Cultural Pursuits

While staying with Androula at To Spitiko tou Archonta recently, Rosie, Androula and I made a little excursion one day to Platres. From Treis Elies it only takes about twenty minutes to reach Pano Platres, perched on the Troodos mountainside, with spectacular views around. This town became well established as a holiday resort at the time of British rule on the island from 1880; a favoured spot because of its temperate climate, low humidity and cooling breezes; very welcome at the height of the summer when temperatures in Lefkosia and lowlands could reach and sometimes exceed 40〫C . It gradually became a favoured watering hole of the well-heeled travellers from Egypt, Palestine, Sudan as well as Lefkosia and Limassol.

Although there is a history of a village here from as early as 1100AD to all intents and purposes today it exists purely as a holiday resort and nearly all the inhabitants are connected with tourism one way or another; the streets are lined with cafes, bars, hotels and tourist shops, offering nothing of any distinction. In its heyday it attracted the rich and famous but these days the clientele is of a more modest variety and it has the feeling of being stuck somewhat in a time warp.

Before leaving the town Androula wanted to pay a visit to a hotel that is an icon of the glory that was Platres in its heyday; The Forest Park Hotel. This hotel was one of the first  built on Platres that offered the visitor an hotel of international standards; built in 1935 by George  Skyrianides, a pioneer in Cypriot tourism and designed by the Israeli architect Samuel Barkai. The curved side elevation, projecting like the prow of a ship over the hillside, has the hallmark of thirties design and must have been quite strikingly modern in its setting when first built.  It still remains in the hands of the Skyrianides family today.

The hotel commands an impressive spot at the top (or so it seems) of the mountain. You pass under an archway and climb up the long tree-lined drive to the hotel entrance.The day we arrived there was quite a bustle as two or three coach loads of P & O cruisers docked at Limassol had arrived to take tea. Androula was keen to renew acquaintance with the management as she had an interest in talking to Mr Heraklis, one of the brothers Skyrianides, who are the present owners of the hotel. As well as the manager, Mr Anthony Skyrianides was present with one of his sons; a particularly beautiful young man with that gentle, dreamy, dark look some young Cypriot men with pale eyes have. We were invited to take tea on the terrace  from where the young man, after some conversation escorted us around the hotel.

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The hotel has recently re-opened after a  winter closure. It was refurbished as recently as 2004, over the years there have been quite a few additions, from its original 70 bedrooms the hotel now has more than double that capacity. I really liked the atmosphere and feel of the place, it has a very sedate, comfortable, retro feel of the 50′s with some nice original touches. I can visualise how people would have come here to take the air and relax. There is plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the magnificent  surroundings, the terrace has a fantastic view. The part I particularly liked was the bar as in here there was a focus on some of the quality craftsmanship to be found in Cyprus  with beautiful examples of old Fythkiotika on the walls and attractively carved panels, even the chairs seemed to have an authentic feel.

As Mr Heraklis was not available on this visit we arranged to return one evening a few days later, as  part of her research for a project, Androula wanted to hear the stories of the past, of which she knew Mr Heraklis had many. A charming and urbane man, he was generous with his time  giving us a potted history of the beginnings of tourism and particularly hoteliers in Cyprus. His family was a forerunner in hotel management, particularly his father Mr. George Skyrianides who had the vision of how tourism could play a major role in the economy of Cyprus  and made strenuous efforts to establish an official regulatory body, the Cyprus Hotel Association, which laid the foundations for the Cyprus Tourist Organisation of today.

Mr Heraklis talked of the glory days of the past involving many difficult periods such as: when the hotel was requisitioned by the British in World War II for use as a military hospital or when the Suez crisis erupted and again the British used Forest Park as its headquarters.  This highlights  how useful Cyprus has always been, strategically placed as it is in the Mediterranean, and why the British are loath to give up their Sovereign bases even though they no longer pay rent for the privilege.

I felt Mr. Heraklis’ sadness and puzzlement when viewing  the present predicament of Forest Park as he related the various ideas recently tried, to attract visitors. The tourist trade has changed greatly over the years and the management at Forest Park have adapted to meet its needs. In the early days guests were looking for relaxation and tranquility in the green and cool of the mountains, then when sand and sunshine took over as priorities, Forest Park could offer a two centre holiday, a large conference centre has been added to its facilities as well as other amenities to attract a wide range of visitors.  Times are tough and to survive the exceptional circumstances of the present, bold innovative ideas are called for such as the kind Mr George Skyrianides  pioneered back in the day.

