Larnaca: Of Beaches and Camels

Well, first, so sorry it has taken so long to post. Our computer died and we have had some complications getting our blog up and running again.

Now, on to Cyprus! This will hopefully be one of a couple of posts.  During spring break we went to this wonderful island and had a great time. Spring break is just before the tourist season really gets going on Cyprus so it was a great opportunity for us to look around and not deal with crowds. I would recommend visiting Cyprus. It was truly a great adventure. Only one drawback....DRIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD! Yes, that was a little nerve wracking!
Here are some pictures of where we started, Larnaca.

We arrived very late and therefore started out early looking around Larnaca.  We spent the day looking around the waterfront area. There were some great museums, a castle, a corniche and of course, great food!

Right on the waterfront. Behind Tim and the girls was a great photography museum.

I just found this posting interesting. Like everything in southern Cyprus, it is written in Greek and English.

This area is well known for it's needlework. This was in a museum.

Outside of the museum. Love the hands coming out!

The Corniche of Larnaca. Beautiful but not as nice as the one at Beirut!

Like Lebanon, there are many mosques near churches. This one was next to a castle on the water.

View of the Corniche from the top of the castle.

The public beach at Larnaca.

Time for food! Strong Greek AND English influence here.

I was truly in heaven with this Greek salad!

Tim was very happy with his Gyro.

As was Delaney. We all love Gyros!

And of course, a nice cheesy pizza for Janna.

 We went to the Church of Saint Lazarus. Yes, that Lazarus. Once again, we were reminded that much of what we see in this region is truly Biblical history!

Within the church.

Lazarus' bones.

Then, we went into the crypt.

This is where his bones were.

This was the outside of the church.

Yes, it was a blustery day.

After looking through the church we found this great place to take a break. The owner had done all of the artwork. Quirky place but I really loved it!

We did look through the Larnaca Medieval Fort by the water as well.

Truly a beautiful place.

I was so proud of my girls when they were able to read the Arabic that was on display. Didn't understand it but they could read it!

This boardwalk was right next to the Fort.

The next day, we started west, traveling to Pissouri Bay and our wonderful villa. On our way we stopped at a Camel Farm. What an awesome place!

Feeding the camels carob.

Not just camels!

So sorry Mr. Peacock but I don't think the turkey is interested!

Yes, we took a camel ride! this was the view that Janna and I got!

Feeding the juveniles.

This camel was born the morning we were there. Really cute!

This is the end of blog one of our spring break! More to come!

A Shift from Rome - The January Storm on the Corniche

We were all ready to go back to work on January 7th when a storm decided to come in. School was cancelled for 3 days. It was cold here by Lebanese standards but I can tell you, the thunder and lightning as well as the torrential rain can be impressive here. Since the drainage in Beirut is not like Seattle, when storms hit, the many tunnels in the city tend to really flood thus one of the reasons for school being cancelled.  While the storm was starting to hit, Tim and I decided to go see what was going on at the Corniche. We arrived to major traffic jams. People were just double parking to take a look. This included buses. Everyone was taking pictures and smiling and impressed. Here are some pictures from that early evening.

This was the first area we saw.  Can you imagine what the waves looked like inside the building?

The waves would completely roll over the dock.

As you can see, the water would just crash up the wall.

A little further down. The radio tower is on the AUB beach which was pretty much completely covered with water.

This little garbage can on a cement block base was not knocked over not by people but by the waves.

These are waves I would expect to see along the Washington State coastline, not along the Corniche in Beirut

As we walked further, the waves were more impressive. Airplanes were flying around in circles above us because it was difficult to land at the airport.

The water on the Corniche was from the waves. It was not raining at this point at all. 

If you walked through where it was wet you were taking a risk. Some of these people choose poorly.

This picture and the next one were Tim's favorites to take. Remarkably, the man did not get wet!

On the way home we took a picture of the minaret of our neighborhood Mosque right by the water.

The next day, I went for an early walk (since school was cancelled....Again!) and ended up with some nice pictures as well. Some of these I've posted on facebook already but for those who don't have facebook here they are again.

This is a small marina on the Corniche. All of the boats were taken out of the water.

I love this picture. The Lebanese flag is still flying strong. I saw it as a symbol of there determination to keep their country at peace with respect and dignity.

The guy sitting in front of me when I took this got soaked by the last wave.