Today was our first day in Cyprus! After a quick breakfast (the tiny baguettes and croissants were really good), we started the day off with a walking tour of the new part of Nicosia. We got to hear about Freedom Square and the old town hall, as well as walk around near some clothing stores and coffee shops and get to know the feel of the new part of the city. It was so cool to see a reflection of Cypriot culture in all the different coffee shops; I wish I liked coffee so I could try them all! I also really liked how there were lots of plants incorporated with the buildings; it felt very different from something like New York City in that way and it was very beautiful. It seemed like embracing nature must be an aspect of Cypriot culture too. After our walk we had free time for lunch. I went with Rebecca, Kate, and Ben to a restaurant in the old city, and we each had a skewer plate that came with fries and salad. The restaurant had an entire garden in the back! Lunch was very relaxed and the staff were very friendly. We also didn’t have to tip here in Cyprus, which was a little weird!

After lunch, we went on to visit UNIC. After our orientation, we walked around the campus neighborhood for a bit and got to see an entrance into the buffer zone between the Turkish occupied part of the island and the rest. This was interesting because this conflict seems to run deep in the Greek Cypriot culture that we’ve seen in that they have lots of Greek flags on display and are very proud of their heritage. However, if you didn’t know about the conflict, you probably wouldn’t guess anything was wrong because life seemed very normal to me and I wouldn’t think there would be UN patrols on 3% of the island!

After UNIC, we went on a tour of the old city. This was my favorite part of the day because I loved seeing the churches from all different centuries and the archaeological sites all over. I also was very interested in seeing the outpost on the green line and hearing about the personal connection the Cypriots have to the conflict on the island. I wish we could’ve taken a picture of it! We ended our tour at Kathodon Tavern, where we had a traditional Cypriot mezeh meal. It was absolutely delicious and we had so many different dishes! My favorites were probably the meatballs and the feta cheese squares, although everything was great. I also really enjoyed this glimpse into Cypriot culture and how they might take things slower on the island and enjoy the conversation as well as lots of good food. Overall, the first day on Cyprus was fantastic!