Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon with updating my daily activities. I will try to catch up later, but for now, I wanted to share excerpts from the Sharjah—Decency & Public Conduct & Rules & Objectives Handbook that was in our hotel room when we visited the UAE earlier this month. I was really struck by the suggestion that restriction of the individual actually creates human rights. Take a look for yourself:
Introduction
The law stipulates that the rights of people should be protected and their liberties should not be violated by acts that breach public conduct. This handbook has been composed to promote further understanding of the decency and public conduct rules in Sharjah and to serve to uphold these beliefs and preserve our cultural heritage.
It is an undisputed fact that societies differ in their perceptions and vision. A conservative society is one that can accommodate all ethnicities and religions with their diverse habits and norms, while successfully maintaining their self-respect and human rights. It can also preserve the social structure and the integrity of the family by maintaining a high standard of moral conduct. Society should be able to preserve moral decency, both in private and public, avoiding immoral and anti-social behavior that threatens its very existence and safety. Article (44) for the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates requires “Respect of constitution, laws and orders issued by public authorities (in execution thereof) observance of public order and respect of public morality and duties incumbent upon all inhabitants of the Union.[“]
With a belief in enjoying the benefits of modern civilization and technology, we feel compelled to preserve our heritage and social values. These values are based on knowledge that clean life entertainment and safe and healthy habits between diverse ethnicities and cultures can only function in environments that encourage human virtues and are guided by honorable values. In support of the rules of decent conduct, and in expressing society’s conscious need to stand against indecency, and to preserve public civility, and to clarify that proper conscious need to stand against indecency, to maintain public courtesy, and to encourage a proper concept of personal freedom, through the safeguarding of the rights of others. It is vital to abide by these directives (No. 1) for the year 2001 [SIC?] in the Emirate of Sharjah.
1. Decency
Decency is behavior or an attitude that conforms to commonly accepted standards of what is right and respectable.
Its broad and universal meaning has been proclaimed by all spiritual and religious practices. It is the sum of practices that keep a human from doing wrong. Decency is against vulgarity and shamelessness, it is the opposite of indecency, in appearance and in speech. Decency is the basis of all honorable values. It is that which is civilized as opposed to immoral or degenerate, sophisticated rather than harsh or rude, is the epitome of decency.
It is one of the natural habits, and a virtue in all religions. Adherence to it is an act of worship, and practicing it is a virtue. It results in comfort for all. Its adherence will be rewarded, while those negligent of it will be in sin.
A. MEN’S DRESS CODE
Indecent dress or behavior:
●Very short pants in public or commercial places . . .
●Bare chest
●Ezar in public places (Ezar is the local Emirate male underwear) and houses of
worship
B. WOMEN’S DRESS CODE
Indecent Dress:
●Clothing that exposes the stomach and back
●Short clothing above the knee
●Tight or transparent clothing that emphasizes the body
2. Rules Regarding Public Beaches
Omitted.
3. Ladies Area
●For social and cultural consideration, women have their own private areas that are not to be used by men . . . .
4. A Man and a Woman Illegally Alone
●It is not permitted for a man and a woman who are not connected within a legally acceptable relationship to be found alone in suspicious circumstances.
5. Irritating of Disturbing Others
●Keeping peace in public places is important to provide society with the right atmosphere that stimulates productivity. The protection of civil rights shows the true face of a society. Therefore, please consider the following:
∙Do not bother or disturb the peace with acts of vulgarity or loud noise.
∙Do not engage in acts of harassment that violate public decency.
6. The Sanctity and Holiness of Attending Mosques
Omitted.
7. Guidance
. . .
Sharjah police, designated employees, security officers, and building guards are ordered to observe, coordinate and ensure adherence to these rules of decency and public conduct . . . .
When violators of this code seek any service, it may be refused and they should be made aware of these regulations.
*The handbook was published in seven languages: English, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Persian (?), and Hindi (?).
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7
Not too much to report today. We met one of Bill's hiking friends at Cafe Eunice. I had an appointment with my friend's brother, a dentist, to get my tooth fixed, so I did not get anything to drink. (All night I kept worrying that my tooth was going to fall out. I also worried that he would give my friend a bad report about my resistance to flossing. I know it is important, I just don't like it!)