The present economic climate certainly makes for extremely challenging times, I was saddened to think that this unique hotel might possibly not survive unless a radical new way forward was found. I believe it certainly has a lot to offer; the history and ‘vintage’ feel that is very popular today could be enhanced by some contemporary touches commissioned from the best of today’s Cypriot craftsmen and women, celebrating its Cypriot uniqueness, echoing the values of its founder. Add to this an old style service with a top-notch international chef and you have something apart from the average. We were shown the latest  additions of rooms in the new wing and once inside the room it could be any hotel room in the world, with the same furniture and fixtures. I am all for the modern amenities but what about individuality? Hotels of quality today offer not just amenities but style. In my opinion it is a mistake to think that things must be made cheap to attract more customers, it depends which customers you are looking for. Surely people will pay for quality and individuality, something they can’t get anywhere else, this is value for money.

And why will the visitor come to this unique hotel perched on its plateau, what has the area got to offer that will attract, no what has Cyprus got to offer the discerning tourist? There is a company based in the UK called Matin Randall  who specialise in cultural tours with experts, they organise bespoke holidays all over the world to visit art and architecture with a specialist in each particular field to guide and inform. There is certainly plenty of scope for such holidays in Cyprus.There is a unique flora and fauna, as well as  geology which could attract specialist groups of visitors with expert guides in these subjects. There are the fabulous collection of Unesco listed painted churches in the Troodos regions together with a myriad of ancient archaeological sites from ancient Amathus ,Kourion, Kolossi, Tombs of the Kings, Choirokoitia as well as  Kantarra, Buffavento, Kyrenia, Bellapais, Salamis etc.  There are also many people in search of activity holidays these days and Troodos lends itself to walking and cycling and painting or photography. Gourmet events specialising in local wines. These are certainly  avenues ripe for exploration. Forest View Hotel situated as it is in Platres could be a good base for these kinds of holiday.Times are ever changing indeed but that means there are different avenues to explore.

Pressure

I have been back in the UK for a week after my trip to Cyprus, one quite miserable week, as my ears and nose have been completely bunged up and my head felt as if it had been stuffed to the gunnels with cotton wool, my throat , sore and itchy. My nose at times, seemed like a tap with a worn washer, drip, drip, dripping; and no spare washer to fit in its place? Thankfully today I can see light at the end of the tunnel, in fact not only that, I see sunshine in the garden. My sinuses are sensitive and I have trouble with my ears when there are changes in pressure, particularly when coming to land in an aircraft or coming down mountains by car; why is it only coming down that is the problem and not going up, I would like to know?

This trip was different in many ways to my previous ones, not just because of how it ended, as the circumstances were exceptional. The financial crisis which has been unfolding for some time, came to a crisis  in Cyprus a week before my departure from the UK adding an edginess and sense of uncertainty to my trip. I had tried to read as much as I could about what was happening before I left but even so the picture was complicated and confused.  When I arrived my friends and family were trying to get to grips with what was going on and to understand how Cyprus had come to this.The news was full of discussions and endless debates going round and around the problems with no solutions on the agenda. The government was announcing even more bad news as every day passed: so many jobs being lost and benefits cut, taxes increased and savings slashed, banks in crisis.This scenario is repeated in countries around the world but in Cyprus the results have been heaped on the community in one big deluge of disaster nearly drowning them in despair.

Cyprus always seemed to me to have a strong economy and despite many setbacks they always seemed to come out fighting and making a success through disaster. There is a tenaciousness, maybe sheer bloodymindedness to the Cypriot character and an innate gift of commerce, that gets them through. What has so impressed me throughout this particular time is how the Cypriot people have rallied together and supported each other. There have been some public demonstrations of course a lot of anger but no riots, no civil unrest. Instead energy was focused on more positive actions. Massive free concerts were organised in the main towns with many guest artists from Greece taking part, asking the attendees to donate, food clothing and daily necessities to be distributed amongst the ever-growing number of people struggling to get by. The organisation has been efficient and the donations huge. Registered charities have been set up in many major towns and districts, co-ordinating the collection of donations and over-seeing distribution to all those in need that fall outside official guidelines. These are not governmental bodies and are privately run by groups of volunteers wishing to set up a network of support for the community. The community is organising itself and getting on with it in spite of the government’s debacle.

