Monday, July 20, 2026
ae2d7eba-3ff4-4f59-9b2f-169809054ec7
| Summary | ⛅️ Clear until afternoon, returning in the evening. |
|---|---|
| Temperature Range | 23°C to 32°C (73°F to 89°F) |
| Feels Like | Low: 77°F | High: 103°F |
| Humidity | 68% |
| Wind | 11 km/h (7 mph), Direction: 245° |
| Precipitation | Probability: 28.000000000000004%, Type: No precipitation expected |
| Sunrise / Sunset | 🌅 05:49 AM / 🌇 07:58 PM |
| Moon Phase | Waxing Crescent (22%) |
| Cloud Cover | 7% |
| Pressure | 1009.51 hPa |
| Dew Point | 71.56°F |
| Visibility | 6.16 miles |
President Nikos Christodoulides affirmed on Sunday that he would press Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman to allow excavations at suspected missing persons burial sites in military areas in the north during this week’s meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Speaking at a memorial event in Kornos, Christodoulides said he would again seek permission for excavations in areas controlled by the Turkish military where information exists regarding possible burial sites.
“In all my meetings with the Turkish Cypriot leader, I have submitted requests in writing,” he said.
“If they really want a confidence building measure, the simplest, easiest confidence building measure is to allow excavations to be carried out in all these areas.”
He added that he hoped the issue would receive “a response” during the joint meeting with Guterres and Erhurman.
The president said excavations are currently under way in Agia, Assia, Yerolakkos, Lapithos, Exometochi and Livadia, while another 120 locations remain on the list for investigation, including sites within military areas.
He described resolving the fate of the missing as a humanitarian obligation, telling relatives that “our conscience will never rest if we do not ascertain the fate of our last missing person.”
Christodoulides said Turkey continues to deny access to military archives which could help establish the fate of those still unaccounted for.
Of the 1,619 Greek Cypriots listed as missing following the 1974 invasion, 764 have been identified, while 746 remain missing.
Of the 81 missing Greek servicemen, only 19 have been identified.
He also singled out the stalled investigations at Mia Milia, describing explanations that excavation costs were too high despite the project receiving European Union funding as “unacceptable responses”.
He demanded that the investigations should begin immediately.
The president announced that a memorandum of cooperation between the defence ministries of Cyprus and Greece has been finalised to strengthen efforts to determine the fate of missing persons, with the two defence ministers expected to sign the agreement shortly.
He also confirmed the government has allocated a permanent building for the Republic’s anthropological laboratory, saying the move would strengthen the infrastructure supporting investigations and provide a more appropriate setting for families receiving identified remains.
Addressing relatives, Christodoulides acknowledged failures by successive governments to adequately support affected families.
“As a state, since 1974 we have been slow to respond to many of your requests. I want to apologise to you tonight for the state’s omissions since 1974,” he said, adding that the government would also respond to requests submitted by children of the missing.
The event also heard renewed calls for greater cooperation from Turkey to establish the fate of those still missing.
Archbishop Georgios said the unresolved issue remained “a stigma for the global civilisation of our time”, while House President Annita Demetriou said that “for as long as there is even one mother who is waiting, one father who is searching, one child who never learned what happened to a parent, our debt remains unfulfilled.”
missing persons relative’s association president, Nikos Sergides, further urged Christodoulides to keep the issue high on the agenda during his international contacts.
Three inmates allegedly set fire to their cells and a corridor inside a maximum security wing at the central prisons on Sunday night, forcing the evacuation of all prisoners from the unit and leaving a prison officer in hospital with smoke inhalation.
The fire broke out at around 10.15pm in wing four, where 10 prisoners are being held. Prison staff immediately removed all inmates from the affected area before the fire service arrived and brought the blaze under control.
Authorities said mattresses were burned and the fire caused extensive smoke damage throughout the wing. No prisoners were injured, while a member of staff was taken to hospital as a precaution after inhaling smoke.
The inmates housed in the wing were temporarily transferred to another section of the prison while investigations continue.
According to information released by prison authorities, the fire was deliberately started by three prisoners, who allegedly set their cells and the corridor outside ablaze.
Wing four is a smaller maximum security unit designed to accommodate inmates with mental health needs. Its cells are specially configured without electrical appliances, with prisoners sharing access to a single television in the communal area before cells are locked. The ward’s walls are lined with protective padding which is intended to reduce the risk of self harm.
The wing was previously used as a punishment block for prisoners serving disciplinary isolation.
It was also the scene of a fatal assault in December last year, when a 35 year old Egyptian inmate died after being attacked inside the unit. A 30 year old Greek Cypriot prisoner was subsequently arrested in connection with the killing.
The latest incident has again drawn attention to the operation of the wing, where concerns have previously been raised over the placement of prisoners with differing needs within the same confined unit.
The circumstances surrounding Sunday’s fire are under investigation.
A large wildfire in the village of Pyrga was brought under control on Sunday after burning pine and agricultural land.
The Forestry Department activated its Astrapi (Lightening) emergency plan after receiving reports of the fire earlier in the afternoon, with houses now reportedly being threatened by the ongoing blaze.
Forestry department spokesman Glafkos Kyriakou confirmed that they are considering the incident as a major operation.
A total of 22 vehicles were involved in the response, while aircraft from the forestry department carrying out water drops to assist ground crews.
The fire brigade supported the operation with four staffed fire engines from stations in Larnaca and Nicosia.
The fire affected areas of arable land with crops and spread towards homes, with some residential yards damaged by the flames.
Authorities said the rapid response of ground and aerial crews prevented the fire from spreading further.
A large wildfire in the Larnaca village of Pyrga has prompted a major response from firefighters on Sunday.
The Forestry Department activated its Astrapi (Lightening) emergency plan after receiving reports of the fire earlier in the afternoon, with houses now reportedly being threatened by the ongoing blaze.
Forestry department spokesman Glafkos Kyriakou confirmed that they are considering the incident as a major operation.
A total of 22 vehicles are involved in the response, while aircraft from the forestry department are carrying out water drops to assist ground crews.
