Monday, March 31/2025

 Honeysuckle threads its way through the lower branches of the orange tree on the edge of the patio.

Second day of Bayram celebrations. Think that banks and government offices remain closed tomorrow as well, Bayram having fallen on a Sunday this year. 

No real holiday from world tension of course. The Republic of Cyprus (South) delighted to announce that schools in Greece will be celebrating EOKA Day on April 1. EOKA was the guerilla organisation that fought not only for Cypriot independence from Britain but for political union with Greece. To quote from my blog of March 2/23:

EOKA was a terrorist organisation active from the fifties to the seventies whose aim was political union with Greece, pitting it against the British, Turkish Cypriots, and many fellow Greek Cypriots. While many independence movements have involved violence, EOKA was not an independence movement and did mean death for Turkish Cypriots. Independence was granted by the British in 1960, and the government of the Republic later outlawed the organisation, which had been responsible for civilian deaths and involved with the assassination of the American ambassador. 

The Americans may have forgiven or forgotten the indignities but Turks and Turkish Cypriots - many of whom were killed by EOKA - have not. Taking the celebration into the schools for the next generation seems unnecessarily provocative. 

So it seemed rather refreshing to see  headline in the TRNC’s Cyprus Mirror (North) reading ‘Erdoğan Vows Accountability for “Sabotaging” Economy’. Humility has never been his strong point and his unusual fiscal policies have seen the Turkish lira fall from seven to the euro three years ago to forty-one to the euro now. Making the Canadian dollar look like an investor’s dream. Takes only a few seconds though to realise that the accountability Erdoğan is vowing is not on his own behalf but a threat to the opposition. Sigh.

As journalist Robin Lustig put it the other day:

‘It was as long ago as 1996, nearly thirty years ago, that the then mayor of Istanbul, a certain Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said this: “Democracy is like a tram. You ride it until you arrive at your destination, then you get off”. He stayed on that tram for a long time, but now he has jumped off. He has reached his destination.’

Sunday, March 30/2025

 

Promised/threatened rain - depending on point of view doesn’t arrive so a small friend takes advantage of the sunshine and poses on the back of a deck chair on the patio.

Meanwhile, a new twist on the usual local explanation for accidents - lost control of the steering wheel. A man driving a rental car in Lefkoşa crashed into the wall of a house (though not at right angles as I first imagined it). His first words as he emerged from the car were ‘They’ve built a house in the road!’ 

Eyewitnesses said that the driver claimed to have lost his sense of direction on the street and to have been surprised to find that the house was so close. Well, it’s not easy to play the roles of driver, navigator and map reader all at the same time.

Not that we’ve been especially tempted but it is against the law here to insult Turkish presidents, and they don’t have to be present or even living to qualify. A man was just arrested for insulting Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish nation. Actual insult not included in English translation but the offence took place in a gym and not on a soapbox. 

Assume that the applicability of the law is limited to Turkish leaders, and would never in any case have been inclined to say bad things about Ataturk, for whom I have some admiration. And a certain affinity as we once stayed in a hotel in Aleppo where Ataturk had, many years earlier, made his Syrian headquarters. 

There are, however, presidents of some other countries where I might feel insult was called for.

Saturday, March 29/2025

 It’s not Saskatchewan big sky country but the sky here is fascinating. The mountain range is immediately to the south of us  - in fact we’re on the northern slope of the mountains. So weather changes blowing in from the south can suddenly shroud the peak with mist. The photo on the left was taken this afternoon, about three and immediately after several hours of full sun. Taken looking southwest

The sun did return though in time for more drama at sunset.

Second photo taken about three hours later looking pretty well due west. Despite the red sky there are possible rainstorms predicted for tomorrow afternoon. Although apparently the wisdom is that it’s always fine weather for Bayram and Beverley says that was indeed the case during the twenty years she lived in Istanbul.

We can’t see the skies very far to the east but north is a different matter. A kilometre below us is the Mediterranean and then nothing but sea and sky all the way to Türkiye. It’s about a hundred kilometres and on a clear day you can see Türkiye from our north facing window.

