Waking up at 6:30 am is hard, but when you’re in Cyprus and eager to explore the island and learn about the culture, it is not that bad. After a filling breakfast at the cafe next door and my first taste of halloumi (which was better than I expected), the group was off to the University of Nicosia. I learned that Limassol and the capital, Nicosia are further than I thought at about an hour and a half bus ride. However, the island is fairly small, so pretty much the furthest you can go is about two hours.
Once at UNIC, we had a fascinating lecture about the history of Cyprus by Dr. Solomou. He is one of those people who are so knowledgeable and passionate about something that they could talk about it for hours. Because of this, it was very enjoyable to hear him talk. From him, I learned that Cyprus has been under the control of many European, African, and Middle Eastern countries throughout its history, which started in 2500 BC with Egyptian rule. This rich and diverse history has contributed to what Cyprus is today. The Greek origins stem from the Mycenaean and Achaean setters from 1100 BC. There is British style architecture from 1190 AD, and both Catholic and Orthodox Christian culture, architecture from the Frankish rule which began in 1192 AD, and Mosques from the Ottoman Empire rule in 1571 AD. Dr. Solomou added his own perspectives as well. He talked about how he believes history tends to repeat itself, and how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is similar to the Russo-Turkish wars that happened hundreds of years ago in the Mediterranean area around Cyprus. There are quite a few Ukrainian refugees in Cyprus, which I did not know, as it is a fairly close and safe country.
A major difference in American and Cypriot history is how short American history is comparatively. The British only successfully settled colonies here in 1607, over 4 thousand years after Cyprus was settled. By 1607, Cyprus had switched rule 10 major times.
The University was extremely small compared to the University of Pittsburgh, with only 3 buildings and about 4,000 in-person students. However, the buildings were very modern and clean, and I did not notice many differences in the actual classroom.
On the bus back, Demitra, our Cyprus tour guide, joined us. She is very knowledgeable about the history of the country, and has a very cool perspective of things as a Greek woman. One of the main things she likes to emphasize is how important preserving history is, which I certainly agree with. On our walking tour of Limassol, we saw a Mosque that had been built over a Church (seen in cover photo), and how we knew which was which because of the architecture and direction of the altar. Mosques are always set up so when people play, the direction is toward Mecca, while all Church’s alters face East, no matter where you are. I am excited to hear more from her in the coming days!