade Cyprus through larnaca. The INS Tarangini, INS Shardul and INS Sujata came towards laranaca late last week. The INS Sujata, an offshore patrol vehicle, was first sent on a reconnaissance mission towards the Larnaca port.
This alerted the Cyprus authorities. The entire naval fleet was put on a high alert in the Larnaca Marina (as can be seen in the pic below). My workplace is very close to Limassol Port. There was intense activity on the port and then we realised that all the Jet-Skis and Kayaks were being mobilised to be sent to Laranca to act as a front line defence against the Indian warships.

The army was also put on a high alert and all the backgammon(tavli) boards at the army training camps were withdrawn. In fact, soldiers who had been reporting to the army training camps over the last week were surprised when they were asked to report to the dusty gym, as they always headed straight to the coffee-shop on the campus for a game of backgammon.
I hope that the situation doesn’t escalate and turn into a full fledged war between India and Cyprus. Keep watching this space for updates!
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written by Rajaram S

Aug 28

Visit to the Limassol Wine Festival

limassol, September, top 1 Comment »
Went to the wine festival at the municipal gardens on the opening day with very high expectations. Came back very disappointed!
No, the wine festival didn’t come up short on the free wine. But, there was no fireworks display nor there were any games to play. These are the only two reasons i go to the Wine festival and both were absent, making me very disappointed! It was amazing how misinformed the officials were. We got three different times from three different people (including the cops on the scene) for the fireworks display.
Okay, there was this cancer society stall where you “donate” 1 pound and then choose any number corresponding to which you may get anything from a vermicilli packet to a bag of toffees. Vidhya won a hat, the only win of this year’s wine fesival. I also bought a wine festival t-shirt, which has become quite a practice for me every year. Though they are pretty cheap (2-3 CYP), the quality is surprisingly good and they last long.
Check out some photos from the festival.

written by Rajaram S

Aug 08

2nd Euro-Mediterranean Festival in Limassol

August, concert, cyprus, Euro, limassol, music, top 5 Comments »
If you are reading this (before August 10th) and you still haven’t watched the show, WATCH IT! It happened on August 6th (in Downtown Limassol) and August 7th(inside the Municiapal Gardens Theatre) and will happen on August 9th at Ayias Fylas/Zakaki (not sure where exactly) and on August 10th on the sea-front near the Old Port. I went to this show on Thursday not expecting much out of it. But, it was awesome. So, I went again yesterday, this time with my camera, to the Municipal Gardens and it was much better here with proper seating and a good view of the stage. There were some new sequences on the second day probably because this was a proper stage with a Green room etc where artists could change costumes and do more than one sequence. Enjoy the photographs below and don’t forget to watch the show.
There were artists from many countries in Europe like Belgium, Serbia, Bulgaria (or was it Belgrade/Serbia), Greece and of course Cyprus.
The girl in the photograph below, from serbia, had the crowd behind her and she could have put any belly dancer to shame with her amazing dance sequence.

euro mediterranean festival dance folk belly dance serbia

euro mediterranean festival dance folk belly dance serbia euro mediterranean festival dance folk belly dance serbia

euro mediterranean festival dance folk belly dance serbia

When i was in switzerland, I had been to Pilatus near Lucerne. There, they had these long horns (called as alphorns) on display. This was the first time i was hearing them being played. The sound was amazing and it looked like they were just controlling it with the way they blew air into the horn.

euro mediterranean festival dance folk long horn switzerland

When the group from Belgium came on stage, i was wondering as to what they are going to do with flags. They showed a lot of things that can be done with them! They threw the flags high up in the air in unison and caught it perfectly in tune with the beats of the song. Their choreography was great and the music was even greater. In fact, one of the songs was played has been directly copied in one of Indian movie songs. I guess we should appreciate the Indian music directors for spending so much time on research and look for remote folk songs to copy over! According to one of the commentors on this post, this group/folk-art is called “Flago” in the esperanto language (the universal language). You can see more details about this group at the Flago Website.

euro mediterranean festival dance folk flago belgium

euro mediterranean festival dance folk flago belgium euro mediterranean festival dance folk flago belgium

Yes, i took photos of guys too. One of them had funny looking shoes! One group did an interesting sequence standing on a pot.

euro mediterranean festival dance folk euro mediterranean festival dance folk euro mediterranean festival dance folk euro mediterranean festival dance folk

The group from Serbia was the best of the lot with the girls performing a routine lasting for almost 15 minutes with a very fast beat and some amazing co-ordination!

euro mediterranean festival dance folk serbia

euro mediterranean festival dance folk serbia

euro mediterranean festival dance folk serbia

euro mediterranean festival dance folk serbia

euro mediterranean festival dance folk serbia

euro mediterranean festival dance folk serbia

and, of course, we had the cypriots and the greeks doing their thing of getting around in a circle and watching a guy sit down/stand up/touch his leg and doing the rest of the things which they usually do.

euro mediterranean festival dance folk cyprus greek

Hope you enjoyed the photos and if you are reading this before 10th, don’t miss the show.

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written by Rajaram S

Aug 01

Cyprus Wine Festival 2007 in Limassol

August, limassol, September, top No Comments »
The Wine Festival in Limassol is an annual affair which started in the year 1961. The festival is staged inside the Limassol Municipal Gardens. It usually goes on for a fortnight with fireworks displays on the first and last days. This year, the festival is from August 28th to September 9th. It is a very popular event with thousands of visitors, some even coming from outside Cyprus especially for this event.
All the local manufacturers of wine come to this festival and give free samples to all the visitors. So it is heyday for all those in search of free booze. I visit this festival every year though I am a teetotaller. The festival not only has wine stalls, but also has shows of many local dances and lots of games to play. I go these especially for the games. I have been lucky at times too. Below are two pictures (from pre-SLR days). The first one shows the statue of the man synonymous with the wine festival which is the first thing to go up leading to the preparations for the wine festival. The second photo was taken by me and the stuff held by the guy on the left (a stuffed dog and the Red Indian Wall Hanging) were won by me in a raffle.

cyprus limassol wine festival

cyprus limassol wine festival

Btw, i went to the wine festival on the opening day last week and you can see photos here.

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written by Rajaram S

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