The fire is burning wild vegetation and agricultural land, including areas with grain crops, while authorities are working to prevent it from spreading towards nearby homes.
The fire brigade is supporting the operation with four staffed fire engines from stations in Larnaca and Nicosia.
Fire brigade spokesman Andreas Kettis said the blaze “is under the operational responsibility of the forestry department”.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou paid tribute on Sunday to the 28 soldiers of the 398th Infantry Battalion who were killed during the 1974 Turkish invasion, saying their sacrifice remained a responsibility for future generations and the state’s efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem.
Speaking at a memorial service for the fallen soldiers of the battalion and a prayer for the missing persons of Potamia, Ioannou said the men honoured were remembered for their duty and courage during the invasion.
“The people we honour today did not become heroes because they sought glory. They were young people who faced the most difficult conditions and chose to do their duty,” he said.
Ioannou said the 398th Infantry Battalion was among the National Guard units that suffered the heaviest losses during the fighting, with its members deployed from the early stages of the invasion in areas including Epicho and the Chatos enclave.
He also referred to the two missing persons from Potamia, Andreas Varnava Kourounas and Panayiotis Loizou Karageorgis, saying that “fifty-two years on, their absence continues to be an open wound for their families, for the community and for our entire homeland,” he said.
Ioannou added that determining the fate of all missing persons remained a state responsibility, describing it as “a supreme humanitarian issue” and an obligation based on international law and respect for human dignity.
Speaking about efforts to restart Cyprus negotiations, the minister said developments could be viewed with “cautious optimism” due to increased European Union involvement and the political will of the United Nations Secretary General.
“The upgraded interest of the European Union, combined with the clear political will of the UN Secretary General for the resumption of the negotiation process, allow us to view developments with cautious optimism,” he said.
Ioannou said the appointment of European Commission Executive Vice President Raffaele Fitto as EU Special Envoy for the Cyprus problem reflected greater European involvement, adding that the government would continue efforts to create conditions for a return to negotiations.
He concluded by saying the sacrifice of those honoured carried a continuing obligation to work for a peaceful and reunited Cyprus.
The door was open and I stepped in. I was greeted by a squawked “Hello” and responded in kind. As the darkness peeled away, I was momentarily lost in a maze of terrariums alive with all kinds of frogs, turtles, lizards and snakes. Harley brought me back by tugging on my shirt, spreading his gaudy plumes for me to admire. “Good boy”, I said to him and he poked his other foot through the cage to get a better grip, hanging onto the grid by his sharp beak and sizing me up with one inquisitive eye and then the other.
This wonderful place is heaven for reptile lovers. Downstairs is Yiannis Angelis’ Reptile Jungle showroom and upstairs hosts the species for sale.
Reptiles may not be for everyone, but even the reluctant cannot but be mesmerised by the variety.
And although I quickly picked my favourites – the curious tree monitors scratching at the glass and the Asian water monitor flicking its blue tongue – I wasn’t at the Reptile Jungle to purchase. I was here to find out more about Yiannis’ frequent trips to Thailand, where he coaches and helps locals remove 5m-long king cobras from residential areas.
While our very own blunt-nosed viper is more versatile and can attack from any angle in a flash, it is much smaller. It is not just the size and shape that sets them apart. The viper’s venom is hemotoxic, while the cobra’s neurotoxic, meaning that the viper will make you sick but the cobra will shut down your limbs and organs one by one. You also have two to eight hours to get to hospital if bitten by a viper, and slim chances of surviving if attacked by a cobra.
Yiannis put this into perspective by explaining that while a viper delivers about a level teaspoon of venom, the cobra injects half a glass of its deadly juice into its victim.
Vipers will also generally leave you alone and slither over your flip-flopped feet back into the vegetation if unprovoked, but not a cobra. Once it becomes aware of you – and it can do so from up to 100m away – it will give you a few seconds to back off and then stalk you until it gets you.
So, how does Yiannis manage to grab them bare-handed, stuff them in a canvas bag, drive them slung over his shoulder on a moped to a safe distance and then release them into the wild?
THE SPARK
“My interest in reptiles started at eight years old. I am now 45, so it’s been a good 37 years. I was at a scouts’ camping trip when a snake came into our tent. While everyone was running away, I caught it from the head and handed it over to those in charge, who then killed it. I was very sad and since then I’ve been wanting to know more.”
Yiannis later went to the Merchant Marine Academies and travelled the world, visiting any reptile exhibition he came across. He then stayed in Thailand for a while, where he trained to handle cobras.
On his return to Cyprus, Yiannis responded to calls to remove snakes and also assisted the fire brigade and spoke at seminars.
The snakes he catches in Cyprus are released into the wild in collaboration with the environment and forestry departments.
In Limassol, Yiannis has “one of the largest reptile shops in Europe”.
“Demand has risen for the allowed species. Many species have been banned, such as pythons. I have geckos, lizards, chameleons, some species of snakes that are not venomous, frogs and turtles. Many people visit Reptile Jungle out of curiosity, to learn about the reptiles and ultimately to purchase.”
When a purchase is made, Yiannis provides custom terrariums. “Some species become connected to their owner and are good pets, but you can’t expect them to be like a cat or dog. They recognise their owner but don’t show emotion.”
Yiannis said someone might choose a reptile over one of the furry pets because after the initial cost of setting up a terrarium and buying the species of choice, they are pretty much low maintenance and cost around €20 or less a month to keep. They also don’t smell or keep the neighbours awake at night.
For a first-time pet, especially for children, a gecko or bearded dragon would be a good choice. Some prefer snakes. It all depends on the space available for the terrarium and the set-up budget, which could be up to €1,000, heating bulbs included.
CYPRIOT SERPENTS
One must keep in mind that it is forbidden by law to keep Cyprus’ snakes and wildlife in general in captivity.
There are eight types of snakes in Cyprus, three of which are most commonly sighted, namely the blunt-nosed viper, the black whip snake and the coin snake. Of these, only the viper is venomous. The other five are mainly nocturnal, keep out of the way of human activity and are fast movers so are rarely spotted.
