Can faintly hear the sound of the muezzin's call just before 6:30 AM. The country is mainly Muslim, and there are mosques in every village, but it's much more secular than Turkey. Hijabs are very rare and alcohol freely available, and not just in tourist spots.
Our last day, and we decide to check out a historic site four km east of Girne (Kyrenia). But four km starting from where? We do spot the sign, with some difficulty as officialdom seems to be saving money by posting one sign exactly at the turning point rather than having signs before the turn off on each side of the road. The site appears at first to be inaccessible as there is mud and major landscaping. In fact the uneven dirt track we take in is forbidding enough that in most countries the site would have been closed. Here we have the other half of yesterday's story, from the point of view of the Arabs whose ships the Byzantines on Saint Hilarion wished to prevent. The Byzantines won this round, and the historic building, a small mosque on the edge of the sea contains the coffins of Omer, companion of the prophet Mohammed and six of his companions, "martyred" here, and not much else. Will be a lovely spot when they finish the park, though.
A short but winding drive up into the mountains in search of coffee brings us to a tiny village where we spot the outside tables of a tiny local café. Full of locals, plus two non-local blokes on motorcycles. Unfortunately, the tables are full when we arrive, leading all the old guys to give up their chairs simultaneously, leaving us enjoying good Cypriot coffee - but alone.
It's New Year's Eve and special dinner, but Jane's bronchitis is worsening and, sadly, she and Bill give dinner a miss. We enjoy the meze table and choose the kleftiko. The belly dancer from Christmas Eve makes an appearance and there's a live singer. Very nice, but we don't stay until midnight. Back to the room, a glass or two of wine and the New Year on the television from points east.
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