Climb Every Mountain.....

a tiered mountain side in the Troodhos

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. We really only cycled through the southern part, which is Greek Cypriot, crossing into the occupied area (Turkish Cypriot ) for just a few hours while we were in Lefkosia. The central part of the island is mountainous and, in many respects, more interesting and certainly more authentically Cypriot in culture and lifestyle than any of the cities by the sea.

archaeological site of Ayios Giorgis on the coast

On the coasts, we were interested in the archaeological sites but it seems that most tourists are there for the resort hotels and the beaches. Although the guide book says that the majority of tourists to Cyprus are British, we feel that claim might be outdated. We hold the position that Russians have become the number one tourist group visiting Cyprus.

Ayios Nikolaos tis Stegis - a frescoed church

In the mountains,  most of the people who live and who work there are Cypriots, unlike the coastal cities where it is useless practicing your Greek thank you to your server in a restaurant , as the wait staff are invariably from Romania or Bulgaria. In the mountains, there are also the French and the Germans who come for the hiking, the scenery and the lovely frescoed churches.  The Russians do not stay in the mountains although occasionally you will see a busload, on a day trip, visiting the wall paintings and icons of a centuries old Byzantine church.

Then there is Minas and me, the crazy and old Canucks, who go to the mountains to bike!!!  

stopping to admire a iew after going over the top of Troodhos

If you imagine having dinner and, when finished, taking your napkin and pushing it in from the edges before leaving it on your placemat, then you will have a bit of a picture of Cyprus.  The mountains rise up in the middle as deep folds where you are constantly going up or down as you move from one deep valley to the next. 

on the way up to Troodhos

 Cycling in these mountains has been difficult and I have pushed my bike on more occasions here than on any other trip we have done – but I just cannot cycle with a loaded bike up hills of 10 or 12 percent. Ups that go on for many kilometres at 7 percent wear me out.  With a steep climb, I only manage 5 kilometres an hour when I ride and I can push the bike at slightly better than 4 km. per hour.  So why waste your energy? At first, I was embarrassed to push my bike. Then I thought, “Wait a minute! I am 65 and I don’t see anyone else on bikes on these roads at all.” Finally I arrived at a rational place. I now think of pushing my bike as hiking – it’s just that my heavy backpack is on wheels and I occasionally can use it as transportation. Ergo, I am as good, and certainly no worse, than those who hike in the mountains. 

the mountains of Cyprus : fold upon fold

a vlllage spills down the hills of the lower Troodhos

stopping to cool the tires on a long down stretch

And, of course, what goes up must come down and I am secretly pleased that I have gone 51 km/hr. on a down stretch. (I can hear Lynda and my son cheering and I can hear the admonishment in my daughter’s voice as she says,”Motherrrrr!”)  

 I really only let the bike go when I am near the bottom of a straight stretch into a valley and I can see the straight hill loom upwards ahead of me. The sign usually says 8 per cent and I do not want to go up 8 percent from the very bottom. It is surprising how far up the hill you can get when you are going that speed and coasting until you can pedal comfortably.

looking down from Pano Panagia

We effectively crossed the southern part of Cyprus, through the mountains on five different routes. For the most part, we stayed in each mountain village for several nights. Our thought had been to cycle in the area without the cumbersome luggage attached. However, the roads were few and the grades so steep that with a couple of short exceptions, we mostly walked or lazed about on our non-travelling days. My biggest challenge came on a day of relatively few kilometres but of maximum and relentless difficulty. We only cycled 28 kilometres but it took me 4 hours and 17 minutes of actual “on the bike” time to do it. The first 18 kilometres was all “up” at grades of mostly 7 percent with occasional bits of 10 percent and some relief at 5 percent. Our starting elevation was 661 metres at Kakopetria and the 18 km climb took us to the highest road point in Cyprus at 1750 metres. There is no village there, just a few cafes and a hotel. We were looking for the plaque that gave the elevation to take our picture in front of it but there was nothing .

Troodhos Plateia - highest road point - 1750 m

 You will just have to believe me that we made it to this point of the Troodhos Plateia all by bike (well I pushed mine on two different short stretches of difficult terrain). Minas biked it all though. The last 10 kilometres that day were a speedy downhill to our hotel in Platres which is the highest village in Cyprus at 1200 metres.  I was feeling pretty successful until the next day when we met a group of men and women in British army cycling gear. They had gone from the coast that morning up to the highpoint of 1750 metres and were having lunch in Platres before going back to sea level.  Just a jaunt of more than 100 km: the first half of it all uphill. Way to burst my bubble!! However, we found out that they were the British army triathlon team who were in Cyprus for training. The next day, descending from 1200 metres to sea level was fun although frequent stops are called for as the hands get cramped and the tire rims get over-heated.

