lefkoşa

wood, iron, and stone

on the walls

the other side

I wasn't sure how easy it would be to cross the border from Northern Cyprus into Cyprus, and after discovering that it was an anticlimactic showing of a passport at a window and getting waved on, I kind of wish we had lengthened our little holiday to spend more time on the other side.



The contrast really was palpable; church bells instead of an azan, shorter hemlines, Greek signage, Armenian cafés, and one treat that I suspected I would find, and was thrilled to order:



Ah, the frappe! Though they are ridiculously easy to make at home, the last time I enjoyed one of these babies was on my trip to Athens in 2010. It's really just Nescafé, cold water, ice, and a bit of sugar all shaken up, so there's no excuse. After cooling off with our delightful frappes, we wandered around a bit before heading back to the northern side.

gothic mosque

Buckets of whitewash and a pair of minarets can't disguise the Selimiye Camii's past as the Gothic Ayia Sophia Cathedral. I found the building a little unsettling, though both the intricately carved exterior and its light, calm interior were quite beautiful.

cerulean and honey