Cypriot almonds: a beginner’s field guide

Fresh almonds are a commodity to be seized upon. Thus after establishing a surefire way to be in possession a healthy bag of these appetizing kernels we felt it only fair to share the knowledge.

Bitches, pricks and ho's: recurring themes on a long-distance cycle tour

You know you’ve been cycle touring for a while when barks, barbs and brothels become a little mundane.

Avid followers of the blog (thanks, Dad) will remember our various entanglements with canines along the way. We gathered Mongolian rocks and harsh words to throw at the beasts that would launch from their gers towards us at a blistering pace. We learnt that stopping to square-off with a defensive dog was more effective than flight, unless you can hit about 35-40kph pretty quickly. Some cyclists have reported using water pistols with an ammonia or pepper component, but we found that barking back (we still do it in Mongolian) and keeping a rock in reserve was pretty effective. That is, until we got to Turkey.

Lapithos

See above post

Lapithos

The Road to Lapta

Cute little seaside cafes serving robust Turkish coffees to elderly gents. Winding ancient village streets giving way to isolated Mediterranean coastlines. A climb through orchards of lemon trees before reaching the quaint well-preserved town of my grandmother. Markets of ripe fruit, warm bread and fresh haloumi. Sounds a little too lovely? It was. Seems my idyllic version of my bike ride to Lapta was quite off the mark.

Cypriot History Lesson

In 1925, Angeliki was born in the humid Cypriot month of September. Sitting several hundred metres above the sea and perched at the foot of the Pentadhaktylos range, Lapithos gave some refuge from the thick Mediterranean heat patrolling the coastline.

Angeliki was born into a family of Greek heritage. Her father worked as a builder and her mother at home as a seamstress. Angeliki soon had 3 younger sisters and as the oldest helped her mother at home. It was in the family kitchen where she completed her mother’s apprenticeship in Greek Cypriot cooking. She was essentially responsible for preparing the family’s meals, and despite the workload from home completed her secondary schooling.

Finding Angeliki’s Cyprus

It was surprisingly easy to get to Lapithos. Especially when I think back to the planned border crossings, letters of invitations and visa applications required for the many countries we’ve passed through to get to this point.

It all fell together rather nicely. We pedaled south out of Cappadocia to the Turkish Mediterranean coast. Purchased a ferry ticket to Northern Cyprus. Cycled 100km to the port town of Tasucu and rolled our bikes directly onto the overnight ship. Border control was a non event. Then 16km and a few thick Turkish coffees later and there was Lapithos. The search is over.

Ç is for Çay

If there has been one constant in our cycle through the changing landscapes of Turkey it must surely be tea, or çay (ç is pronounced 'ch'). Throughout the villages and towns of Turkey are scattered tea salons and gardens (çay bahçesi) where people gather to sip this strong beverage and natter about daily life. Old men play cards, chain-smoking is the order of the day and çay may be the only item on the menu. In towns, tea-waiters (çaycı) ferry trays of small tea-glasses around the neighbourhood of their shop when they are called. For us, these tea houses were a welcome refuge, where we could sit under grape vines or watch the passing street life and give the Surlys a tea break of their own.

From Turkish tea