Dr. Jad was a miracle worker and fixed my tooth. He also insisted that I pay a reduced fee because I am friends with his sister. If I did not have a history of needing emergency dental care, I would cancel my insurance and just pay to see him twice a year!
Unfortunately though, my mouth was a little sore afterward so I mostly just rested for the rest of the day.
Dr. Jad was a miracle worker and fixed my tooth. He also insisted that I pay a reduced fee because I am friends with his sister. If I did not have a history of needing emergency dental care, I would cancel my insurance and just pay to see him twice a year!
Unfortunately though, my mouth was a little sore afterward so I mostly just rested for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6
Today I went into the office to finish some work. Alas, however, I was not able to finish the project. No matter how many times I look at a document, I always just seem to find one more thing that needs tweaking.
While at the office I ran into the groom of the wedding of the century. We talked a little bit about the wedding. I tell you, the surprises just keep coming. Apparently a famous Lebanese violinist will be performing at the wedding. I have decided to pick up his CD and have him autograph it at the wedding. I will let you know how it is.
The groom also said that Bill will have a surprise role to play at the wedding. Will Bill be reprising his role as Papa Noel?
After dinner, a stew from Bill’s new Cypriote cookbook, we met up with some folks from the university at Bread Republic. We initially resisted Bread Republic—it seemed like an expensive version of Panera Bread. But, we have had some tasty things there, and now I really like it.
Because we had already eaten dinner, I was not very hungry. I did, however, have a piece of apple pie. It was very delicious.
While at the office I ran into the groom of the wedding of the century. We talked a little bit about the wedding. I tell you, the surprises just keep coming. Apparently a famous Lebanese violinist will be performing at the wedding. I have decided to pick up his CD and have him autograph it at the wedding. I will let you know how it is.
The groom also said that Bill will have a surprise role to play at the wedding. Will Bill be reprising his role as Papa Noel?
After dinner, a stew from Bill’s new Cypriote cookbook, we met up with some folks from the university at Bread Republic. We initially resisted Bread Republic—it seemed like an expensive version of Panera Bread. But, we have had some tasty things there, and now I really like it.
Because we had already eaten dinner, I was not very hungry. I did, however, have a piece of apple pie. It was very delicious.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Countdown Catch-up
Sunday, June 5
I was a little tired and sore from the trip to Beiteddine, so we decided to stay close to home. We did go to the movies, however, and saw The Hangover 2. It was funny, but pretty stupid too. I like going to the movies in Lebanon because you can get fresh caramel corn instead of popcorn.
After the movie we had dinner at Napolitano—a pizza restaurant near our house. Going to a pizza place when your days in the Lebanon are numbered might be foolish to some, but those people do not realize that excellent Lebanese food is available in Michigan.
Later that night I accidentally tore the veneer off of one of my teeth. It does not hurt, but I am now worried that my tooth is going to fall out.
Saturday, June 4
Today we took the bus to Beiteddine—the People’s Castle. Beiteddine was built by a Turkish emir during the Ottoman Empire. I previously went to Beiteddine when our nephew Tony came for a visit. I was still impressed by the grandeur of the place.
Unfortunately though, the bus to Beiteddine does not exactly go to Beiteddine, and we had to hike downhill to get there and uphill to get back. My legs are still sore!
A friendly lady named Kristina who had a restaurant offered to make “delicious and inexpensive” food for us on our hike back. She had two sajes and a furn outside, so Bill was powerless to resist her. I guess it is lucky that Bill did not meet her before our wedding—things might have turned out differently for the two of us . . .
The food was delicious, but it was hardly inexpensive. Oh well, I was hungry!
Friday, June 3
Friday was laundry day. Not that big of a deal when you live in the U.S. and have access to a washing machine, but here I have to wash clothes in the sink. It is hard work, and pants are a real nightmare.
That night we went out to dinner at Café Blanc with two of our friends—the two involved in the love match. Later that night I officially retired from the matchmaking business.