Tomorrow is both Bayram, sometimes referred to as Şeker (sugar) Bayram and also the day the clocks go forward for summer time everywhere except North America, where the date for the time change is slightly different. 

Friday, March 28/2025

The weather seems to have a split personality. Begins very warm. Sliding doors open to the patio. Scent of flowers fills the room. (Unfairly, the shrubs overhanging Alexander’s patio next door are in much fuller bloom than ours while Alexander himself is in Russia - but we get to enjoy them in his absence). Lovely walk back after visiting with friends at the Blue Song. Then the wind picks up and gets wildly strong though evening temperatures still close to twenty. A bit eerie once it’s dark listening to odd bits and pieces blowing about. Don’t think there’s much out there other than a couple of small plastic containers swirling around and bumping into the table or the wall but it sounds weird.

This is the beginning of a long weekend as tomorrow is the last day of Ramazan. Sunday should be Eid al-Fitr, most commonly known in Turkish speaking areas as Bayram, Eid being an Arabic term for holiday and Bayram the Turkish, though the word has Persian origins. There is always a little uncertainty on the date as there is at the beginning of Ramazan as the precise moment depends on the official sighting of the new moon. So, like the official first day of spring, it may be a day later in one time zone than in another.

In any case Monday and Tuesday will be civic holidays and the children are off school for ten days. While most shops don’t close for long and supermarkets may not close at all it’s a bit like the time between Christmas and New Year’s in Canada in that some businesses may just shut down for the whole week.Turkish family next door seem to have friends or relatives visiting as they did at this time last year. Much cheery chatter from their garden.

Thursday, March 27/2024

 

Courtesy Cyprus Mail

Protests in the Republic of Cyprus (South) against the use of the sovereign bases in support of Israel as the massacres of civilians in Gaza continue. The bases are UK sovereign territory dating back to the terms of Cypriot independence. How they are used - and this has included flights identifying targets in Gaza as well as allowing military access to the US - is not up to the government of Cyprus. However the Cypriot government has fallen considerably short of bitter protest, and not because they have no proven ability to engage in same.

Meanwhile Amnesty International is warning that states “like the UK” that provide arms to Israel are deepening their complicity in genocide.

Busy times for Amnesty International as they are also monitoring and speaking out on lack of freedom of speech in Türkiye as Erdoğan’s arrests of protestors passes a thousand. 

And presumably Amnesty is now gearing up to criticise ICE in the US for inhumane, racist and illegal treatment of immigrants and visitors. Complaints that Amnesty has had about the US and ICE for some time. 

The weather is lovely, the food is good, the view is spectacular. The world is a mess.

Wednesday, March 26/2025

Sunny and warm. And we look up to find that we’re not the only ones enjoying it. On the patio wall behind J is a cat lying companionably near us, chin resting on the upturned broom. Not a cat we’re familiar with but not looking for an adoptive family either. Unusually, this cat is sporting a collar so it’s definitely not a stray, though apparently not neutered.

The prime minister of Greece has postponed a meeting with Turkish President Erdogan. A spokesperson for Kyriakos Mitsotakis responded to the arrest of Mayor İmamoğlu saying “Our stance on İmamoğlu has not changed. Concessions [compromises] on the rule of law and political freedoms are unacceptable, and convincing answers are needed for any concessions made.” 

An uncompromising statement. Until one notes that Mitsotakis intends to meet on the weekend with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Accusations of genocide understandable, but jailing an opponent a step too far? 

But politics is complicated it seems. During yesterday’s Independence Day celebrations in Greece naval cadets were heard chanting “Cyprus is Greek. F*ck Turkey”. Ankara complained and the Greek government agreed that the behaviour was inappropriate and said the cadets would be disciplined.

Tuesday, March 25/2025

Kazasi means accident. Trafik an obvious loan word. It often seems like there are a disproportionate number of traffic accidents here and maybe there are. On the other hand we do hear about every accident in the  country. Comparable to living in - say - Halifax and reading reports of every traffic incident including ones with no injuries. 

