Cyprus-Malta-Rome 2016

Cyprus: Biblical Salamis

Joanna July 9, 2016 7 6

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What a day we had today!!! With our Greek Cypriot guide, for the first time during this trip, we crossed the UN Buffer Zone and the Green Line. The experience was very emotional because of her comments and personal reflections that she shared with us during the drive.

First she pointed at the deserted homes and villages in the UN Buffer Zone that was established in 1964 and extended in 1974.

The church and the houses have no windows, no bells in the bell tower, just a ghost town in the large area where nobody is allowed to settle.The width of the zone vary but in some areas it can be 7 kilometers, and I think that’s how wide it was in the area where we were today. I am talking about the eastern shore of Cyprus. Look at this town and at the church:

Our guide also pointed at the Turkish military posts on our way to the Green Line. Notice the Turkish flags:

After several minutes of going through the UN Buffer Zone, we crossed the area of the British Base. Then we reached the Turkish check point, where we had to show our passports to the Turkish police.

We were allowed to continue our trip on the other side of the Green Line under one condition: a Turkish escort had to be with us all the time, on the bus and off the bus. Here is our bus and the Turkish guy (in the white shirt) in the coastal area where we took pictures of the spot where St Paul landed on the island of Cyprus:

And the Turkish flags everywhere in Northern Cyprus:

Now, let’s leave the politics behind us and focus on the man in whose footsteps we are traveling – St Paul. This is the shore where he landed:

And the first city he had visited in Cyprus: the ancient Salamis, the most famous and grandiose of the ancient city kingdoms in Cyprus. Here we are touring the ruins of Salamis with our guide.