From the tourist’s point of view there is not much changed: the sun still shines, the beaches   are still as inviting the sea as blue, the scenery beautiful, the wine still flows and the food plentiful. There are no shortages in the shops although there may be fewer of them. There is less building going on ( this, to me, is a bonus) but plenty of accommodation, in fact a really good time to visit because you could get a bargain. Cyprus needs the tourists more than ever at the moment.

You would think, indeed I thought, this is not the time to make a trip to promote a book, who will be interested? I was wrong. What I found was the book was really appreciated and the people I met wanted not only to buy it for themselves but also promote it.

I met a diverse mixture of people from many countries, Lebanon, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Italy, America, Russia and of course the UK. Quite a few of them settled in Cyprus because they married Cypriots. Most of them have a quality of life in Cyprus that they would not get in their homeland. The things they love about Cyprus and which made them settle there, haven’t changed and because it is such a small place there is more sense of community. Networking is an integral part of Cyprus business, it is important who you know if you want to get on. Contacts are King, but then isn’t that the case anywhere? Bigger countries by necessity will work with what  you know rather than who, if you have contacts as well you’re quids in.

The most interesting thing I discovered on this trip is that there is a healthy and varied mix of small enterprises dotted all over the island and more popping up by the minute. Apart from the artisan bakery which I mentioned in the previous post, I visited a wonderful herb garden which is the base for a herbalist and naturopathic practise; I met the fabulous Elena Savvides who is a living dynamo, full of generosity and ideas, running a catering business as well as cookery classes and supper clubs with a larder full of pickles, preserves and jams. There is another organic herb producer in the Larnaka region as well as a multitude of specialist food producers dotted over the island.The topic discussed the most with all those I met, was that Cyprus is rich not only in natural resources and gifted people but also in a very well educated younger generation. This is the climate which could incubate new and enterprising businesses that harness the assets of Cyprus and turn them into lucrative ventures showcasing the best that can be achieved. Here’s to the Future.

The Nest Artisan Bakery Larnaka

Tsestos displayed in The Nest artisan bakery in Larnaka

Tsestos displayed in The Nest artisan bakery in Larnaka

On my last day in Cyprus I visited The Nest artisan bakery run by   Kyriakos and Maia. Maia turned up at the Strawberry Fair I attended at the Cornaro Institute on my first day in Cyprus and also for the talk I did on my last day. After the talk I went back to the bakery with her and was delighted by the whole ambience of the place.

It has only been open since January and you might not find it easily as it is an ordinary house from the outside. Just a few turnings down from St Lazarus Church in the centre.  Kyriakos is the master baker and Maia organising and sourcing all sorts of interesting arts and crafts by local producers and craftsmen for the shop and cafe. Kyriakos is a creator of his own style of baking as well as the traditional favourites. At this special Easter time he has been working flat out along with Maia to get all the goodies cooked and out there. They are all delicious. I was very lucky as it was the end of the day I was the happy recipient of the leftover goodies, flaouna, kourlourka, tahinopitta and halloumi bread. They sell at the local market on Fridays so if you are in the vicinity of St Lazarus Church why not try some or pop along to 12 Apolloneio Kiteos and enjoy a coffee or tea and relax with something tasty. Look out for the distinctive sign.

The Cornaro Institute Talk

I am back in the UK now after my busy and varied trip to Cyprus promoting ‘Androula’s Kitchen’ culminating in my talk at the Cornaro Institute. It’s been quite a hectic trip one way or the other or so it felt like. I have met a good many people I would not have come across otherwise if I had not been promoting the book.

My last day was spent travelling across almost the whole length of the island from Polis to Larnaka for my final appointment at The Cornaro Institute before flying home. It had turned out to be a bit of a scorcher as the temperature rose from what had been a very pleasant 24 degrees to nearer 30. Luckily it was nice and cool inside the old town house which now serves as the College. After the initial disappointment of not being able to connect my slide show to the projector as it was only geared up for PCs and not my trusty Mac, I relaxed as the audience started to arrive. It was quite a nice turn out of about 20 or so people and more chairs had to be found as a few late-comers arrived. There were a couple of people I knew in the audience so that was reassuring. I told the story of how the book came into being and illustrated with my slides showing just on my small screen.