Actually the style of the commentary is more interesting than the forensic details. And that may be in part, though not entirely, a matter of translation. “Lost control of the steering wheel” is frequently cited as the cause of an accident but the authorities do recognise that this only the proximate cause and the phrase is often followed by “due to his [or presumably her, but in fact usually his] carelessness. So one can assume that steering wheels here are no more refractory than in most places. The licence plate numbers of offending - and innocent vehicles often included. And, as in other jurisdictions, gender and age of those involved. 

Today’s accident report also gives the name of the man who “lost control of the steering wheel due to his carelessness” and the fact that the car stopped after hitting an electric pole. No injuries. However here the astonishing information is the ultimate cause of the accident and the reason for the fifty-five year old man’s arrest. He was “under the influence of 425 milligrams of alcohol”. In Canadian terms a blood alcohol concentration of 4.25! Surprising he could find the ignition. For the record, the legal limit here is .05 - sometimes exceeded by drivers but not normally by near lethal amounts.

Monday, March 24/2025

Major protests continue in Istanbul. Protests clearly forbidden by President Erdoğan on social media but mixed reports on whether X - and therefore Musk - acceded to his demands. Probably yes but not on the scale Erdoğan would have preferred. Meanwhile in TRNC over 6000 signatures were gathered in a matter of hours in support of jailed Istanbul mayor and opposition presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoğlu, preferred candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Apply for ETA electronic permissions for entry to UK. The app is actually quite good - apparently better than Canada’s. Short number of questions followed by scans and photo on the mobile. Efficient at taking the £10 payment as well. They want to know if we’ve been involved in or suspected of war crimes, genocide, terrorism or support of extremist groups. No, obviously. But extremist groups? One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter as the saying goes. And suspected by whom? Will our answers change if the US attempts to annex us? Interesting that they include support for genocide. I can answer no, but think it’s lucky for Keir Starmer that he’s already a UK citizen and doesn’t have to apply to enter.

Sunday, March 23/2025

 

Supermarket sales here are often on weekends. Produce easy enough to identify visually in advertisements. Types of cheese, sausage, etc can be trickier. Google translate of limited help, although sometimes contributes to the day’s entertainment. 

Have figured out, accurately, that hindi is Turkish for turkey. Well, hardly surprising that the Turks don’t refer to the birds they eat as turkey. Nor do most other countries, it seems. The French call it dinde - literally ‘from India’. In Polish it’s similar - indyk. And when you look up turkey the first Turkish translation given is hindi but this is followed by fiyasko and bașarasız [unsuccessful] film. Fair enough. 

And Șokmar supermarket is advertising what it describes as Dana füme kimliki. Translates as smoked meat with bones. Sounds considerably less appetising than accompanying photo would suggest. Presumably refers to smoked meat on the bone.

Meanwhile in Istanbul the clash between Erdoğan and supporters of Mayor Imamoğlu continues with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in the streets as Imamoğlu is jailed. The opposition CHP party has said it will nominate him as a presidential candidate regardless. Interestingly Erdoğan himself was jailed during the 1990’s but emerged to become president. Charges and countercharges with malice aforethought not especially unusual. The situation as potentially hazardous for Erdoğan as for Imamoğlu though. The lira plunged as the conflict began. It was promptly propped up but at a cost of twelve billion dollars.

Saturday, MARCH 22/2025

Spring again - de jure and de facto. All kinds of flowering shrubs and trees coming into brilliant and aromatic life. Orange wattles along the lane leading into the Saturday market. Lovely yellow blossoms cascading down like weeping willow branches. They’re an acacia and originally Australian. Sadly regarded as an invasive species, not simply because they originated in another continent but because they greedily take more than their fair share of water in a country where water is in short supply.

Unable to resist the fresh strawberries at market. Assuming greenhouse grown, as it’s early but they’re lovely. The scent alone is worth the price. 