Yiannis explained that the viper will pick a spot and wait for prey to pass. “They are ambush snakes.” The black whip snake and the coin snake are always on the move, hunting their prey. “They prefer birds, which is why you will find them on beams.”
“Apart from the fact that it is forbidden by law, killing them upsets nature’s balance and encourages larger populations of rodents,” Yiannis warned. “Snakes are cold-blooded and cannot transmit any disease to humans, but rats carry typhus and hepatitis, and are also destructive”.
If bitten by a viper in Cyprus, “it is 99 per cent due to human error,” Yiannis said and advised people to become familiar with the viper at least, to be able to recognise it at a glance. The viper has a triangular head that is wider than its neck and is a dull greyish colour with darker brown rhomboid patterns along the back.
Yiannis explained that if one comes across a viper, there is a safety distance of approximately 1m. The snake can lunge forward to up to a third of its length. It can also turn and spring in any direction, but for a shorter distance. “If, however, the viper is stretched out, it can curve its body and launch a strike equal to its length.”
Although vipers typically grow to about 1m to 1.5m in length, they have been known to reach up to 2m in exceptional cases.
“If bitten by a viper, just go to hospital. Don’t do anything else. Don’t make a tourniquet, don’t slit the area, don’t try to suck the venom out. You can tell by the bite if it was a viper. It leaves one or two puncture wounds and the area quickly bruises. Non-venomous snakes leave a horse-shoe shape of small tooth marks.”
Yiannis said that a lot of things can determine the outcome of a bite, even by a non-venomous snake, as people have been known to die of fright.
SNAKE CHARMER
In Cyprus, Yiannis gets called out almost every day during the hot season to remove snakes from buildings and swimming pools, as well as scorpions, bats and even cats. In Thailand, it is mostly for king cobras.
“In Thailand the seasons are opposite. When it is winter here, it is summer there.” So, Yiannis gets snake seasons all year round.
The main problem with snakes, he said, was “ignorance” and that “even with the king cobra, it is a matter of knowledge, knowing how to handle them.”
“For us snake charmers, it is very different. In Cyprus I have crews to handle snakes. In Thailand I have friends who work with me and invite me to go during the snake season to stay and help out because they receive so many calls. The areas are vast and the distances are huge. The more crews, the better.”
Yiannis admits that “there is always a risk and there is no one who is not afraid.”
“But I know their body language, I can ‘read’ them. They are predictable.”
However, “mistakes happen” and Yiannis, who films every case live on Facebook, has a few stories to tell when a routine removal turned into a big surprise.
“There was one time a couple of years ago – and this was being filmed live – I was ready to catch a king cobra when nearby leaves rustled and the snake turned suddenly, I lost my balance and fell backwards, and the cobra came over me. There was someone else with me who was also experienced and things ended well. It can happen. No one is perfect.”
Yiannis’ videos are on social media and one can follow him through Reptile Jungle. The Reptile Jungle is at 164, Franklin Roosevelt avenue, Limassol, and can be easily found through Google Maps and on social media. Call Yiannis on 99107591 for advice on reptiles, to remove a snake or provide pest control services.
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Sunday that developments involving the UN and the EU have created a new political environment for the Cyprus problem, stressing that the government will continue efforts to resume substantive negotiations.
Speaking at a memorial service for the fallen of Yermasoyia, Letymbiotis referred to the UN Secretary-General’s initiative, the appointment of a European Commission envoy and greater EU involvement as factors creating new conditions for diplomatic efforts.
“At a time when the initiative of the UN Secretary-General is underway, we remain fully committed to our effort to resume substantive negotiations,” he said.
He added that the government would continue to use “every diplomatic tool, every possibility, every window of opportunity” in pursuit of a solution.
Letymbiotis said the involvement of the UN and EU represented “two important international pillars” operating together and argued that the developments were the result of a consistent diplomatic strategy.
“The solution to the Cyprus problem will be in accordance with the agreed framework established by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and compatible with international law, principles, values, the acquis and the law of the European Union,” he said.
He also reiterated that the government would not accept a settlement outside the existing framework, stating that “anachronistic guarantees do not fit into 21st century Europe”.
The government spokesperson said the objective remained the creation of a European state where all Cypriots would enjoy equal rights, adding that Cyprus had “absolute confidence in our law, in the strength of our arguments and in the legitimacy of our claims”.
Akel secretary-general Stefanos Stefanou, speaking at a memorial service in Kokkinotrimithia, said preserving the existing negotiating acquis was essential for progress.
“The continuation of negotiations from the point where the talks were interrupted also means preserving the convergences achieved with great effort,” Stefanou said.
He welcomed the UN Secretary-General’s planned involvement and called for talks to resume from where they ended at Crans Montana, warning that promoting new ideas could remove prospects for a solution.
“The end of the occupation and the reunification of our land is a matter of survival of our people,” he said.
Deputy Minister to the President Irene Piki also called for unity and seriousness, saying the current diplomatic opportunity should be used to advance efforts within the agreed framework.
A new location, a vibrant fresh festival poster and a rich agenda of screenings, exhibitions, workshops and performances are approaching soon in the latest edition of Animafest. Unfolding across August 7 to 9, this will be an anniversary edition as the festival marks its 25th year, bringing its celebrations to Koilani village this time.
In the rural Limassol district, Animafest will continue building on its history as one of the longest-running animation events in southern Europe. Since 2002, it has been held annually in the Cypriot countryside, presenting Cyprus premieres of animated films, many of which have been screened and awarded at the world’s leading animation festivals.
Every year, the festival invites leading artists from the international animation community to create the official festival poster. This year, the poster with its hues of deep blue and fiery orange, has been designed by the acclaimed German animation filmmaker Andreas Hykade.
On the programme front, the festival presents a larger, more immersive agenda this summer. The international competition features 30 films from 17 countries, selected from hundreds of submissions from around the world.
The International Competition for Young Audience includes 15 films from seven countries and its winning film will be selected by two three-member juries composed of children and teenagers.
