Happy Birthday

The conquerors took control of Cyprus: Egyptians, Romans, Franks, Venetians, Crusaders, Ottomans, English ruled here, and now the Turks in the north. The latter are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the state today. That's why the Northern Cypriots have arranged to have a big theme party in red and white. I cannot and do not want to judge whether they would like to see the return of the founder of the state, Atatürk, who is omnipresent here and who, on the one hand, modernized Turkey but on the other hand also led it in an authoritarian manner, instead of their current president. However, I will be happy when I no longer have to listen to the patriotic songs on a continuous loop.

We visited Bellapais. The abbey there dates back to the 14th century and dates back to the Crusaders, for whom Cyprus was an important stopover on the way to Jerusalem. Accordingly, the abbey bears the coat of arms of the kings of Cyprus as well as that of Jerusalem and the Lusignan family. The Lusignans were a western French noble family that took part in the Crusades and at times provided the king of Jerusalem. When the then King of Jerusalem, Guido of Lusignan, was captured by the Arabs and was no longer allowed to return to Jerusalem after his release, Richard the Lionheart sold him the rights to the recently conquered Kingdom of Cyprus. He had previously sold Cyprus to the Knights Templar, but they could not afford the purchase price and therefore had to withdraw from the purchase agreement.

Omnipresent in Cyprus is the pomegranate, which is currently in season. A hit visually and taste-wise, and it should be healthy to boot. Splendid!