We ended up with quite a lively debate at the end of the talk as We discussed the crafts and how the craft of basket making was gradually dying out. An attendee stated that he thought it was unnecessary to preserve all the old things as we have no use for them now with many modern facilities and products making the traditional redundant. My book may be about all the old ways of doing things and traditional crafts however I agree that we don’t want to go back to how things were always done but also we don’t want to lose valuable skills and knowledge. Once gone it is gone.

Pottery has evolved and Cyprus has many talented contemporary ceramicists and potters. Cyprus also some young weavers that are using traditional techniques and patterns to produce exciting new textiles as well as a small movement afoot to get Fythkiotika more widely practised and taught in colleges. What is not being taught and is gradually getting harder to find is basket making. There may not be the need for many of the types of baskets that were once common place, like the basket used for transporting chickens to market but those skills could be used to produce different baskets for a modern market. In the UK we love baskets and they have come back in fashion particularly after a movement to reduce the use of plastic bags in supermarkets. In France  and Africa there is a strong basket producing tradition with beautifully coloured and patterned shopping baskets This is a movement that would be a good idea to introduce to Cyprus, as plastic bags are ubiquitous. Why not make a super shopping basket for repeated use, something attractive and practical or promote the use of the basket that once was used to transport potatoes  as a log basket?

The baskets I bought this trip

Tsestos displayed in The Nest artisan bakery in Larnaka

Tsestos displayed in The Nest artisan bakery in Larnaka

 

The tsestos traditionally was the basket wear that was decorated with a wide variety of colourful patterns, today the choice of pattern is more limited than it used to be, these are made with straw or raffia. It would be a real joy to have the more elaborate patterns reintroduced as the smaller, deeper tsestos are extremely useful and attractive and  make very good storage baskets for, not just food, which is their traditional use but many household items. Tradition is dead long live tradition!!!

It’s Raining Ice

Androula and I set off for Lefkosia early on Monday morning with a list of people to visit. Up in Treis Elies it has been pretty chilly especially at night, I wish I’d brought my hot water bottle and a few more warm clothes! Down on the low lands though the temperature is about 10 degrees warmer. It was a sunny day and a pleasant drive. Our first stop was my Uncle’s house to collect four boxes of my books, he is kindly storing them for us. After a pleasant turn around his garden where he is growing all manner of vegetables and flowers in pots, we set off again. The next stop was a large bookshop Solonion, one of the first to be established in Lefkosia over 30 years ago with a very large selection of both Greek and English books and amongst them is ‘Androula’s Kitchen’. After a brief chat with the owner we set off again to park in the centre of town so that we could walk to the Turkish side over the Green Line.

By now we were both hungry and in need of lunch so we headed for the Buyuk Han built by the Ottomans in 1572 as a hostlery for travellers, it’s now used as a place of trade for souvenirs and local crafts as well as a few restaurants. We headed for one that Androula frequents and ordered a sort of kofta with salad and rice followed by bourekia tis saatches, delicious.

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We made a few more stops one of them was at a friend’s house in Lefkosia which is an old house built about 100 years ago and the owners have restored it beautifully, re-discovering some of the original features. This was a delight for me to visit as I have long wished to see inside one of these traditional town houses. Once inside the front door you are in the ‘iliakos’ which is a corridor through the middle of the house leading to the courtyard garden. There are rooms either side and around the courtyard, there is an open veranda area  which is a cool, pleasant place  to sit and acts as an outside room. The main room is large and features a huge stone archway as does the veranda area, long windows are either side of the room making this an airy light space. Other rooms line the sides of the corridor acting as bedrooms and studio areas. I was thrilled to have this opportunity to not only see inside the house but learn about the process of restoration. I have taken so many photos of dilapidated buildings it was a refreshing change to see the restored ones. After a few more meetings we next visited another old restored house in a different area of Lefkosia which used to be a village and now is connected to Lefkosia. This house has been added to with new modern areas that are very sympathetic with the design and has a very contemporary feel. This house has a very attractive garden with old date palms in the corner. Now it was time to wend our way back up into the mountains.

