Today was our first day in Cyprus! We spent the day walking around Nicosia, exploring the New City, The Old City, and The University of Nicosia (UNIC).
Starting at the Eleftheria Square, we took a walking tour of the New City. We learned that the New City is located outside of the Venetian Walls. The Venetian Walls surround the Old City and were built by the Republic of Venice in the mid-16th century. While walking around the New City, I noticed that the are many shopping options for both local and international consumers. For instance, there were brands I could recognize because they appear in the United States, but there were also brands I had never heard of that are probably more familiar to people that live in Cyprus or Greece (or the U.K.). The variety of shops in such a small perimeter is especially important since tourism is a major part of Cyprus’s economy. The nature in Nicosia is also different than in Pittsburgh. I enjoyed smelling the Jasmine flowers growing from the sides of fences in the New City and spotting fresh oranges in the orange trees (both types of plants are not commonly found in Pittsburgh unfortunately).
We then attended a presentation about Global Semesters at the University of Nicosia. We were given a brief overview of the history of Cyprus, the safety guidelines, and the itinerary of our trip. During the presentation, I learned that Cyprus was colonized by the Republic of Venice, then the Ottoman Empire, then the British Empire, and finally gained independence in 1960. After the presentation, we took a walking tour of the UNIC campus. UNIC has a student body population of 16,000 students, making it smaller than the University of Pittsburgh, but still a very large school. We were told that the students at UNIC have finals for the next two weeks, however, despite that, it was nice to see some students also enjoying the pleasant weather today. I enjoyed seeing the different lifestyles of college students at UNIC versus my own at Pitt.
Lastly, we took a walking tour of the Old City. The Old City is distinguished from the rest of Nicosia by the Venetian Walls surrounding it. The architecture of the Old City reflects the many different cultural influences through different time periods in Cyprus. For instance, the Ottoman Empire built homes with enclosed balconies while the British Empire built homes with outdoor balconies. My favorite part of the day was the dinner at Kathodon Tavern in the Old City because I got a chance to unwind with peers and reflect on our first day in Cyprus. There, we ate mezze which is a selection of small plates popular in the Middle East. It was served as a multi-course meal made of salad, tzatziki, pita, fried feta with honey, and kabobs – all of which reminded me of dishes my Lebanese family enjoys. Mezze also lasts for a couple of hours which is different compared to the United States where meals tend to be more rushed. For dessert, we had yogurt with orange marmalade, which reminded me of the orange trees we saw throughout the day.