But I do love the mountains if not necessarily for the biking. In the Troodhos , we were impressed by the sheer beauty of the relatively empty landscape. 

the large key to the small door of a Byzantine church - Galata

Nestled here and there at the very heights of the island are the ten Byzantine churches with a UNESCO World Heritage designation because of the incredible painted frescoes covering nearly every square inch of their interior surface – no pictures please! 

roses in front of a stone house - Kakopetria

And finally, there are still authentic stone villages where the traditional houses are built around a courtyard although the double doors leading on to the cobbled streets give you no hint of what lies inside. Profusions of flowers grow everywhere and the Rose Festivals are in the first two weeks of May even in the mountains. The area is the most authentic part of Cyprus we visited right down to the real Cypriot meals: meat, meat and more meat! And I was so hungry that I did eat, eat and eat some more!

Mount Olympus - high peak of Cyprus

No visit to Cyprus is complete without some experiences of the real culture that is found only in the mountains.

A Day in the Life of a Cyclist

 

 

 

a stop at the stadium of Kourion

Routine is important to me and the one we have developed as we bike pleases me greatly.  We try to have breakfast reasonably early and then Minas starts his check of the bikes to ensure that they are in tip top condition while I pack, tidy the room and get the bottles and the lunch ready so that we can get on the bikes by nine o’clock.  

Aphrodite's Rock - the most photographed view in Cyprus

  

water stop

With twenty – five pounds of baggage, I am not very fast. Well if truth be told, I am never fast at any physical activity. On the bike I need to stop for a stretch and a rest every hour and of course, I prefer these stops to be in a scenic location where I can also take some pictures.  Being a klutz, I can never manage to drink water as I bike so I have learned that with the temperature in the high twenties here, I need to factor in lots of water breaks.   So it is stop the bike, drink the water, mop the face, drink the water, blow the nose, drink the water, smear the lip salve, drink the water, get on the bike and off we go again.

When you are doing hills in the heat, sometimes water isn’t enough and we have to stop at a roadside stand for a sugary drink like iced tea. The other day I quaffed down two at the top of a hill and then felt much better. 

iced tea works wonders

And, on this trip, I have not been too proud to push the bike more than a few times.  In fact, I have walked with my bike more on this short trip than I ever have in the last ten years of trips of much greater distances. Probably has something to do with aging.

it doesn't look like much of a hill

lunch break on the toughest ride of the trip

Eventually, we stop for lunch. If we have been lucky enough to be in a hotel with a substantial breakfast buffet (not too frequently on this trip) then I make sandwiches to eat on the road. Here we have not found the local shops to make us a panini for lunch as we did so often in Italy. But we have found some bakeries where a tyrokopita (cheese) or a spanakopita can be bought. At lunch-time, I park my bum on the nearest rock or log and somehow, no matter how humble the sandwich is, it tastes like a gourmet delicacy to a hungry cyclist.

 

Minas stops to adjust the map

When biking, I always follow Minas, as the sight of him ahead gives me courage to keep going no matter what the terrain.  If we are doing hills, he is much further ahead and never stops until he reaches the top while I stop frequently on my way up. I manage to divert my mind with the flowers or the butterflies or thoughts of home. And then presto – I am at the top.

my personal mechanic at work - luckily on his bike

Unfortunately, some of our stops are the unwelcome kind and Minas has spent more than a few minutes fixing flat tires. On one occasion, he had back to back flats on two successive days and eventually we had to take a bus to a big city to buy a new tire. That one has held, fingers crossed, as we have just one more day of riding to go.

the road stretches onward and upward

Most of our biking days this time have been short, although many of them have been tough. We have only managed 1000 km when we usually do more than twice that. But it is a small island and the mountains are fierce so we have had little in the way of distance every day and we have spent many days off the bikes.  

Usually, we reached the hotel just after lunch and sometimes even before. We have had a couple of nice places to stay and some were authentically Cypriot.

 

The Nikoklis Inn - a peek through to the courtyard

In a few villages, our accommodation was in traditional stone houses that have been turned into a small hotel. These are usually all the buildings of one extended family and their animals, built around a courtyard. Now even the animal shelters and the farm machinery storage sheds are rooms for the tourists. I love these walled enclosures with their profusion of flowers in the courtyard. In so many Cypriot villages, you do not get an idea of how lovely the houses are because you are walking down narrow stone streets bounded by high stone walls and the massive double doors to the courtyards are always kept closed. Such a pity!

late afternoon coffee

After a shower and a nap, we usually go looking for a café for coffee and then wander around the town.

Minas records the day on the computer

Back in the hotel, we do our journals, some computer work (if we are lucky enough to have a connection), laundry or nothing.