We started off in sunshine but soon encountered a violent thunderstorm with heavy rain which turned into huge hailstones. We luckily escaped the hail stones but they lay like a sheet of ice on the road and it was fortunate that another car had gone before us making a pathway in the ice. With the very windy roads and the dark and ice it was a tense journey home but thanks to Androula’s experience in such conditions we arrived safely.

 

Kalin Orexi

On Thursday Androula and I went from Treis Elies down the mountains of Troodos and up the mountains of Drousia to visit Elena Savvides at Orexi. Elena runs a catering company from her home in Drousia and one of her specialities is Lebanese food as her husband is  Lebanese. She had invited us as her guests to a lunch that she had organised by request to help her contacts network. She was most hospitable and supplied us with a beautifully cooked lunch with home-made pate, followed by a traditional dish of feta with tomatoes cooked with herbs in the oven and another Cypriot dish that is like a risotto cooked with spinach followed by a shrimp dish. All was delicious. Elena was most generous in promoting my book and is a great fan it seems and has recommended it to everybody so we made quite a few sales to the guests who received signed copies.

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Elena spends most of her time cooking, if she’s not preparing mouth-watering food for guests she is making preserves of all kinds from jams to pickles and relishes. She has a larder stocked with all manner of produce.

We had to rush off as we had to get back to Treis Elies to meet Androula’s customers at To Spitiko tou Archonta on the way stopping at a village in Troodos to buy some Anari and halloumi from a small producer. But many new contacts were made and ideas exchanged. We will be back on other occasions I am sure. Elena runs foraging days in season where she supplies breakfast ,then a lesson in how to forage and cook the produce together with a delicious lunch, as well as a supper club. Contact her at Orexi for details

Signing or Talking?

Before I made my visit to Cyprus I arranged with the lovely Inga of Inga’s Veggie Heaven fame, to do a small book signing event at her cafe. Inga very kindly notified people and posted on Facebook as I did . I wasn’t sure how it would turn out as it’s an unusual event for Cyprus and this part of Lefkosia where the cafe is situated, doesn’t have a very heavy footfall of passers-by or tourists, the clientelle knows of the cafe and makes a special journey to frequent it.

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But I liked the place as it’s situated on the corner of a small craft centre with workshops scattered around a courtyard, also the food is delicious. It is open mainly for lunch and I arrived at 1pm so that I could enjoy a relaxed meal before the ‘crowds’ arrived!

I started with a refreshing glass of chilled home-made lemonade and a chunk of home-made bread served with houmous. For my main meal I ate a fragrant plate of vegetarian lasagna and delicious fresh salad. The whole cafe has a gorgeous aroma of bread, herbs and general deliciousness that I wish I could bottle and take home with me.

Needless to say we were not rushed off our feet with the onslaught but I will say that quality is better than quantity. I spent a delightful few hours chatting to Inga and her Italian second in command Itale, a friend of Inga’s turned up to buy a book and have it signed and stayed to chat with us. Then an American man wandered in with a cleverly designed fold up bike to sit and have lunch and straightaway bought two copies of the book. Inga’s had been recommended to him some time ago and he had promised himself a visit at some point then he was told about the book signing and decided Tuesday would be the day. He lingered over his meal savouring the food and reading the book, occasionally joining in the conversation. He will certainly return with his wife who is a vegan.

Tuesday was a day of visits and I passed by some of the places that stock the book to say hello, my last being Mouflon bookshop, where I was given further information to follow-up and told the good news that they had sold all the copies of ‘Androula’s Kitchen’ that they had in stock and needed some more. So I ended up feeling fulfilled and content.

 

Strawberry Fair

I haven’t blogged for a while as I was busy preparing for my trip to Cyprus and there seemed to be so many details to think about but I have arrived and did my first gig yesterday at the Strawberry Fair in Larnaka.

The main craft area

The old stone steps that have worn

A cafe gallery

My trip didn’t start well as my taxi failed to turn up to take me to the station. I pre-booked it the day before but used a company I haven’t used for years and needless to say will never use again. As their number was permanently engaged I phoned a different taxi company who came straight away. Sadly I missed my train by a whisker and as that ticket was also pre-booked and only valid for that time train I had to buy another ticket. Not a promising start.

