Posts by Chelsey Taylor
Troodos Mountains
While Cyprus has amazing beaches and the Mediterranean Sea is indescribable, my favorite part of the island looks inward. The Troodos Mountain range is much larger than one would expect for an island of this size. I guess in a way they remind me of the Smoky Mountains back home. The difference is these mountains have fewer trees and are mostly made of rocks and dirt. The roads leading into...
Read MoreA Trip to Famagusta
On Wednesday our group woke up early to catch a bus down to Larnaka. We waited on the main street by the sea for a little while before the big tour bus showed up. We loaded up and picked up a few more tourists before we were on our way to the north side of the island, our destination – Famagusta. We had to stop at the UN checkpoint before crossing the green line. While stopped, we...
Read MoreHalloumi and the Cave Church
Yesterday we went to visit a lady who makes halloumi (Cypriot cheese) in her home. The first thing we saw lining the driveway was a huge spread of little cakes that kind of looked like sugar cookies drying in the sun. I am glad I didn’t try one of these cookies because it turned out that they were actually sour milk wafers. She dries them out to be added to water later to make soup. We...
Read MoreCrossing the Green Line
Today we took a trip across the green line to visit the occupied side of the island. We had to take our passports and catch a bus into the older part of town. The capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, is known as the last divided capital in the world. It is surrounded by Venetian walls and it has a UN barricade running right down the middle that separates the country of Cyprus from the Turkish...
Read MoreHer Daily Bread
Today we loaded up the bus and set out to a local woman’s house to see how traditional Cypriot bread is made. The bakery is behind the woman’s house. Her yard has orange and lemon trees, and corn growing in the back. When we arrived, she was already in the process of making up today’s order. We watched as she hurried around mixing dough and throwing loaves into an...
Read More