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2008 EMYR
Schedule
Monday, May 19th, Girne, Northern Cyprus
Sorry folks, but you are just going to have to slog
through long updates for a while. Looking at my
picture file for the month of May indicates just how
busy we have been. We have close to 900 photos so
far. I'll do my best not to bore you. The
passages present a great opportunity to take a little
extra time to try to craft interesting stories around
all of our activities so hopefully I will succeed.
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We've participated in three flag ceremonies and two rally
dinners since I last wrote five days ago.
Unfortunately, the President of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus, who was expected at the reception held
at the castle in Girne when we arrived, was otherwise
occupied. He sent a representative in his place.
Still, he threw a fine party for the 19th EMYR group in
an unbelievable setting. Cocktails and hors
d'oeuvres were passed on silver trays amongst the
flowering bougainvillea and jacaranda trees.
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We took the opportunity to stroll along the castle walls
and admire the views inside and out.
The sense of prosperity and beauty proved to be in sharp
contrast with the reality of Northern Cyprus.
With a human history reaching back as far as 8500 BC,
Cyprus' story is particularly troubled. Rich with
copper and timber, and strategically located between the
Near East and the West, the island has been the target
of repeated invasions. A host of rulers including
Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians colonized
Cyprus before the usual suspects took over. The
Greek rulers were thrown out by the Romans in 58 BC. The
birth of Christianity brought more turmoil to the island
until the religion became firmly established and Cyprus
became part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire.
In 1191 the island was conquered by Richard the Lionheart, on his way to Jerusalem to fight in the 3rd
Crusade. He sold it to a French nobleman who
established the Lusignan dynasty for the next three
hundred years. Cyprus was then handed down to the
Venetians who were subsequently
overthrown by the Ottomans.
The Ottomans forced the local population to choose
between Christianity and Islam. The Greek majority chose
Christianity and the division between the Greek
Christians and the Turkish Muslims was crystallized,
growing increasingly problematic in ensuing years.
Following their defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1878,
the Ottomans enlisted the help of Great Britain to keep
the Russians in check in the region. Great Britain
received complete control of the island for an annual
fee of $500K. When the Ottomans,
who sided with Germany, were defeated at the end of
World War One, Cyprus was officially recognized as a British
possession in
the Treaty of Lausanne in 1925. I guess that is
why they drive on the left in Cyprus!
The Greek Cypriots had started pushing for enosis
or union with Greece. Great Britain steadfastly
resisted, claiming the change in the political status of
the island would be impossible because of its strategic
importance. Negotiations for self-government
failed repeatedly. Violence and protests against
the British became the norm. As the
British Empire crumbled around the globe, they effected
a seven year plan to
grant Cyprus its independence, a status to be guaranteed
by the British, Greek and Turkish governments. An attempt was
made to ensure the rights of the Turkish Cypriot
minority, but the first elected president of the
republic was a fierce supporter of enosis.
He started whittling away at these protections and open
conflict between the two communities ensued.
In
1974, amid turmoil on both the island and in the
military government of Greece, the Turkish army occupied
the northern part of Cyprus. Greeks fled to the
southern part and Turks fled north, with massacres
occurring on both sides. The UN recognizes the
independent Republic of Cyprus and has been involved in
countless efforts to resolve the conflict between the
two communities. Cyprus was admitted to the
European Union in 2003, further complicating the issue.
Officially, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is
only recognized by Turkey. The conflict continues
to this day, although the struggle is much less violent.
Economically, the Turkish part of Cyprus suffers poverty
and drought. When the border between the two zones
was opened in 2003, many Turks crossed immediately into
the southern zone, looking for work. As Turkey
also prepares itself for membership in the EU, the
search for a political solution to the question of
Cyprus continues.
Our tour of the island took us to the ancient ruins of
Salamis and the modern city of Famagusta; from ruins of
Roman baths and gymnasiums to bombed out shells of
modern apartment buildings. There exists an eerie dead
zone along the border between the north and south.
Whoever owns the concession for barbed wire on the
island is making a killing. We drove by one of
these dead zones in our tour bus but I neglected to get
any photos. The ruins, castles and cathedrals from
the older periods of Cypriot history are far more
attractive subjects.
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Of
course, we are enjoying all of these most recent events
and sights with the addition of our newly arrived crew,
Larson and Gav.
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You might remember them from our
exploits in Sardinia
and Corsica last May. The nephew of our good
friends, Alison and Bruce, this is Larson's third summer
vacation on Zia. Last year he brought his friend
Gav with him and we all had so much fun that we invited
them both to come back again this year. Of course,
they are also a huge help on the night passages.
In fact, after staying up all night on our first night
passage together, they spent the next morning polishing
our stainless steel! You know we are the envy of
all our friends!
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On
our second night in Northern Cyprus, we decked ourselves
out for the famous rally Pirate Party. Imagine if
you will, 265 foreigners parading through the streets of
downtown Girne in full pirate regalia. Although
the Zia crew weren't among the most authentic pirates in
attendance, we put forth a pretty good showing.
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The kids surveyed and voted to select the winners for
the best male and best female costumes. Our
Swedish captain won the male division, hands down.
Juliana presented the award, backed up, of course, by
all the other kids on stage.
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It
was a merry evening full of laughter and camaraderie.
The music took a little while to get going, but we all
enjoyed watching the belly dancer perform a few
selections.
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In
a Muslim country, it seems ironic to see beautiful,
scantily clad women performing erotic dances to the
enthusiastic applause of a mixed audience, but the
tradition is strong in the Middle East. Rumor has
it we will be seeing a few more such performances on the
rally so.....stay tuned!
Next Entry
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Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
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