The national competition this year includes seven Cypriot animated films, while in collaboration with the Association of Graphic Designers and Illustrators, local artists are invited to create a collective artwork. This year, participating teams will design posters and animated visuals for the Fairy Tale Museum in Koilani.
What’s more, the festival launches a second stage this year, dedicated to experimental films and audiovisual performances by emerging Cypriot and international artists. On the workshops front, a hands-on animation workshop for children and families will take place on August 6, a day before the official opening. On the day, participants will visit the Environmental Centre in Koilani and experiment with a variety of traditional handmade animation techniques under the guidance of professional animators and educators.
In the evening, the International Competition for Young Audience will be screened outdoors in the village. A two-day workshop on collecting oral histories will take place from August 6 to 8, led by Dr Nicoletta Demetriou, the ethnomusicologist and Director of the Cyprus Music Archive, which organises the event.
Of course, it is no summer festival without a music programme and this year, five live concerts byoutstanding Cypriot bands and solo musicians will fill the village nights with melodies. The full festival schedule is up on www.animafest.com.cy and very soon, its festivities will come to life, bringing the art of animation and more to Koilani village.
25th Countryside Animafest Cyprus
Animation screenings, competitions, workshops, and more. August 7-9. Koilani village, Limassol district. Three-day festival pass: €10. www.animafest.com.cy
A supermarket in Lakatamia was evacuated on Sunday after an apparent fire was traced to a carbon dioxide leak from a cooling system in the building’s underground parking area.
Two fire engines from Lakatamia fire station were dispatched after reports of a fire at the supermarket warehouse.
Fire service spokesman Andreas Kettis said firefighters found that the incident had been caused by “a leak of CO2 gas” from the chamber cooling system located in the basement parking area.
He said the leak was stopped after technicians employed by the supermarket carried out the necessary repairs.
Firefighters then inspected all areas of the premises to ensure there was no remaining risk.
“No one was in danger,” Kettis said.
He added that supermarket staff had carried out a precautionary evacuation of employees and customers while emergency services dealt with the incident.
A proposed electricity interconnection between Cyprus and Lebanon could become a strategically important energy project for the Levant, with both countries asking the World Bank to assess the scheme’s viability.
Speaking to newspaper Alithia on Sunday, Lebanese Energy Minister Joseph Al Saddi said the project’s significance would increase if Cyprus completed its planned electricity interconnection with the rest of Europe, creating a route through which Lebanon could eventually access the European energy network.
“If Lebanon is connected to Cyprus, and since Cyprus may eventually be connected to the rest of Europe, this will be extremely beneficial for the country,” he said.
He added that the project could extend beyond addressing Lebanon’s domestic electricity shortages and assume “a broader strategic dimension”.
The Lebanese minister said the governments of Cyprus and Lebanon had jointly requested that the World Bank prepare a preliminary feasibility study.
The study will be financed by the World Bank and carried out in two phases.
The first, expected to take around six months, will examine the project’s economic viability, including electricity supply and demand.
If the initial assessment is positive, a second, more detailed technical and economic study will be undertaken to evaluate the conditions required for the project’s implementation.
Al Saddi said Lebanon’s immediate priority is improving electricity supply, with the country continuing to experience significant power shortages.
“The obvious benefit is that we will be able to provide more electricity to the Lebanese population,” he said.
He added that the proposed interconnection could also serve as “a bridge to the European energy system through Cyprus”, strengthening wider regional energy cooperation.
He acknowledged that securing financing remains one of the project’s principal challenges.
Funding could come from private investors or international financial institutions, including the European Commission, depending on the outcome of the feasibility process.
The minister declined to give a timetable for construction, saying it would be premature to do so before completion of the first phase of the World Bank study.
He said a clearer indication of the project’s prospects should emerge within approximately six months.
Cyprus and Lebanon have already agreed the terms of reference for the study and established a joint technical committee and steering committee, which will work alongside the World Bank throughout the assessment process and coordinate cooperation between the two governments.
It is difficult to overstate the place Kyrenia has occupied in my father’s life. The town retains, as it has for many of its displaced inhabitants, a magnetic hold over the imagination.
For my father, it was the setting to an idyllic childhood which had been abruptly cut off. From a young age, I was instilled with the knowledge that ours was a family living in exile.
I grew up rather acutely aware, as one must be ever reminded, that we had been condemned to the wrong side of the mountain, looking north across towards that other Eden, just ever so out of reach.
To bridge that distance, he would often recount tales of an illustrious past; of Peloponnesian rebels who fled to Cyprus; of merchants who washed ashore from Crete and found refuge in Karmi.
Such histories proved little consolation, and all things considered perhaps had my Cretan forebears had the good sense to stay firmly on land it may have played out better for us, but I digress.
Born into a well-established family that had built a comfortable existence through generations of farming and enterprise, my father was the latest in a long line of men whose fortunes were tied to the land.
Yet for all the family’s assets, it was the land itself that held the greatest fascination for him.
“I loved the nature in Kyrenia, above anything else. We had everything we needed right there, it was paradise,” he says.
That paradise was not only found in the lemon orchards and hills, but in the strong bonds formed within them.
A rebel and truant at his gymnasium, he formed lifelong friendships with fellow mischiefs Soteris Charalambides and Petros Hadjichristodoulou.
The three had known each other since childhood and were “thick as thieves”, as my father characterises it.
His stubbornness undoubtedly produced a penchant for challenging authority.
His disdain for wearing the school uniform was such that during a school excursion to Troodos, his gang was turned away from the bus for refusing to wear their blazers.
“I was a non-conformist from the get-go, I just hated being ordered around with no sense to it,” he proudly proclaimed.
Outside of school, he was an athletic type; a Pancyprian swimmer and a right back for PAEEK at one time.
“My smoking habit did not serve my sporting career well,” he concedes.
He recalls back to when he was but seven years old, when intercommunal fighting broke out between Greek and Turkish Cypriots across the island.