I was a little tired and sore from the trip to Beiteddine, so we decided to stay close to home. We did go to the movies, however, and saw The Hangover 2. It was funny, but pretty stupid too. I like going to the movies in Lebanon because you can get fresh caramel corn instead of popcorn.
After the movie we had dinner at Napolitano—a pizza restaurant near our house. Going to a pizza place when your days in the Lebanon are numbered might be foolish to some, but those people do not realize that excellent Lebanese food is available in Michigan.
Later that night I accidentally tore the veneer off of one of my teeth. It does not hurt, but I am now worried that my tooth is going to fall out.
Saturday, June 4
Today we took the bus to Beiteddine—the People’s Castle. Beiteddine was built by a Turkish emir during the Ottoman Empire. I previously went to Beiteddine when our nephew Tony came for a visit. I was still impressed by the grandeur of the place.
Unfortunately though, the bus to Beiteddine does not exactly go to Beiteddine, and we had to hike downhill to get there and uphill to get back. My legs are still sore!
A friendly lady named Kristina who had a restaurant offered to make “delicious and inexpensive” food for us on our hike back. She had two sajes and a furn outside, so Bill was powerless to resist her. I guess it is lucky that Bill did not meet her before our wedding—things might have turned out differently for the two of us . . .
The food was delicious, but it was hardly inexpensive. Oh well, I was hungry!
Friday, June 3
Friday was laundry day. Not that big of a deal when you live in the U.S. and have access to a washing machine, but here I have to wash clothes in the sink. It is hard work, and pants are a real nightmare.
That night we went out to dinner at Café Blanc with two of our friends—the two involved in the love match. Later that night I officially retired from the matchmaking business.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, June 2
Today was my last Arabic class, and I think that my teacher tried to kill me. You see, the week before I asked her how to conjugate verbs and make nouns plural. I thought this would be a relatively simple thing--learn the rules and then apply them. The rules, however, seem to be more complicated than the tax code.
When I arrived at class my teacher announced that I was having a final exam on nouns and verbs. Unfortunately, I did not know that I would be having a test of any kind. Thus for about two hours I struggled to make eight masculine singular sentences feminine singular, masculine duel (because it is important to make sure people understand that you are only talking about two people), and masculine plural. See what I mean about the tax code? I almost lost it!
Later on I went to the post office to mail out the second-to-last set of post cards to my regular pen pals. I tried going to the Ministry of Tourism to get some Lebanon posters in case Bill has to give any presentations on Lebanon as part of his Fulbrightness, but it seems that the information office is under construction. Then I stopped at A. Antoine and bought a Spanish language gossip magazine—the Arabic nightmare has made me want to get better at Spanish--a language with straightforward rules.
That night we met some friends at Olio, an Italian restaurant, to say good bye to a writing instructor who is leaving the university. After we finished at the restaurant we went to the hosts' apartment for dessert. We were having a nice time so we stayed quite a long time.
Finally, I almost wound up adopting a kitten that kept following us while we were walking home. Luckily a visiting archeologist who also attended the party intervened and returned the kitten to its mother.
When I arrived at class my teacher announced that I was having a final exam on nouns and verbs. Unfortunately, I did not know that I would be having a test of any kind. Thus for about two hours I struggled to make eight masculine singular sentences feminine singular, masculine duel (because it is important to make sure people understand that you are only talking about two people), and masculine plural. See what I mean about the tax code? I almost lost it!
Later on I went to the post office to mail out the second-to-last set of post cards to my regular pen pals. I tried going to the Ministry of Tourism to get some Lebanon posters in case Bill has to give any presentations on Lebanon as part of his Fulbrightness, but it seems that the information office is under construction. Then I stopped at A. Antoine and bought a Spanish language gossip magazine—the Arabic nightmare has made me want to get better at Spanish--a language with straightforward rules.
That night we met some friends at Olio, an Italian restaurant, to say good bye to a writing instructor who is leaving the university. After we finished at the restaurant we went to the hosts' apartment for dessert. We were having a nice time so we stayed quite a long time.
Finally, I almost wound up adopting a kitten that kept following us while we were walking home. Luckily a visiting archeologist who also attended the party intervened and returned the kitten to its mother.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 1
Today was a slow day. Unfortunately, I slept in until 10:00 a.m. This meant that I missed an invitation to go with one of our friends from the university to lunch and a museum. This may have been lucky though because Bill got a bad migrane around 12:00 p.m. and was out of commission for most of the day.
