Pissouri, Cyprus - Saturday walk and a citrus orchard.

The weather forecast for today was good until a few days ago and then rain started to be a possibility. It rained a little overnight but was dry as we set out on the walk today, in a valley close to Pissouri.

Two others on the walk were also interested in the flora so I was not the only one snapping pictures of the wild flowers.

They would also point flowers out to me and knew some of the names. Of course I can't remember them now.

There is far more variety now as spring is definitely here.

Carob pods left, unharvested, on the tree. Some people gathered them knowing what was just along the path.

It seems that donkeys like Carob pods.

There were a couple of very pregnant Jennys and a few yearlings.

We were walking in an agricultural valley, predominately vineyards.

Some of the vines were trained on to Y shaped trellises. I have never seen this before and looked it up on the internet. I read a couple of agricultural articles that indicate the advantages to this method; farm machinery can till the soil without disturbing the fruit as it is hanging higher, the leaf canopy is spread wide for extra photosynthesis and better shade for the fruit, the fruit are hanging higher making picking easier. Overall there are more grapes produced this way and they are healthier.

Some of the Almond trees had lost their blossoms and now leaves were emerging but there were some still in full blossom.

We stopped at a citrus orchard as the walk organizers knew the owner, and we were welcome to pick some. We left our bags at the gate to pick up when we drove by later.

This is wild garlic. We picked one stalk and it didn't smell very garlicy.

This had been the Mosque in the Turkish Cypriot village that we walked through. Some of the buildings were derelict and some had been given to the Greek Cypriot refugees from the North. They pay a small rent to the government with the understanding that if the situation is resolved the Turkish Cypriots may reclaim their property.

This was the water fountain where hands, arms, face and feet were washed before entering the Mosque.

Truck load of oranges. I think the ones on the bottom would be squished so I suspect they are going to be juiced.

One of the walkers said that this was an abandoned abattoir and that each village had been provided with one under the British Rural Development Program. 

A very narrow tractor, perhaps for tilling between the grape vines.

I tried going to a website of wild Cypriot Orchids but got totally overwhelmed so, suffice to say, this is an Orchid!

And another.

Still searching for the paintable Olive tree.

Not an Orchid.

But these are.

Back past the donkeys to the cars and then picked up our fruit on the way back to Pissouri.

We ate as a group at Hani's, where Nicola, Dave and I had eaten. I had Moussaka and salad and had to bring half of the Moussaka home, it was such a large piece. As it was Saturday the restaurant was full, all Cypriots, which is a good sign.

While we were at the restaurant "the heavens opened" and  it was windy and hailed. Since then there have been intermittent thunderstorms and some more hail. We were so lucky that it all waited until after the walk.

This is what I bought home from the citrus orchard. The large yellow fruit are Pomelos. They are related to the grapefruit and can grow as large as a Cantaloupe. I haven't had one but they are supposed to be sweeter than Grapefruit. The oranges may be Mandoras, a cross between an orange and a manderin.

Paphos, Cyprus - Ethnographic Museum

I took the car back today and booked it for 2 weeks in March. When I told the woman at the car hire I was going to walk to Upper Paphos to find the Ethnographic Museum her response was "you could take a bus". It didn't look far on the map but she did have me a little concerned. The main difficulty with finding your way in Paphos, or anywhere in Cyprus actually, is that there are very few street name signs. Driving its not too bad as roads are numbered (ie A6, B6, B709 etc) and the place they go is also indicated, but rarely do you see the name of a street given. I was able to find my way by heading uphill and recognizing the shape of intersections on the map.

Passing some cliffs there was a parkette and carved out areas

with the mandatory icon and candle,

Cyclamen,

Chapel,

and not a sign in sight.

The same with this, between 2 roads.

Its been excavated, protected, fenced and covered but not signed. I wonder what it is. I think there is so much history here they just can't keep up with it.

I felt in need of some sustenance before continuing my museum search. Coconut lime cheesecake and a half decaf flat white (He had never had an order like that before so said he would have to work out what to charge me for it)

The Municipal Gallery is closed for renovations. The Paphos Archaeological Museum is closed for renovations and I gather that it hasn't been open for about a year. The Byzantine Museum has been moved out of town. So the Ethnographic Museum is it.

Inside I was greeted by Mrs Eliades. George Eliades, was an archaeologist and collector. She charged me 5Euro admission and recommended I buy the book her husband wrote on the collection for another 5. I didn't.

The house has been in the family for generations and was opened as a private museum in 1958.

The courtyard garden is offered as a wedding venue and has this old water fountain,

and some ancient burial tombs carved out of the rock.

The lower level  houses the collection of farm implements,

archaeological finds,

pottery,

spinning and weaving tools,

lace making and traditional clothing,

and just random

stuff.

Upstairs a library and a dining room are open to be viewed from the doorway.

An amazing collection of flints and arrowheads, coins, paintings and maps are displayed in the halls.

No idea what these are (no signage again) but I love them.

It was a strange little museum. A lot of it you couldn't get close to and what signage there was was photocopies of articles and I needed my glasses on. Still fun anyway.

Heading towards the bus station I found

a war memorial.

While taking this picture a passerby told me I could get a better view from the other side and I asked if it is ever open. He said no and it never would be as it is Turkish. He said "this is the old Turkish neighbourhood, that's why the buildings are derelict. The owners now live in the Turkish occupied area in Northern Cyprus"

He was right it was easier to get a good shot from this side.

Still some Turkish influence here.

While waiting for the bus. A man selling suit jackets and sports coats from the trunk of his car? A Mercedes!