We seemed to make good time on the flight and were going to arrive early but as we were descending, suddenly the plane pulled up to start ascending again with no explanation and did a few circuits before landing on time? We could only assume there was no landing space. Well I had arrived in one piece and my cousin Michael was there to meet me so I began to relax.

I had to get up early to collect the hire car from Lefkosia town and duly drove down to Larnaka. The sun was in a cloudless sky and the car was going smoothly, these days there are so many lights and bells that it’s difficult to know what is what but all seemed fine. When I arrived in Larnaka I knew the area where the college was but having so many narrow streets and one way roads, it isn’t always easy to arrive in a straightforward manner. So consequently I arrived just as the Fair had started. But after I had been placed in a breezy location and settled down I began to take in my surroundings.

The Cyprus college of art is situated in a beautiful old town house and has the feel of all art colleges, or art colleges used to be in my early days, that is, dusty with messy edges. The craft stalls were laid out in the central wide corridor in the middle of the house which has doors either end to allow a cool breeze. This is called the iliakos in Greek. There was a steady flow of people and the second hand bookstall did very well. There were a group of German ladies who had an assortment of different novelties and crafts on their stall as well as a glass artist, a painter and so on. Of course there were strawberries which are in season now in Cyprus, they are large and juicy.  I didn’t have a huge success in terms of sales but I did make a few good connections which is often of more benefit.

Tired and warm I made my weary way home after going the wrong way at first of course, I settled on the motorway to Lefkosia with the radio playing when I noticed a  faint pinging noise like an  alarm going off. I couldn’t see anything untoward on the dashboard but who can tell?

So I pulled over switched everything off and waited a few minutes then re-started the engine. Just as I set off there it was again. Do you know what it was? I had put my heavy bag on the passenger seat and there was a red light flashing telling me the seat belt wasn’t fastened! Cars are such fussy things these days, you have to do everything according to their rules.

Looking Forward

Karagiosis

This week has been a bit tense. For Cypriots around the world that is a gross understatement. I like many people, have been watching from the sidelines with incredulity and deep sadness as the government of Cyprus has been hopping backwards and forwards between Brussels and Russia trying to salvage a badly damaged economy and in some measure a damaged reputation. I feel sad for all my friends and family who live there because they are the ones who will have to pick up the pieces.

Cyprus is another casualty of the economic distress and upheaval that is spreading like a disease around the world. With it comes talk of austerity and how we must all tighten our belts and expect  grim years ahead with no frills and fancies, in some cases that means basic essentials like food and clothing. The puzzle is that money does not just go ‘poof’ and disappear surely it is in someone’s pocket, someone with very big pockets? Or has it disappeared down some black hole somewhere?  There is also a lot more money in circulation than there used to be as now governments talk in billions and trillions where as in my childhood a million was considered a sum too large to contemplate; even lottery prizes are in multi millions! I’m sure some economist can explain it to me. In this country (UK) I know the government has printed more money “to ease the flow”  quantitative easing they call it; if they can print more money why not just print enough to wipe out the debt? That’s another thing if there is debt someone must be the creditor that must be the man with the big pockets I guess?

Originally money was created as a convenient way for people to exchange something of value (gold)  for service or goods, indeed at first the money was the gold turned into coins. Then money was made from other metals then paper to represent the gold that was held in a bank, is this still the case? I don’t think so. Unless that gold has gone up massively in value and then who says what the value should be?  When someone first had the bright idea to charge interest for lending Fred down the road enough money to build a house back in the year dot, he was in fact, magically, creating more money, making the amount of (gold) money he lent multiply! And so the magic has continued and the amount of money in the world has multiplied exponentially as does the amount of people needing it. But it seems to have all now got a bit out of hand and there is an urgent need for another bright idea to take its place. Money seems to have taken over everything and makes the rules that the rest of us are forced to follow; It has become the main focus instead of just an exchange of energy. Time to get back to basics and focus on the amazing richness the world has to offer in terms of talent and resources and find a way of enjoying them and  exchanging them without the use of bankers.

Cyprus I am sure will come back and be strong again, there is a lot of talent there amongst the young especially. I for one will be proud to see the regeneration.

Petra tou Romiou

Book Signing Poster

 

 

 

                                     

 

Something to look forward to.