Cyprus !

Here’s an update on my life. Last week our entire group had the opportunity to visit Cyprus for a few days. The trip was more of an educational trip than a touristy one. The alumnus that generously pays for the entire trip is named George Will; and he allows the Stanford in Berlin campus to travel to a newly admitted EU member country each quarter. So Cyprus, the island is a divided one, in that respect it resembles Germany; Northern Cyprus is Turkish and Southern Cyprus in Greek. It was controlled by the Ottoman Turks for about 300 years until the Ottoman Empire fell around 1911 and Britain took control. It remained a British colony until 1955; one thing that I found incredible was the English fluency throughout the island. Perhaps it is the result of being colonized for over forty years or perhaps it might have to do with the fact that tourism is one of there main sources of revenue, but whatever the reason everyone from the local deli owner to the local pizza guy down the street can speak enough English to get you where you need to go. Amazing. Since 1955 the island gradually escalated into what my good friend would call a “hot mess.” Once the British left, all hell broke loose. The Greeks started vying for Enosis, which is the Greek term for unification with Greece, their assumed motherland. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem if the entire island were Greek, unfortunately there is a sizeable Turkish population living in Cyprus that did not and still don’t care to be reunited with Greece. To make a long story short, in 1974 there was a coup where a military junta overthrew the legitimate government in the South and started wiping out Turkish Cypriots left and right. It got to the point where the entire Turkish population was forced onto about 3% of the island (the island itself is only 40x100 miles) Eventually Turkey’s military intervened and stopped the rebel group and reestablished order. All was well and good until Turkey decided that it wasn’t going to leave; the Turkish Cypriots, with the protection of the Turkish army, established the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a border was put up and it was only in 2005 did they allow Cypriots to cross the border. When we were crossing from the South to the North we got to walk through three military blocks: first came the Greek military, next came the UN military and finally was the Turkish military; kind of like a multi-colored Oreo. The UN tried to negotiate terms for reunification in the last decade or so, but what became known as the Annan Plan failed to be adopted by both sides even after five provisions. The North wants a guarantee that they will have a federation where they are essentially partners with the South in all functions of the government; the South wants the Turkish military to leave because they see it as an illegal occupation and will not settle for anything less than that. What made the situation even more complicated was that Cyprus joined the EU as a divided state; basically the South, recognized as the legitimate government, gets all the trading benefits of being in the EU, while the North gets no international recognition and trade blockades that have severely hindered their tourism and resulted in a total halt in their citrus exports—the effect is an overabundance of oranges lying around on the streets, I kid you not.

Having heard impassioned representatives from both sides, I am at an impasse in deciding which side to root for. I’ve come to the conclusion that the political situation is just way too complicated for it to be simply about one side being right and the other wrong. But aside from political matters, the nation is gorgeous. They have summer-like temperatures literally three-quarters of the year. Cypriot food is like a mix of Turkish and Greek food with a little of their own kick to it. They have amazing cheeses and also do quite a number with pork and lamb (I only tried a little, I’ve pretty much given up eating meat) I would definitely recommend the country if your into touristy stuff and you want to visit a beautiful island that is also really interesting and culturally diverse. We got to visit this Greek Orthodox nunnery that was apparently visited by Barnabus and Paul the prominent Christian Apostle—their trip to Cyprus is actually recorded in the Bible which was really fascinating to read and then experience.

I have quite a few pictures to put up but I will put them up tomorrow.

The Berlin film festival is starting on Thursday. I am basically going to be living in Potsdammer Platz, the place where all the action is happening. It is like a film lover’s heaven. I will try to remember to eat and breathe. Wish me luck ;)