My last couple of days are spent exploring the small village of Yesilirmak, seeing the ancient Roman city of Soli nearby, and eating. It is these precious memories that I wish to share with you dear reader, to provide an idea of what this region is all about. Experience the best Turkish hospitality in North Cyprus with me and I’ll show you why its so lovely.
Yesilirmak
Having already created a post on this special little village I will expound briefly on my time here. I leave the house each day at least twice, to explore on foot, the country roads and land. Out and about I see mostly males, for they are working their plots, driving their tractors here and there.
The women are having coffee I am told, inside their homes. They visit each other with a precise pattern, so all of the gossip and information travels through the village. A function of importance, especially in times past. But also, one of community and keeping in touch with each other.
I met a local today. His name is Nazim. He was carting concrete bricks in a wheelbarrow at the location of his new home. When he saw me walking past, he hailed and I stopped. He told me that he had seen me wandering around the village and knew I was not from here.
I learned that he has spent most of his adult life in Sydney Australia, as have many many other Cypriots. He is back for a short while, finishing construction on his new home, returning to the village he was born in. Insisting I take his phone number, he said we should have coffee in his new house next time I am in Yelirirmak. This is what the village is like. An open door of kindness and smiles.
Soli
One place I was eager to see if it was possible was this ancient city, close to where I am staying. Soli was an ancient Greek city, but most of what we can see today is from the Roman period. Under a huge canopy, visitors, after paying the €0.50 entrance fee, can walk on a suspended path above a Roman basilica. Here see beautiful mosaics of animals and plant life. The most famous mosaic is of the swan. Unfortunately, it is so dark under the roof, and the floor so dusty, the mosaics have much of their lustre and visibility.
Now outside, I walk down the hill and see the ruins of the agora or central market place. There is a lovely paved section of roadway and lots of scattered bits of carved marble.
Heading straight up the steep hill from here, I find the Roman theatre. It was carved into the rock around 42 AD and unfortunately has been completely renovated. A wealthy coastal city, Soli traded copper and timbre to Athens in return for metal vessels.
Eating
My hosts have gone out of their way to provide me with some amazing cuisine. On the first night we share a charcuterie of finger foods. Perfect after a day of travel and to enjoy in the living room in front of the roaring fire. Another day the housekeeper has created this huge meat and pasta dish, delicious!
And yet another evening we have picked up a Turkish pizza and my gosh is it ever delicious. A wafer-thin piece of bread that has been cooked in a fire oven is covered with a thin layer of mince and spicy pepper. Just hot enough to be at my height of tolerance. I dip my chewy pieces into hummus and enjoy two whole pizzas to myself. Each one bursting with flavour from the fresh parsley and squeezed lemon.
The BBQ
The night before my departure is the crème de la crème. A lamb barbecue!! Out back, behind the house and under the orange trees, the farmer has lit two BBQ’s with olive branches he has collected last year. Once these have burnt down and turned into coals, they are broken up and the fun begins. Out from the kitchen arrive mesh screens full of fat lamb chops. The farmer sits between the two BBQ’s and begins the dance of the lamb.
Each one is monitored carefully, for they must not be burned by flame, but rather cook by the heat of the coals. As soon as the fat begins to drip, the flame shoots up and the screen must be lifted and turned. Before long the surface of the lamb has a caramel coloured glaze bubbling with temptation and smell. We have also been cooking sausage too, ones from a local who has soaked them in red wine! How marvellous.
When all is ready, inside we go, salivating at the thought of dinner. Smelling like a camp fire, we sit around the kitchen and dig in. Best lamb I have ever eaten in my life. From this village, and with a taste so mild, it’s with glee that we all lift these juicy chops to our lips with our fingers.
This, these moments of shared food, conversation and kindness, is what Yesilirmak and my hosts are all about. The experience I have had here has been nothing short of amazing. I feel so lucky to be invited into these people’s home, shown around the area and living this rural life, even fleetingly. To this precious family, thank you.
Back to the Other Side
The next morning, I wake up early in the darkness and cold. The farmer drives me across the border, through both the Turkish and Greek controls and past no mans land. Into Kato Pyrgos we arrive at 4:45am. My bus is scheduled to depart at 5am and pulls up shortly on the empty desolate street. I say a fond farewell and am off.
Motoring down the road in a small village bus, listening to Greek folk music in compete darkness is how I spend the next two hours. Just as the sun begins to rise, we pull into Paphos and I am back home. The past week feeling like a dream.