Due to the family home and factory being in such proximity to the Turkish quarter, he took shelter in Ayios Georgios, while the National Guard occupied their home, expecting further trouble.
“I remember to this day the gunfire beneath Hilarion very clearly,” he says.
His grandmother would block the windows at night, fearing possible air raids after the Turkish air force had unleashed napalm in Tillyria.
By 1967, the military crisis had brought thousands of Greek soldiers to Cyprus, with one of their camps established next to the family factory.
For an eleven-year-old boy, the presence of such soldiers was admittedly a source of endless fascination.
“They let me sit on the anti-aircraft vehicles, where I’d play pretend we were in some great battle,” he recalls.
Kyrenia became increasingly detached from the rest of the island. TMT had taken control of the main artery towards Nicosia and secured the commanding position of St Hilarion Castle.
Such an insurgency was left to their own devices upon the orders of Makarios’ expert strategists who assured that they “would not last the winter”.
The family workshop suffered greatly as distributors struggled to reach Kyrenia and trade dramatically declined across the town.
However, despite the hardships inflicted, my father remembers his grandfather refusing to dismiss employees.
“He wouldn’t lay anyone off,” he says. “They had families just like us and he just didn’t have the heart.”
By the early 1970s, those difficult years appeared to be behind them, and the family fortunes were once again beginning to recover.
Indeed, they had broken records from their harvests and sold some one million lemons to distributors.
Kyrenia itself was on the ascendency, offering an alternative repose to those seeking more than the concrete cinderblocks afforded in Elizabeth Taylor’s Varosha.
Venues such as the Wagon Wheel and Bamboo discotheques attracted the hip, young things from across the island.
The Galleon pub, perched beside the Marabou Hotel, was the regular haunt for my father’s cabal, where many brandy-laden nights squabbling over girls, or cursing Makarios, were undoubtedly held.
The town at the time likewise had retained many of the eccentric English characters still hanging on after the Crown gave up the ghost.
Lady Pemberton, who drove around in a magnificent maroon Rover wearing a ludicrous hat with all her airs and graces, was a frequent sight about town.
He recalls another old boy, a regular client at his father’s shop on old Hellas Street, who’d pass comments on the ladies of the night who patrolled the harbour.
“No, no, my dear chap, I only admire,” he would say, “to touch one has to pay”.
He remembers international film stars who passed by, from Peter Sellers to Raquel Welch, the latter having filmed in Karmi for her salacious movie Sin.
The family business supplied materials for film crews, while the farm provided some 1,000 kilograms of grapes for various wine pressing scenes.
“We had it good I tell you”, he remarks, “I hardly left Kyrenia when we were growing up, I felt set for life there”.
Yet for all the splendid isolation the lofty crags of the Pentadaktylos had afforded him, the island’s political realities began to reach over the mountains.
On July 14, 1974, my father and his brothers hosted what many old Kyrenians often describe as the last great gathering before the city fell.
It was an end of year celebration held in an open field behind their home.
“Some five hundred people descended on us. We hardly knew a bloody soul at one point, it got a little out of hand,” he bemused.
The following morning, sitting in the garden and impossibly hungover, my father was waiting for some Paphite stragglers to finally return from whence they came.
He had barely recovered from the previous night’s celebrations when the sound of explosions interrupted the morning; the coup had begun.
“Tanks were rolling around Kyrenia, I heard gunfire down the road, the whole town was overrun with soldiers,” he recalls.
Five days later, when the sirens sounded at 5am, the inevitable occurs. He witnessed Turkish aircraft bombarding the Greek naval base stationed in Kyrenia Castle.
Taking shelter in the nearby courtyard of St Andrew’s Anglican church, when there was an opportunity to move, he made his way towards Schizas petrol station.
There he found my grandfather, waiting in one of their trucks, who had likewise been called up.
“You go home,” he said. “There is no place for you here.” My father’s stubbornness in full display, took umbrage with such a notion.
“I said quite clearly, I’m staying put, I’m with everyone else in this.” By then, the Turkish landing fleet had established itself at the beachhead on Pentemili.
Aircraft passed overhead, carrying paratroopers who were to be dropped over the Pentadaktylos and the Mesaoria plains.
“Must have been at least sixty helicopters coming over us, the sound was like hell.”
My father continued towards the Turkish quarter with whatever boys had decided to also volunteer.
“We have no problem with you,” he exclaimed to a Turkish Cypriot shopkeeper. “Whatever this is, it’s between us and the Turkish army.”
“These were people we knew,” he says. “Our neighbours, our football friends. We ate in their restaurants.”
He was later collected and taken to the Praxandros football stadium, where he joined the 251 Infantry Battalion.
The unit was attached to an artillery formation, comprised of some six Scania trucks carrying military supplies.
They were ordered to move towards Ayios Georgios, where they were assured, soldiers would direct them to their next positions.
Upon reaching Glykiotissa, he guarded the coastline on rotation, watching for possible Turkish naval commandos.
Twenty minutes later, news arrived that the forces ahead had been destroyed; the trucks carrying ammunition to support them had been intercepted.
The following morning, July 21, he travelled with his comrades towards Trimithi.
Unit 251, led by its commander Lieutenant Economides, established a defensive position with heavy mortars aimed towards the Turks.
“The battlefield was familiar territory; I was essentially fighting in my very own farm.”
After a lull in exchanges, they heard the Turkish forces approaching.
“We heard this grumble from above; tanks and armoured vehicles approaching.”
The unit was admittedly ill equipped to handle the situation they were placed in.
“We were down there with Vickers machine guns and Enfield rifles. We fought with everything we had that night.”
The fields where he had spent his childhood had been dug up with trenches.
“I said to myself this was to be my Thermopylae; I had no fear of death.”
Mortar fire continued through till morning, and aircraft had incessantly attacked their position but failed to break them.
By the afternoon, Economides sent boys to a nearby farm to collect water for the troops.
“When these lads returned, they told us that the Turkish flag was flying over Kyrenia, and that the town had fallen.”
My father hesitates for a moment to find his words. “I just couldn’t comprehend it.”