Stop and chat with Creigan, who often enjoys a Saturday breakfast at the market. And also with our friends at the bookstall. Beverley has saved us a selection of books by prize winning Turkish  British novelist Elif Șafak. Daphne had had one of her other books in German translation yesterday and B had said that the animal charity bookstall would have some as well. We choose The Bastard of Istanbul for a read aloud. Looks promising.

Friday, March 21/2025

Meet with friends at the Blue Song for our regular Friday afternoon drink. Several of them - particularly Beverley, John, Caroline and Creigan - have lived in Turkey and are interested in the protests. But no particular insider information. Thousands more out on the streets of Istanbul today. But this has happened in the past with nothing resembling civil war resulting. Can be difficult to judge President Erdoğan’s  support by looking at activity in the cities as his real strength is in the rural areas.

Interestingly there was a protest today in Lefkoșa in response to the TRNC government’s recent decision to permit female students to wear a hijab if they choose. The complaint is that North Cypriot state school dress codes have not included head coverings and that the change may be presumed to be in response to pressure from the more conservative and religious elements in Türkiye. TRNC schools are secular by choice and should remain so.

Thursday, March 20/2025

 Not nearly as windy as it was landside, but clearly rough at sea. What I grew up - like most Northern Americans - calling whitecaps, the British usually refer to as white horses. And New Zealanders call sheep. As do the French - in French obviously - moutons. Can see why they might resemble sheep in a distant field but rearing stallions seems more appropriate for a tumultuous sea. Photo from our flat not ideal, but unwilling to walk a kilometre down to the shore to get a better shot.

The Turkish lira fell sharply yesterday, against all other currencies, but partially recovered almost immediately - not quite back to original values but approaching them. The reason is obvious but a bit difficult to get accurate detailed information on. President Erdoğan has had the Mayor of Istanbul and about a hundred protesters arrested. Mayor Imamoğlu was apparently about to be nominated to run for the presidency, although that of course is not the reason given. He has been accused of corruption - a standard charge among warring factions. Also his university degree has been revoked on the grounds that he began it in the TRNC before transferring to the University of Istanbul. (So we have the local angle).  This is particularly serious because it is necessary to have a university degree in order to become president in Türkiye.

After years of the revoking of university degrees being extremely rare it seems that the procedure has become a weapon of choice, and not only in countries with a dodgy history of democracy. In the past revoking a degree would have happened only if it had been obtained by false pretences - cheating on exams, plagiarising theses, altering transcripts. Now it seems that engaging in political protests not in line with the financial sponsors of an Ivy League university can put a well earned degree at risk. As governments and policies change different graduate demographics could be at risk. Will succeeding governments restore degrees revoked by their predecessors? How far back will they go? Those who have had or performed abortions? Draft dodgers? I had ancestors on both sides of the American Revolution. Does that mean protection or extreme risk?

Wednesday, March 19/2025

 

Rain, promised or threatened - actually more promised as it’s been a dry year and the crops need it - arrives in the afternoon. Temperatures expected to drop to the mid teens for the next couple of days and then return to the twenties. Tomorrow the first day of spring. 

Some dispute over search and rescue efforts regarding would be refugees from Syria. There have been three separate events during the last week, the most recent being on Monday when Republic of Cyprus (South) patrols recovered two survivors and seven bodies about sixty miles off Cape Greco as a result of the collapse of a boatload reportedly carrying twenty-one refugees from Syria. The distance would have put it roughly half way between Cyprus and Syria.

UNHRCA, the UN refugee agency says that there have been accounts of Cypriot authorities forcibly returning would be refugees to Syria in defiance of international law.  The Republic of Cyprus denies the allegations of pushbacks.

Tuesday, March 18/2025

Make lemon curd this morning. The deep colour comes from the egg yolks. The contribution of the lemons and butter is pretty light. But the taste is rich, sweet and pure lemon. Some people spread it on toast. We tend to put a large spoonful on top of thick plain yoghurt. 

Day starts out breezy and then gets truly windy. A young cat takes a run for the patio door which is still slightly open as it’s not cold. Probably just trying to get out of the wind but we’re not running a shelter. Warnings out on gale force winds and the sea definitely looks rough. Laura and Nayım’s fence has blown down, Laura reports. 

