Monday 7th May

Woke up to a clear sky & a lovely day so went to a café for breakfast.

Jane had seen a walking tour listed for 10am starting at the Ledra St tourist office so off we went, only to find an information booth telling us it started elsewhere. Off we trotted & limped but it was too late we thought. Jane spotted a small group of followers which we caught up with & to our surprise & joy this was the tour group. The group arrived at a small bus into which we all trooped & off it went with a lady guide explaining on the way.

It was fascinating as we were outside the old Venetian city wall in the suburbs. We travelled near the 'Green Line' dividing the city and very bedraggled it is through some fine neighbourhoods. The guide was excellent explaining the history of the island & the more recent partitioning of it when the Turks invade & took 40% of it over in 1974. It is quite tragic how this affected the people & presumably the economy.

We visited a fine 1920s Orthodox church & a craft weaving centre where we saw the most unusual looms which the lady weaves fabric on. The tour ended back when it began & we then found the tourist centre for advice before returning to our accommodation with it trying to rain.

Had a well deserved rest & in the evening found another café in an arcade & had fine kebabs in pitta bread before attending a free classical recital in a mediaeval hall near our stop.

It was given by a young violinist with piano accompaniment across a range of pieces from several eras. The concert was tremendous & it was pretty clear that a large part of the audience comprised family & friends as she was loaded up with bouquets at the end.

Tuesday 8th May

We crossed the Green line at about 10.15 & walked to the bus depot where we were put on a small bus to Famagusta east of Nicosia. The journey across a flat wide plain took about 90 minutes with 2 ticket checks on the way.

We arrived just outside the walls of the old city & only had to walk about 500m to our hotel within the walls. The lady was very welcoming & we went up straight to our room to unpack & change as it was warmer that when we left Nicosia.

Leaving the hotel we walked down towards the shore after sampling a local beer. The road was lined with tourist shops, cafes & jewellers but we resisted the urge to lash out.

As we descended we came across a couple of ruined mediaeval churches & a Venetian palace before we saw the mosque that had been St Nicholas's cathedral in the Lusignan period before the Venetians & the Ottomans' ruled Cyprus. The building despite being damaged is still very impressive as it apparently rivalled Reims Cathedral when built in the late 13th century. The city is full of such churches but most are in various ruined states.

For the first time since arriving we were accosted by waiters at each of the many cafes which is a change for us. We arrived back at the wall at the harbour side & climbed up to see some freighters & 3 warships all tied up. The water itself was a beautiful blue colour & looked very inviting. At one section of the wall is Othello's tower, an old military complex which has been extensively restored with EU money.

Leaving there we retired to a café for a coffee & a pastry each. When we went to pay we were in an Aladdin's cave of pastries, cakes and sweets which would rival those in Ackland street, St Kilda. The coffee was ordinary but the food was amazing.

Returning to the hotel we chanced on a ruined church of St George with its east end standing in which faint traces of the murals decorating it still existed. Despite threatening clouds we missed the rain despite signs of it on the ground.

Had a scratch meal across the road & an early night.

Wednesday 9th May

Had breakfast at the hotel in the dining room downstairs & a very local mix it was. Cucumbers & tomato with bread, 2 fried eggs, fried Haloumi cheese & olives with Nescafe & milk.

The Tourist Information advised us to get a taxi the 18km to Salamis, an abandoned Greek & Roman site which was Famagusta's predecessor as a port before it silted up. It proved an interesting place with the ruins of a theatre some roadways & a huge gymnasium & baths complex. From there we went to St Barnabas's church, now a museum of icons & excellent pottery from as early as 2000 BC to the late 300s AD.

Returning to Famagusta it started to rain sporadically so we repaired to a café for a drink before walking near the wall past a plethora of ruined churches from the middle ages, several of which are being partially restored with EU money. The rain became heavier & we retreated to a most impressive pasteria for some sustenance. After returning by another route past yet more ruined churches we came in to dry off.

We returned to the hotel via an interesting cemetery of people Turkish Cypriots killed in the 1974 takeover of northern Cyprus. Ata a fine meal at another local café.