As american as ...

My mother had an idea today for a blog posting. She suggested I take a photo of the dinner I cooked for myself today, and the dinner she cooked for herself and the rest of the family. My meal consisted of brown rice with lentils and walnuts, collared greens, salad with olive oil, and half an avocado, with a pomegranate/orange juice as a beverage (and flax oil supplement on the side). Becky opted for the traditional American fried hot dog in a bun, French fries, Coke, and a Hershey bar and muffin for dessert.

Hanging Out in the US

From Abu Dhabi it's a long trip to the Midwestern US, entailing a 7 hour flight to Europe, then another 8 hours on to NYC, then yet another flight to Pittsburgh. Door to door the journey took me over 30 hours. The photo above shows Wes demonstrating the proper American way to fire up the BBQ grill. The key here is not to be stingy with the lighter fluid.

Back to Abu Dhabi

From Cyprus it's back to the hot summer days of Abu Dhabi. Ramadan continues so many people in the city don't eat or drink throughout the day. After sunset, however, things pick up and there are various festivities each evening throughout Abu Dhabi.

Famagusta

By bus from Kyrenia, the ancient town of Famagusta is about a 75-minute ride to the east coast. It was quite hot here during our visit, but not as humid as it was in Kyrenia. We spent an enjoyable evening exploring the ruins of the Old Town and walking along the top of the Venetian wall which surrounds it. Of particular interest was the Mustafa Pasha Mosque, which was formerly the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, many of the churches were converted into mosques. In the above photo, you can see the minaret that was added to the church. Also, all images of human form were removed, all frescoes were covered in plaster, the altars and statues were destroyed, and, to complete the conversion, the floor was covered with a carpet.

Northern Cyprus

The photo at the top was taken from the inside of the mini-bus, going from the capital, Lefkosia, to Kyrenia (Girne) in northern Cyprus. The upper one-third of Cyprus is controlled by the Turkish Cypriots and Kyrenia is the major town on the northern coast. Here it was hotter, less expensive, and somewhat less developed than the Greek Cypriot regions on the southern part of the island. After lugging our snorkel gear around for about a week, we found a fairly good place to snorkel off the coast, not far from Kyrenia.

A Divided Island

The top photo was taken on the bus from the mountain town of Platres to Lefkosia, the capital of Cyprus. In 1974 the Turkish army invaded, taking over the northern third of the island, and since that time Lefkosia has been a divided city, with the Turkish Cypriots in the north and the Greek Cypriots in the south. In 2009, a surprise decision came from the Turkish side, suddenly permitting crossings, the first in 29 years. It's estimated that approximately 35% of the entire population of Cyprus crossed over the "Green Line" in Lefkosia during the first several weeks.

Street Art

The capital of Cyprus, Lefkosia, is a wonderful city for wandering around on foot. In addition to the many cafes, restaurants, museums, and shops, and the soldiers, wall, and barbed wire that divides the Greek and Turkish sides of the city, there's also an inordinate amount of graffiti. In the summer many of the residents have fled to the cooler beach or mountain regions so the city's not very crowded. Since 2009, crossings are allowed between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. It only takes a few minutes crossing the border as all that is required is a quick passport check, and it's fascinating to spend a couple of days going back and forth exploring both sides of the last divided city in the world.