Today was our first full day in Nicosia, after arriving to Cyprus yesterday night. The day began with a small breakfast at our hotel, where there were various pastries and fruits. After this, we partook in a walking tour of the New City of Nicosia at 10 am. The tour began in Freedom Square, which we used to cross from the Old City to the New City. The New City is filled with shops, cafes, and modern buildings. I was surprised to see a lot of familiar stores here in Cyprus, and loved seeing flowers everywhere. I learned how important coffee is to Cyprus culture, since Cypriots often do meetings over coffee, and may spend an hour or two drinking the same cup. Also, I learned that some people may read the coffee grounds left in your cup afterwards, and give you a fortune reading.
After the end of this tour, I went with some friends to a restaurant back in the Old City called To Anamma, where I ate a Cyprus Platter. This platter consisted of skewers of various meats and fries (the waiter called them “chips”). We ate lunch around 12:30, but we had learned on the tour that most Cypriots eat lunch late, usually beginning around 1:00. After this lunch, we took a bus to the University of Nicosia. We had our orientation in the Plato room, where we went over expectations and information for our stay. After this orientation, we toured around the main square of UNIC.
Following our return to our hotels, we did a walking tour of the Old City of Nicosia. Whereas the New City had sky scraper apartments and office buildings, the architecture in this area was more classical. We passed various churches, houses, museums, and other buildings. Something that I thought was interesting was how the architecture of the windows in buildings changed over time. When the Ottoman Empire held Cyprus, it was unsafe for women, so windows were built high on buildings and with kiosks so that the women inside could see out to the street below, but the soldiers on the streets could not see in. We also passed by the barrier between the Old City and the Turkish part of Cyprus, where it was barricaded and had a Greek Cypriot soldier on guard.
After the conclusion of our tour, everyone gathered again to have dinner– a meze. This consisted of numerous small courses being brought out over the span of over an our. Examples of the entrees included salad, fries, peppers, tzatziki (whereas I had a substitution of a salmon-egg dip), various meets, and an interesting pumpkin desert. Despite all of the wonderful food and architecture, my favorite part of Cyprus so far is the countless cats that you can find roaming wherever you go!