But cozy inside. Borscht in the pot. Plenty of good reading.

Monday, March 17/2025

Cats occasionally trek across our patio. Some feral and some obviously from homes. Recognise this one as the cat Alexander, our Russian next door neighbour befriended. Alexander hasn’t been here since November, but the cat no doubt checking things out on the off chance. No missing ear tip, so not neutered. And certainly doesn’t look as if it’s been going hungry. May in fact belong to someone. Wouldn’t mind having a cat if we didn’t split our year between two - and sometimes more - places. Apart from the legalities, the last time I moved with a cat - from Regina to Winnipeg - was definitely not a pleasure. For either of us.

Sunday, March 16/2025

 Lovely weather continues. And we keep the doors to the patio wide open as the scent of the flowers is intoxicating. 

Meet up with John and Beverley and their friends Wendy as well as Karen from the animal rescue bookstall at the Saturday market, who we have met and her husband Errol, whom we hadn’t. For Sunday dinner as held every second Sunday at The Black Olive Café, location of the twice yearly - or thereabouts - drama productions. Very friendly spot - almost as difficult to hear as in a Greek Cypriot restaurant!

Saturday, March 15/2025

 The Ides of March. Not much to beware here. The air heavily scented by emerging flowers as we walk ddown to the Saturday market. For the first time since Christmas we head out a little earlier because the temperature, heading for the high twenties, will be hotter in the midday sun.

The reckoning - perhaps the beware part - is for late next week when there is a projected high on Thursday of fifteen. Lamb and lion? But that chill, if it happens, is not expected  to stay long.

Friday, March 14/2025

 

Walking up the hill from the Blue Song, we meet some young girls with a donkey. J asks does the donkey live with you. No, in the garden. Well, fair enough. And probably some loss in translation.

The price of cigarettes is going up in the TRNC. Bringing them to between 80 and 85 lira a pack ($3.13 to $3.33 CAD, £1.69 to £1.79). Remarkably inexpensive. Think that they are sold in packs of twenty, although not positive as we’ve never bought any. 

Smoking while driving is illegal here, as is eating or drinking - even water. Now the penalty for smoking while driving is about to increase to five percent of the monthly minimum wage. Part of an attempt to discourage distracted driving. Much needed considering the number of accidents that are reportedly due to the driver “losing control of the steering wheel”. 🙄

Thursday, March 13/2025

 

Orange buds turning into blossoms. The scent in the air is lovely - and now warm enough for early morning coffee on the patio.

And from the only in Cyprus department a patient at one of the Girne hospitals arrived at the hospital around midnight and was discharged at 4 AM. As he was leaving he stole an ambulance from the hospital premises. Caught on CCTV and apprehended by the police, who say his motive is unknown. Well, it’s difficult to find a taxi in this country, especially at four in the morning.

Wednesday, March 12/2025

To The Three Bears Drink House (pub, no idea how it got its name) where Caroline is giving a talk and slide presentation to the foreigners on her recent trip to Serbia. Bit too much light in the room for ideal presentation of the slides but the talk more than makes up for it. Fair bit of history and social commentary and her archaeologist’s view of the oldest village discovered in Europe.

Lipinski Vir (various spellings) was a village on the right bank of the Danube, dating back as far as the tenth millennium BCE. Well into pre-history. Even pictographs go back only about five thousand years and script a little less. For truly ancient history the story is in the archaeological sites.

Very moving to see reconstructions of the little trapezoid homes. Reminded us of Choirokitia, the Neolithic site we visited west of Larnaca. It was first settled in the seventh millennium BCE and some of the round huts have been recreated.

The dwelling places of Lipinski Vir are not intact either, of course, but a number of red sandstone piscine sculptures are. Strange little fish faced creatures. Presumably associated  with worship and the creation of a people who depended on the river for sustenance.

Dolmuş back from nearby Dima, a supermarket much bigger than our local and with some - but not all - prices better than our little one. Home with some fruit and veg and our favourite Malbec.