Consequently, I spent the day working on Arabic homework, unpacking, writing my blog entry for Cyprus, going to the grocery store, watching Castle and Oprah's show on the Freedom Riders, reading National Geographic, blah. Bill felt better that night, so we also played a few games of cards, went to the ATM, and bought cherries at the fruit market.
Consequently, I spent the day working on Arabic homework, unpacking, writing my blog entry for Cyprus, going to the grocery store, watching Castle and Oprah's show on the Freedom Riders, reading National Geographic, blah. Bill felt better that night, so we also played a few games of cards, went to the ATM, and bought cherries at the fruit market.
Countdown Continues . . .
No, I did not forget about my commitment to documenting my last month in the Lebanon. We went to Cyprus on May 28th and were without internet access. That is likely a good thing because things at our Cyprus hotel were rough, and I would have done even more complaining if I had been writing under the stress of the events.
Saturday, May 28
Today was supposed to be the last day of tutoring. I had put together some materials for the three kids that I worked with to study over the summer. I had also gotten them copies of To Kill a Mockingbird to read. I am not sure, but it is possible that this would be the first novel they ever read—they reported that their UN school only gives them short work sheets to read for their English and Arabic classes. Don’t get me started . . .
I was really sad about this being the last tutoring session (surprisingly, I even got a little teary on the way to tutoring). As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, my students are really terrific. I was not ready to say good bye to them.
But after walking 15 blocks in the 90+ degree heat to the tutoring center, we learned that the last session of tutoring was cancelled. No good bye, no good luck, nothing. I was crushed. I left the books and materials at the center because 1) the students will hopefully be able to pick them up when they come for sessions in July and 2) I was not carrying that stuff another 15 blocks.
Later that night we left for a short holiday in Cyprus. Things went well with the flight. It wasn’t until we landed that things took a wrong turn.
First, our ground transportation never arrived to take us to our hotel. We were supposed to have rides to and from the airport as part of our vacation package. After wasting an hour or more trying to locate our nonexistent driver, we had to pay 20 Euros (about $30) for a ten minute ride to the hotel.
Then we arrived at our hotel, Crown Resorts Henipa. At first glance, the hotel seemed very nice. Just off the lobby was a bar with live music. I had high hopes.
We checked in with Danny, the front desk clerk. Danny seemed to be very nice too. He cracked a few jokes, including asking us where we were from because our English was so good. (He had seen our passports at that point.) Ha! Ha! Good one, Danny!
We got up to our room. Small, ugly, hot. O.K. we thought, we’re here for the island not the hotel—let’s just make this work.
I went to the bathroom. The toilet would not flush. In order to flush it, I had to remove the lid from the toilet bowl and use the shower head to fill the tank. Annoying, but at least the bathroom was usable, right?
While I was dealing with the bathroom, Bill was trying to get the air conditioner to work. The settings were Wi and Su. Bill played with both but could not get any cool air. I suggested that he go and get some directions from Danny and also ask for soap and shampoo—the bathroom only had a wall dispenser with soft soap by the sink.
Bill returned without soap or shampoo—the hotel does not provide these. He also returned without the ability to make the room cooler. Danny just told him to make sure the setting was on Su (summer).
I was unhappy about the room’s temperature, I am sure that it was at least 80 degrees, but Bill has serious rage issues when it comes to heat. I suggested that he take a shower to cool off, but he insisted that it would do nothing. At one point in the night I looked over and he was sitting up, gripping the side of the mattress, and staring into the darkness. He looked like a complete maniac, and he was really getting on my nerves. We had an argument. He finally took a shower.
Within five minutes of finishing his shower, he was fast asleep. We survived our first night in Cyprus.
Sunday, May 29
Because a lot of things are closed on Sundays and Mondays in Cyprus, we decided to stay in Larnaca, the city where our hotel was located.
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. It was pretty good. Eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, sausages, ham/bacon, five kinds of jelly, toast, and baked beans were available.