Dinner here has been around 8 pm and we usually had recommended restaurants to try out. I think there is altogether too much food, from a portion perspective, on the plates in Cyprus and unfortunately, I have always managed to put it away. We have been pleasantly surprised with how much we have enjoyed the wines of Cyprus. The indigenous maratheftiko grape makes a hefty , full-bodied red , not unlike a shiraz, and the xinisteri is turned into a fruity, light dry white wine. There is also the sweeter commandaria wines served with dessert, that are a novelty at best.

the sea on the north side - near the Baths of Aphrodite

After dinner, we turned in for the night.  Perhaps, you might think it a little early and a little boring but it suits us as we bike around this tiny island of Cyprus. We have already had the discussion of where to bike next and we both agree that we must go back to France as the biking holidays there are just about plain-perfect.

there is always something to keep you riding

  

So Many Milleniums Ago: Chalcolithic Times

Column Parts at Kourion

column at Kourion

I love a good few hours wandering around an archaeological site ruminating on the lives of people who left traces of their existence for us to enjoy so many thousands of years later. The museums of the Mediterranean nations are filled with glass cases of gold jewelry, intricately painted pottery, coins, perfume bottles and the detritus of everyday life. And that is before we mention the marble and stone statues and temples of colossal proportions.



 I often wonder how the Greeks and Romans of two thousand years ago could have developed such a sophisticated system of communal living with little in the way of technology as we know it today.

It brings to mind that old saw,’ “When the English were living in huts, the Greeks were building the Parthenon.”

stone bases of circular houses of Chirokitia - 4500 BC

But here in Cyprus, I got a glimpse of even earlier civilizations, going back to Neolithic times.  Those sites have pushed my thinking in a new direction.

They say that humans first arrived in Cyprus in 9000 BC, probably from somewhere in present day Turkey. Over the next few thousand years, they evolved into a people who lived in walled villages. They hunted deer and smaller animals, gathered the tremendous variety of indigenous fruits and nuts found on this island but also raised sheep and goats and tended crops such as grains and lentils.

the round hut bases cover the hillside - Chirokitia - 4500BC

  
We have visited several excavated village sites dating from about 4500BC, the Chalcolithic period, and I was amazed to see the sophistication of the stone and mud brick houses, grouped on hillsides and surrounded by substantial stone walls with intricate entry systems into the village.

mock-ups of huts from Chalcolithic times

 The round huts were made of stones at the bottom and these are what remain, tightly packed together throughout the excavation sites.  Experts surmise that the top half of each dwelling was made of mud and straw bricks and that the roof was flat: made of logs covered with brush and twigs. In Chirokitia, they have created a mock-up of several little huts complete with the household implements they found in them. Their burial practices were to place their dead in a pit inside the house and cover the body with a stone and the dirt which formed the floor. I hate to imagine the putrefying perfume that would emanate from a home with a freshly deceased loved one, in the heat of the Cypriot summer.

mud bricks of existing house up close

mud bricks above stones of existing house

 In Kakopetria, a darling old village in the Troodhos Mountains, the government has slapped on an order prohibiting the destruction of the old buildings or the building of new dwellings within the old village. We stayed in an Inn comprised of village houses renovated in the old style. Lying in bed and looking up I noticed that the ceiling was made of logs placed about one foot apart, with many short twigs sitting behind them at right angles. Evident through the spaces was bracken, fern and moss. Of course, now there are roof tiles on top of that but it did seem rather like the building style of Chalcolithic times. In our walks around Kakopetria, the mud bricks and the stone foundations are obvious.

stone foundations of neolithic village of Tenta

So, if the people of Cyprus had developed this type of communal living by 4000 BC, it is not surprising that in another few thousand years, they would be able to erect large temples to Aphrodite, the primary pagan deity of the island. Dear Aphrodite, born out of the sea foam at a large rock between Paphos and Lemesos, has been revered through the ages in Cyprus. 

Aphrodite's Rock and Petra tou Romeou

 

The sanctuary of Aphrodite at Kouklia, has little but foundations left, but in Amathus, the Acropolis, at the top of the hill, had an enormous jar which dwarfed Minas.

Minas dwarfed by a huge stone jar at the Acropolis temple to Aphrodite, Amathus

Minas at Aphrodite's sanctuary at Kouklia

the steam baths of Kourion

So, my new thinking has to do with the importance of time. Once humans settled into established villages it was only a matter of chronological time before self-made improvements led to the great accomplishments and civilizations that are still being uncovered today.  The more sophisticated, and easier their lives became, the more personal time they had on the hands to pursue the art and architecture we have come to associate with the ancient Greeks and Romans.

columns still standing in Paphos

And to think that sophisticated Greek and Roman civilizations were eventually run over and eradicated by barbarians from the north, who had left their huts for just that reason.