Economides ordered their retreat. Remaining in position risked them becoming surrounded by the Turkish advance.
“I carried three artillery shells on my shoulders as we made our way towards the road leading back to Karmi.”
Upon their retreat, a Turkish frigate positioned offshore began shelling their position.
“Economides ordered us to abandon the heavier equipment. We kept only our Enfields and carried on, the whole mountain was ablaze.”
They continued west along the mountain’s spine towards Lapithos, heading for an artillery unit, while the landscape burnt around them, dense in smoke.
On their way, they encountered the 32nd Commando unit. Upon being told that Kyrenia had fallen, they carried onwards into the inferno ahead, seemingly aware of what awaited them.
“By midnight we sheltered in a small stye on the mountain and crashed, we hadn’t slept for days.”
The following morning, informed of the ceasefire, my father relays that “all us volunteers were ordered to leave as soon as we could, the regulars were to stay.”
They were given passage towards Sysklipos, descending the mountainside, and from there found transport towards the Nicosia Road near Myrtou.
Arriving in Larnaca following his exodus south, he struggled to comprehend what he had just endured and what he now saw before him.
“People were walking along the promenade, having coffee, minding their business; they were carrying on as if there wasn’t a war on for them.”
His brother Stelios, as an officer with the 182 Artillery Division, continued operations against the Turkish advance and would not return to safety until weeks later, after the second phase of Operation Attila.
The war had incurred a heavy cost amongst his closest friends.
Michalis Charalambides, Soteris’ brother who served in the 33rd Commando Battalion, was captured on his third mission to Bellapais to rescue wounded comrades. He was handed over to TMT militants and executed in Kazafani.
Petros Hadjichristodoulou’s parents remained trapped in Kyrenia throughout the conflict. Registered by the Red Cross, they survived two years enclaved behind enemy lines.
“I knew boys who were taken to Adana, friends of mine we lost. No one left the war unscathed”.
When the crossing points opened in 2003, nearly three decades after the war, my father could not bring himself to return.
In 1994, his own mother, Maroulla, had been granted rare permission to cross back to Kyrenia for the funeral of her aunt Thegnosia, who had remained enclaved in the town after the invasion.
Her Turkish handler had initially refused permission to visit her former home, yet after my grandmother’s insistence, allowed a brief stop after the service.
“She was devastated, all the furniture was still there; she collapsed inside the house, it was too much for her.”
Perhaps in part shaped by that experience, it would be another four years before he finally crossed over himself.
The first port of call was indeed the family home.
The garden had once been Maroulla’s pride and joy. Her rose garden was, so I’m told, of such calibre it won awards for its pruning.
Such a green-fingered inheritance has not, as with much else we had, been passed down.
He found the house boarded up, its garden overgrown and neglected, while the adjoining factory had been repurposed as the rather ill-named Zeus Casino.
“I was standing outside my own home,” he recounts, “but I couldn’t recognise where I was. I lost all my bearings. It affects me still, of course it does.”
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz will represent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at invasion anniversary celebrations in the north tomorrow, after Erdogan cancelled plans to attend in person.
Yilmaz had visited a week earlier to sign an agreement for the construction of a natural gas pipeline connecting the north with Turkey.
The project is expected to become a central focus of the celebrations, with Turkish media reporting that the pipeline would extend for 100 kilometres, including 97 kilometres underwater, with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas.
According to Turkish media reports, the pipeline would initially transport natural gas from Turkey to the north, while a later phase could allow for the transfer of possible Levantine gas deposits through Turkey towards European markets.
Turkish naval vessels are expected to arrive in the north to mark the occasion, which Turkey refers to as its ‘peace operation’, with the submarine Inonu, warship Zipkin and frigate Gokova to be available on display, while the F-16s that were dispatched in March will fly over the military parade.
Here’s a question (translated from the Greek) from the most recent citizenship exam for third-country nationals, on July 4:
‘Which of the following information about Cyprus is inaccurate:
1. National service is mandatory for male Cypriot citizens.
2. The Republic of Cyprus joined the Eurozone in 2008.
3. The political system of Cyprus is a parliamentary democracy.
4. Cyprus has a deputy ministry of shipping, not a ministry of shipping.’
Not so easy, really. All four sound plausible, to the extent that candidates may start second-guessing themselves. Was it really 2008, or 2007? Is national service mandatory for all boys, or might there be some obscure exception?
Most will hopefully alight on the one that sounds a bit less plausible – at least, in the English translation. The answer is indeed (3.) because, despite being a democracy and having a parliament, Cyprus is actually a presidential democracy.
It’s a subtle difference. Even many Cypriots might not spot the error (especially under exam conditions), unless they’re politically savvy. It’s obvious if you know, of course – though, again, much more obvious in the English translation.
The exam is in Greek – and the term for ‘parliamentary democracy’ in Greek (as used in the question) is ‘proedrevomeni dimokratia’, roughly ‘president-led democracy’, whereas ‘presidential democracy’ would be the very similar ‘proedriki dimokratia’! So, unless you speak very good Greek, you could easily misread the question as saying that Cyprus does indeed have a presidential democracy.
These candidates, lest we forget, don’t speak very good Greek – nor are they expected to.
The 45-minute exam in question, run by the Examination Service of the Ministry of Education, is known as the ‘Certification of Sufficient Knowledge of Basic Elements of the Contemporary Political and Social Reality of Cyprus for Third-Country Nationals’. It consists of 25 multiple-choice questions with the pass mark being 60 per cent, i.e. 15 correct answers.
The exam – often called the Cyprus culture exam – is part of acquiring citizenship through naturalisation. In addition to eight years of residence (the last one unbroken, the first seven over a period of 10 years) and certain financial conditions, applicants must pass this exam as well as a language exam.
The language exam usually requires proficiency in Greek to Level B1, defined as intermediate and conversational, able to interact ‘on familiar topics’ – but B1 won’t be enough to grasp quite a few of the questions in the culture exam.