After breakfast we took the bus downtown. We walked around for awhile and saw the Agios Lazaros, a church from the 10th century that was built on the site of the church founded by St. Lazarus after his resurrection. It is also worth noting that Bill had to put on a skirt before entering the church because he was wearing shorts.
After Agios Lazaros we went to Agia Faneromeni. The Agia Faneromeni was built on a catacomb from the Phoenician times. It is said that pilgrims who were sick would come to the catacomb and leave mementos (like pieces of hair) in hopes that they would get better. I feel that I am in pretty good health, but I decided to leave a few hairs for luck.
It was pretty hot by the time we finished at Agia Faneromeni. We decided to go swimming at the hotel.
The pool was not too bad, but someone had gotten a lot of sand in the pool. The hot tub also was not hot. But we still had fun and were able to cool off.
Unfortunately, the hotel also did not provide towels to use at the pool. This meant that we had to dry off by sitting in the sun. You guessed it, we both got burned.
In spite of the sunburns, we walked about a mile to go to an Indian restaurant called Ganga. The food was O.K. but expensive (darn you, euro!). We have not had any Indian food though since we left the U.S., so we were willing to make the sacrifice.
Bill had talked to the day desk clerk that morning and she sent a technician to fix our air conditioning and toilet. Thanks to the repairs, we were able to cool our room slightly and flush the toilet.
Monday, May 30
An archeologist friend in Lebanon recommended that we see Kato Pafos while we were in Cyprus. Luckily we found a tour company offering tours to Pafos and Kourion—two ancient archeological sites.
On the way to Kourion, the bus stopped at a restaurant that was next to the Neolithic Settlement of Choirokoitia. Luckily we were able to see the settlement from the street and saved ourselves four Euros.
Kourion was an ancient city. It was not in as good a condition as some of the ruins in Lebanon, but the government did a good job of preserving the site and making it comfortable for tourists—shade and bathrooms were available. I really liked the mosaic of Ktissis that was found in a wealthy man’s house.
After Kourion, we traveled to Pafos. On the way we stopped at Petra tou Romiou—the alleged birthplace of Aphrodite. Petra tou Romiou is basically some large rocks sticking out of the Mediterranean Sea, but it is very beautiful. And when I got back on the bus, I found a 50 pence coin from the United Kingdom. Although Queen Elizabeth is on the front, it has Athena on the back. I took this as a lucky sign.
Finally we arrived at Pafos. Like Kourion, it was not as impressive as some of the ruins we have seen in Lebanon. Nevertheless, it had some very interesting mosaics and we had a great time walking through the site. I would go there again—at a cooler time of the year.
We had lunch at a Cypriote restaurant in the harbor. I had meatballs which reminded me of Lebanese kebee. Bill had really fantastic moussaka. After lunch Bill ran off to see a church and I looked at souvenirs. Sadly there was nothing good as far as souvenirs go.
When we got back to the hotel, Bill went to talk to our pal, Danny, about seeing if he would confirm our transportation to the airport the next day, tell us what time dinner started, and get our hotel key remagnetized. Apparently Danny was not especially helpful because Bill came back to the room furious and carrying a comment card. Yikes!
For dinner we ate at the hotel—it advertised a Cypriote buffet. Except for a pork and mushroom dish that was particularly good, it was just O.K.
Tuesday, May 31
We spent our last day in Cyprus in Limassol, another coastal city. There we saw Limassol Castle, walked around the city, and had lunch at Café Astarte. (Astarte is a Phoenician goddess, so we felt like we should patronize her café because of our Lebanon connection.)
It was deadly hot in the sun, and we walked outside for miles. Luckily we survived and I found a cheap suitcase. (I was running low on luggage because I have already sent two bags back to the U.S.) Unfortunately, the bag was large and hot pink. I think Bill was a little embarrassed carrying it thought the streets, but he was a good sport.
We ate dinner at the hotel again. This time, however, we ate in the bar because it was happy hour. Half price drinks and food!
