Cyprus

I wasn’t here because I was there. I also wasn’t here because I’m still recovering from a flu that started three weeks ago. But mainly because I was there. On Cyprus. Cyprus is special. Because:

1. It’s an island. All islands are special. How did they manage to keep pace with mainland when the boats were not so fast and airplanes didn’t exist? And why do people stay on islands nowadays? I wouldn’t be able to stay on an island smaller than Australia and less densely populated than Europe.
2. It’s divided into two parts of which one isn’t recognised by any other country, but Turkey. That’s weird. People live there. There’s land, cities, roads and yet the world denies the existence of it all. North Cyprus authorities do not put stamps in your passport. Other countries might not recognise its validity of the passport with stamp of a ‘non-existent’ country in it. Weird.
3. There are Byzantine churches all over. Ok, they are also in Greece, but I’ve never been to Greece, so I think Byzantine churches make Cyprus special.
4. South Cyprus is non-officially divided in two parts. One is occupied by the British, the other one – by the Russians. In Pafos everything’s in English, in Lemesos everything is in Russian. It’s a pity there’s no formal border to get a stamp in your passport.

I loved the sun and the sea. Too bad vacation is over.