The vocabulary used makes no concessions. It includes words like aksiomatouhos (‘official’, or ‘functionary’) and katalipsi (‘occupation’, e.g. of a city by an army), that are almost certain to be unfamiliar. ‘Which ministry does the Ypiresia Ydrogonanthrakon belong to?’ asks one question – a tongue-twisting name most will struggle to pronounce, let alone identify as the Hydrocarbon Service.
Language aside, some of the questions are just too obscure – even for natives.
“I actually tested this today with some of my colleagues who are Cypriot, and I asked them if they knew the answers,” Natalie (not her real name), who sat the most recent exam, told the Cyprus Mail – “and my Cypriot colleague got the same number of answers right as I did. He didn’t know the questions that I didn’t know, either.”
Which of the following (for instance) is not a peak in the Pentadaktylos range: Papoutsa, Kantara, Kyparissovouno or Ayios Ilarionas? Cypriots will know that the second and fourth are indeed in the Pentadaktylos – but almost everyone who’s not a forest ranger or hardcore hiker would have to guess between the other two. (It’s Papoutsa.) And what does any of this have to do with the ‘Political and Social Reality of Cyprus’, anyway?
Natalie is a rarity in that she actually grew up here. She estimates there were about five “super easy” questions – like for instance ‘Which of these is an illegal port of entry?’, with three options being in the Republic and one in the occupied north – and about 10 more which “if you’re like me, you speak decent Greek and you’ve lived here long enough, you’ll know the answers”.
That takes her to 15 – meaning she passes by the skin of her teeth. (She actually did a bit better, thanks to some lucky guesses.) But why should a citizenship test – for people who’ve already shown their commitment to Cyprus, and jumped through a number of other hoops – be so hard that even a long-term resident struggles to pass?
That’s a big question. On the one hand, citizenship is a Holy Grail, and some proof of connection to the island’s politics and culture is essential. One hard lesson of the sordid ‘golden passports’ saga was how inappropriate it is to hand out citizenship purely on the basis of money, to people without any love of Cyprus or desire to stay here.
On the other hand, the point shouldn’t be to trip people up. The state should play fair. Anyone who wants to be a Cypriot should know what all Cypriots know – and a Reddit thread (in r/cyprus) from two years ago indicates that the culture exam did indeed test that level of knowledge, at that time.
The questions listed in that long-ago thread are basic. Which district includes Polis? (Paphos.) How many Cypriot MEPs are there? (Six.) When is Cyprus independence day? (October 1.)
Best of all, many questions tested knowledge that’s important in living here – like for instance the contact number for emergencies (112), or the cost of a visit to a private doctor who’s in Gesy (no cost), or the maximum speed limit on the highway (100km/h). These are things people should know, if they want to be citizens.
Is the culture exam deliberately being made much harder for political reasons, so as to reduce the number of successful applicants? (Around 7,000 people sat the language exam this year, says Natalie.) And if so, is that unfair?
Not necessarily. After all, a country can set whatever criteria it wants for citizenship. It’s also true that applicants have become more sophisticated. An app exists – the splendidly named Hallouminati – to prepare candidates for the exam (there are no official prep classes), so it makes sense for the government to up its game in response. The Cyprus Mail reached out to the Examination Service for comment, but there was no reply at time of writing.
Two things do seem quite unfair, however. The first is the language of the questions in the culture exam being much more advanced than the Greek you’re expected to know in the language exam. That’s just contradictory and confusing.
The second is the reliance on what are essentially obscure trivia questions, like the Pentadaktylos peaks or the Hydrocarbon Service. (Another example: ‘Is the House of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios in Nicosia now an art gallery, a restaurant, a crafts centre, or a museum?’.) It’s a bit insulting, treating prospective citizens – who’ve done years of residence, met the conditions, and tend to be well-paid corporate types with skills to offer – as opportunists to be tripped up and exposed.
Whether citizenship should be clutched to the breast like a precious jewel, saved for the chosen few, is another discussion. But let’s say it should be. Set the bar higher, by all means – but ask important questions, the kind Cypriots ought to know (even if they don’t). Ask about history, like the execution of Kyprianos, or everyday rules, like the rent control law.
Even that might be too demanding. But better than trying to trick people with cheap gotchas.
A memorial service honouring those who died during the 1974 coup and Turkish invasion was held in Paralimni on Sunday.
The annual national religious memorial service and prayer for the missing took place at the Saint George’s Church, with the service being presided over by Bishop Vasilios of Famagusta, while the government was represented by Justice Minister Costas Fitiris.
The memorial speech was delivered by Paralimni mayor Giorgos Nikolettos.
Nikolettos said the sacrifice of those who fell in 1974 “does not only belong to the past” but represents a legacy for future generations.
He said both the coup and subsequent Turkish invasion in1974 left behind “dead, missing, refugees and a divided homeland”.
He made particular reference to the 15 fallen and missing men from Paralimni, including Major General Tasos Markou, whom he described as a figure who remained committed to his duty.
The mayor also referred to Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, saying their memory formed part of the continuing struggle for freedom and reunification.
Following the ceremony, wreaths were laid at the Heroes’ Monument.
Nikolettos said the municipality would continue supporting efforts to establish the fate of missing persons and preserve historical memory through initiatives including monuments dedicated to those affected by past events.
He added that “the sacrifice of the fallen” should continue to guide future generations.
Temperatures will remain high across Cyprus over the coming days, reaching 41°C in Nicosia on Sunday.
On Sunday, temperatures will reach 41C in Nicosia, 35C in Limassol and Larnaca, 32C in Paphos and 30C in Troodos.
The weather will be mainly clear, although increased cloud may develop in the afternoon, with isolated showers or storms possible in the mountains.
On Monday, temperatures will rise slightly, reaching around 42C in Nicosia, 36C in Limassol and Larnaca, 33C in Paphos and 31C in Troodos.
Similar conditions are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, with temperatures remaining above seasonal averages.
Nicosia is expected to reach around 42C, with temperatures of around 36C in Limassol and Larnaca, 33C in Paphos and 31C in Troodos.