Not feeling adventurous, I ordered a hamburger. I assumed that “hamburger” was a universal term describing ground beef, but I was VERY wrong. What I received was a patty of white/yellow meat that tasted disgusting. I told the waitress that I must have gotten a chicken burger instead of the hamburger that I ordered. She later came back and told me that she confirmed with the chef that this was my hamburger. The chef himself later came out and explained that my sandwich was made of pork, hence hamburger. If it were to be a beef burger, the menu would have said beef hamburger. I felt bad about not liking it because the chef was clearly proud of it so I ate the hamburger. It was pretty nasty.
Luckily our ride to the airport arrived this time. The flight home was very good. And we were never so happy to be at our little Lebanese apartment with excellent air conditioning.
Saturday, May 28
Today was supposed to be the last day of tutoring. I had put together some materials for the three kids that I worked with to study over the summer. I had also gotten them copies of To Kill a Mockingbird to read. I am not sure, but it is possible that this would be the first novel they ever read—they reported that their UN school only gives them short work sheets to read for their English and Arabic classes. Don’t get me started . . .
I was really sad about this being the last tutoring session (surprisingly, I even got a little teary on the way to tutoring). As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, my students are really terrific. I was not ready to say good bye to them.
But after walking 15 blocks in the 90+ degree heat to the tutoring center, we learned that the last session of tutoring was cancelled. No good bye, no good luck, nothing. I was crushed. I left the books and materials at the center because 1) the students will hopefully be able to pick them up when they come for sessions in July and 2) I was not carrying that stuff another 15 blocks.
Later that night we left for a short holiday in Cyprus. Things went well with the flight. It wasn’t until we landed that things took a wrong turn.
First, our ground transportation never arrived to take us to our hotel. We were supposed to have rides to and from the airport as part of our vacation package. After wasting an hour or more trying to locate our nonexistent driver, we had to pay 20 Euros (about $30) for a ten minute ride to the hotel.
Then we arrived at our hotel, Crown Resorts Henipa. At first glance, the hotel seemed very nice. Just off the lobby was a bar with live music. I had high hopes.
We checked in with Danny, the front desk clerk. Danny seemed to be very nice too. He cracked a few jokes, including asking us where we were from because our English was so good. (He had seen our passports at that point.) Ha! Ha! Good one, Danny!
We got up to our room. Small, ugly, hot. O.K. we thought, we’re here for the island not the hotel—let’s just make this work.
I went to the bathroom. The toilet would not flush. In order to flush it, I had to remove the lid from the toilet bowl and use the shower head to fill the tank. Annoying, but at least the bathroom was usable, right?
While I was dealing with the bathroom, Bill was trying to get the air conditioner to work. The settings were Wi and Su. Bill played with both but could not get any cool air. I suggested that he go and get some directions from Danny and also ask for soap and shampoo—the bathroom only had a wall dispenser with soft soap by the sink.
Bill returned without soap or shampoo—the hotel does not provide these. He also returned without the ability to make the room cooler. Danny just told him to make sure the setting was on Su (summer).
I was unhappy about the room’s temperature, I am sure that it was at least 80 degrees, but Bill has serious rage issues when it comes to heat. I suggested that he take a shower to cool off, but he insisted that it would do nothing. At one point in the night I looked over and he was sitting up, gripping the side of the mattress, and staring into the darkness. He looked like a complete maniac, and he was really getting on my nerves. We had an argument. He finally took a shower.
Within five minutes of finishing his shower, he was fast asleep. We survived our first night in Cyprus.
Sunday, May 29
Because a lot of things are closed on Sundays and Mondays in Cyprus, we decided to stay in Larnaca, the city where our hotel was located.
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. It was pretty good. Eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, sausages, ham/bacon, five kinds of jelly, toast, and baked beans were available.
After breakfast we took the bus downtown. We walked around for awhile and saw the Agios Lazaros, a church from the 10th century that was built on the site of the church founded by St. Lazarus after his resurrection. It is also worth noting that Bill had to put on a skirt before entering the church because he was wearing shorts.
After Agios Lazaros we went to Agia Faneromeni. The Agia Faneromeni was built on a catacomb from the Phoenician times. It is said that pilgrims who were sick would come to the catacomb and leave mementos (like pieces of hair) in hopes that they would get better. I feel that I am in pretty good health, but I decided to leave a few hairs for luck.
