We stayed at the Cleopatra Hotel in Nicosia. It is rated as a four star hotel and has a nice pool area. Unfortunately we were not able to use the pool while we were there because after Rosemary’s baptism, she was not allowed to get bathed (or go in a pool) for three days. This is so the holy oil can soak in. After three days her godmothers had to bathe her and dump the water in a place where no one would step.
We were able to finally get some sleep. Rosemary even cooperated and fell asleep fairly quickly. Since we had a long day ahead of us though, we woke up around 8 and went for breakfast (which was included in the room rate). The Cleopatra hotel is not really a tourist hotel, it seemed to be mainly Cypriots staying there. The breakfast buffet was appropriately stocked with things like halloumi cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, pastries, sausages etc.
After breakfast, we walked over to the main shopping area, Ledra St. The northern third of the island of Cyprus is illegally occupied by Turkey. In 1974, the Turks invaded in response to a brief coup in the Cypriot government and an attempt to annex with Greece. Many people, including Tony’s family, had to flee their homes. Nicosia was divided during the invasion and, since the fall of the Berlin Wall, is now the last divided capital in the world. Ledra street runs through the city and used to be divided by a wall but is now divided by a checkpoint. In recent years, people have been able to cross to and from the North to visit with proper identification. We walked up to the crossing but did not go over. The Turkish occupied area has not been maintained very well since 1974 and consequently the buildings are in bad shape. The Turks have carved a giant Turkish flag on a hill that faces Nicosia for the Greeks to see. At night they have it lit up like a Christmas tree. It was shocking to see this and I can only image how people who lost everything (including family members) in 1974 must feel as they drive down the highway and see this thing blinking away.
Ledra St. Crossing
On Ledra St, we bought a stroller for Rosemary and went to the family-favorite Heraclis ice cream shop. I tried the rose ice cream and Rosemary went for the chocolate. It was wonderful to have something cool after walking in the 37+ degrees heat.
Chocolate Ice Cream
We took a taxi over to Tony’s Aunt Maria’s house for lunch and to prepare for the baptism. She had prepared a typical Cypriot lunch of salad and chicken, carrots, and potatoes baked in olive oil. Rosemary was really excited to be in a new house to explore and I spent my time chasing her around making sure that nothing got broken. Then we headed over to the church.
From what I gathered, the church is over 500 years old. As with most churches here, it is amazingly beautiful and full of icons and gold. The priest at the church only spoke Greek and Tony’s Greek is quite limited, so we were not totally sure what was going on. We followed as best we could and when it was time for us to do something, there were lots of hand gestures and usually a quick translation by Maria. There was a bit of a dispute over what name to christen Rosemary. In the end, the priest was content with “Rose Mary” (in Greek, of course) as both names are saint names and even though it is not traditional for a child to have two names, it will be less confusing for her than christening her with another name. Also, she is named after both her grandmothers and that has significance.
Rosemary enjoyed everything that was going on and closed her eyes and had a huge contented smile on her face as the priest was anointing her with holy oil. It was very sweet and it made the priest grin. She did not even complain when part of her hair was cut.
Photos from the Baptism:
After the baptism, we went back to Maria’s for drinks and watermelon. Rosemary got really bored so I took her to a nearby park for a while and she made some friends. In the evening, we went to Plaka, the best restaurant in Nicosia, for meze. There must have been about thirty members of the family at the baptism and dinner. I tried my best to remember everyone’s name and relation to other family members. It was difficult. A Cypriot meze is incredible. Plate after plate of food is brought for everyone to share and everyone sits around drinking and talking. It is so much food that two people ordering a meze in Cyprus will probably get the equivalent to enough food for ten people. By the time the meal is over, everyone one is stuffed and it is time to go sleep it off.
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