Clear skies will continue across most areas, with some afternoon cloud development possible mainly over Troodos.
A 19-year-old man suspected of involvement in eleven burglary and theft cases in Ayia Napa was remanded in custody for eight days by the Famagusta district court, which sat in Larnaca, on Sunday.
In statements issued on Saturday, the suspect was arrested shortly after 1am when police received information about a person acting suspiciously inside a hotel lobby in Ayia Napa.
Famagusta police arrived at the scene and found the suspect leaving a hotel room.
Officers stopped the man and found him carrying a shoulder bag containing €315 in cash, a wallet and two gold chains.
Police said the 19-year-old was unable to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the possession of the items and was arrested on the spot.
Following further investigations, he was identified as the suspect in ten additional burglaries in Ayia Napa during the same period.
Police investigations into the case are continuing.
Nine churches belonging to the Maronite, Armenian and Latin communities have so far been preserved or restored in the north, with efforts to begin conservation work on Sourp Magar monastery ongoing.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency on Sunday, the bicommunal cultural heritage committee co-chair Sotos Ktoris said six Maronite churches, one Armenian church and two Latin churches have been restored or preserved through the committee’s work.
The Maronite churches include Saint Anna within the Venetian walls of Famagusta, Saints Marina and Theodore in Kormakitis, Saint Marina in Ayia Marina, the Holy Cross church in Karpasia, Archangel Michael in Asomatos and Saint George in Kormakitis.
The Armenian church in old Famagusta has also been preserved, alongside the Latin churches of Saint George of the Latins and Our Lady of the Carmelites, both located with the historic centre.
Ktoris said efforts to begin restoration work on Sourp Magar are currently underway, another significant religious site for the Armenian community in Cyprus.
Historian, archaeologist and writer Anna Marangou informed CNA that the churches reflect the presence and cultural contribution of the Armenian, Maronite and Latin communities on the island over centuries.
She expounded that Armenians arrived in Cyprus from Cilicia during the Byzantine period and established communities mainly around the southern slopes of the Pentadaktylos range.
Referring to Sourp Magar, she described it as a major centre of Armenian religious life and insisted that “the time has come for its conservation to begin”.
Regarding Maronite churches, she referred to the monastery of Prophet Elias in Ayia Marina and the church of Saint George in Kormakitis, which took almost 33 years to complete.
She also spoke of the Latin churches within old Famagusta, describing the city as a historic example of different Christian communities living alongside one another.
“Famagusta may not have 365 churches according to tradition, but we certainly count 30 very important churches that still stand,” she said.
Restoration work by the Bicommunal Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage continues on religious sites and other historic buildings across Cyprus.
Police arrested 19 individuals last night for various offences during overnight checks islandwide.
According to police, those arrested were investigated for offences including domestic violence, burglary, illegal possession of property, drug possession, possession of an offensive weapon, illegal residence in Cyprus as well as traffic violations.
During the operations, police stopped 620 vehicles and checked 848 people.
Officers also inspected 50 premises, resulting in nine complaints.
Traffic checks led to 252 complaints, including 105 for speeding and 25 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police also recorded five suspected drug driving cases after preliminary tests.
A total of 17 vehicles were impounded during the checks.
A 22-year-old man was remanded in custody for eight days on Sunday after allegedly admitting to stabbing his 33-year-old friend multiple times following an argument at their shared home in Aradippou.
The suspect appeared before Larnaca district court in connection with offences including attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm and assault.
Police told the court the two men, who are compatriots, live and work together and had spent Saturday night out with a third person.
After returning home shortly after midnight, they allegedly argued outside the property before the confrontation continued inside.
Investigators said the suspect allegedly took two kitchen knives from the house and stabbed the victim twice in the chest, once in the abdomen, three times in the left arm and once in the right hand.
Emergency services were called after 12.50am when the injured man was found on a road in Aradippou.
He was taken to Larnaca general hospital before being transferred to Nicosia general hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
The suspect allegedly fled the scene but was located around two hours later in a nearby area.
During police questioning, he admitted he had inflicted the injuries, telling officers that he and the victim were friends who lived and worked together.
Police said the investigation remains in its early stages.
The court heard the suspect has no ties to Cyprus beyond his employment in the Aradippou industrial area.
He applied for legal aid, while his lawyer raised no objection to the police request for an eight-day remand.
The case is being investigated by Aradippou police as attempted murder.
| Airfoil simulator write in Go. Don't take it too seriously; I did the best I could, but the simulation has many issues, and I couldn't find the correct airfoil profiles. However, the simulator is open source, and I accept code contributions. [link] [comments] |
I have to implement transaction handling into my system.
I have two methods that are found on the internet.
Explicit parameter pattern
Context injection pattern
I have implemented the option one. But it has a problem.
I need to pass the db connection to the repository to each repository method call.
And also option 2 also has a problem. Usually we do not pass the db connection to the service layer. We just init the repository with the db connection and inject it into the service layer. But in the second option we have to maintain a db connection to handle common connection across multiple repositories that belong to the same transaction.
I need help to choose a good industry standard transaction handling pattern.
| submitted by /u/der_gopher [link] [comments] |
Been building a small API gateway in Go as a learning project and decided to benchmark it against nginx, traefik, caddy and krakend.
First run on loopback had all five within 0.5% of each other, which sounds great for me until you realize that means the benchmark was saturated and measuring nothing.
Every proxied request is two hops on one box, so everything just lands at half the ceiling no matter what software is in the middle.
Pushed concurrency to 600 and things got more interesting: nginx, krakend and mine degraded gracefully with zero errors, while caddy and traefik started throwing thousands of connection errors.
Before anyone gets mad, I suspect that's a defaults thing (upstream connection pools, TIME_WAIT pileup on macOS loopback) and not an architecture thing, so I'm digging into the error strings and rerunning with tuned transports before claiming anything.
Moving to a proper two machine setup next so the survivors can actually separate.
Curious if anyone here has hit the same wall benchmarking proxies on a single box, and if anyone knows traefik or caddy transport internals I'd appreciate pointers.