It was pretty hot by the time we finished at Agia Faneromeni. We decided to go swimming at the hotel.
The pool was not too bad, but someone had gotten a lot of sand in the pool. The hot tub also was not hot. But we still had fun and were able to cool off.
Unfortunately, the hotel also did not provide towels to use at the pool. This meant that we had to dry off by sitting in the sun. You guessed it, we both got burned.
In spite of the sunburns, we walked about a mile to go to an Indian restaurant called Ganga. The food was O.K. but expensive (darn you, euro!). We have not had any Indian food though since we left the U.S., so we were willing to make the sacrifice.
Bill had talked to the day desk clerk that morning and she sent a technician to fix our air conditioning and toilet. Thanks to the repairs, we were able to cool our room slightly and flush the toilet.
Monday, May 30
An archeologist friend in Lebanon recommended that we see Kato Pafos while we were in Cyprus. Luckily we found a tour company offering tours to Pafos and Kourion—two ancient archeological sites.
On the way to Kourion, the bus stopped at a restaurant that was next to the Neolithic Settlement of Choirokoitia. Luckily we were able to see the settlement from the street and saved ourselves four Euros.
Kourion was an ancient city. It was not in as good a condition as some of the ruins in Lebanon, but the government did a good job of preserving the site and making it comfortable for tourists—shade and bathrooms were available. I really liked the mosaic of Ktissis that was found in a wealthy man’s house.
After Kourion, we traveled to Pafos. On the way we stopped at Petra tou Romiou—the alleged birthplace of Aphrodite. Petra tou Romiou is basically some large rocks sticking out of the Mediterranean Sea, but it is very beautiful. And when I got back on the bus, I found a 50 pence coin from the United Kingdom. Although Queen Elizabeth is on the front, it has Athena on the back. I took this as a lucky sign.
Finally we arrived at Pafos. Like Kourion, it was not as impressive as some of the ruins we have seen in Lebanon. Nevertheless, it had some very interesting mosaics and we had a great time walking through the site. I would go there again—at a cooler time of the year.
We had lunch at a Cypriote restaurant in the harbor. I had meatballs which reminded me of Lebanese kebee. Bill had really fantastic moussaka. After lunch Bill ran off to see a church and I looked at souvenirs. Sadly there was nothing good as far as souvenirs go.
When we got back to the hotel, Bill went to talk to our pal, Danny, about seeing if he would confirm our transportation to the airport the next day, tell us what time dinner started, and get our hotel key remagnetized. Apparently Danny was not especially helpful because Bill came back to the room furious and carrying a comment card. Yikes!
For dinner we ate at the hotel—it advertised a Cypriote buffet. Except for a pork and mushroom dish that was particularly good, it was just O.K.
Tuesday, May 31
We spent our last day in Cyprus in Limassol, another coastal city. There we saw Limassol Castle, walked around the city, and had lunch at Café Astarte. (Astarte is a Phoenician goddess, so we felt like we should patronize her café because of our Lebanon connection.)
It was deadly hot in the sun, and we walked outside for miles. Luckily we survived and I found a cheap suitcase. (I was running low on luggage because I have already sent two bags back to the U.S.) Unfortunately, the bag was large and hot pink. I think Bill was a little embarrassed carrying it thought the streets, but he was a good sport.
We ate dinner at the hotel again. This time, however, we ate in the bar because it was happy hour. Half price drinks and food!
Not feeling adventurous, I ordered a hamburger. I assumed that “hamburger” was a universal term describing ground beef, but I was VERY wrong. What I received was a patty of white/yellow meat that tasted disgusting. I told the waitress that I must have gotten a chicken burger instead of the hamburger that I ordered. She later came back and told me that she confirmed with the chef that this was my hamburger. The chef himself later came out and explained that my sandwich was made of pork, hence hamburger. If it were to be a beef burger, the menu would have said beef hamburger. I felt bad about not liking it because the chef was clearly proud of it so I ate the hamburger. It was pretty nasty.
Luckily our ride to the airport arrived this time. The flight home was very good. And we were never so happy to be at our little Lebanese apartment with excellent air conditioning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)