Cypriot culinary quirks reach the Antarctic

The Cypriot women who want to ski to the South Pole

25/12/09

NOT CONTENT with being the first ever Cypriot to visit the Antarctic, Stephanie Solomonides, has also introduced the islands' passion for putting lemon on all her food to the icy continent.

Of course, since the epic 900 Kilometre march from Patriot Hills to the South pole began, on December 13, there has been little in the way of fresh fruit and vegetables, and so the team has had to become resourceful.

The eight-woman team's latest expedition blog entry begins "I think they've had a tough one today and Steph (Cyprus) has been dealing with it by mixing noodles, with soup, with a citrus energy drink. Strange."

Generally the women eat porridge for breakfast. Instead of stopping for lunch, they graze throughout the day on a range of high-carbohydrate, high-fat foods such as sesame bars, popcorn, chocolate, salted peanuts and banana chips.

Dinner is usually a dehydrated meal carried in foil to which water is added.

The team has made solid progress since they set off, climbing around 800 feet up towards the Antarctic Plateau. However, with strong weather closing in the team is now preparing for a slower spell.

Writing earlier this week, Solomonides said "The weather has changed quite dramatically. It was ever amazingly easy to see but now we're really getting icy cold winds and things are getting much tougher."

The team has battled sastrugis (large frozen ridges of snow) minus 40 degree temperatures and fatigue, and is now within two degrees from the North Pole. "Things are getting harder but we are lucky in our unluckiness. My mantra everyday is we need to make it to the South Pole without injury."

"We're also looking forward to Christmas where we all will be speaking to our families and catching up on all the gossip at home. But apart from that I am going on my fourth day without music and needless to say I am faring… how am I going to put this, I am all right."

The expedition marks the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth as well as demonstrating the potential for greater international understanding and exchange and highlights the achievements of women across the World.

The team has already covered 738 out of 900 kilometres. They expect to arrive at the South Pole around New Year's Day.

Tassos memorial goes ahead despite theft of remains

NICOSIA 12/12/09

Tassos Papadopoulos's one-year memorial service went ahead today despite the desecration of his grave and the theft of his remains.

Police held long meetings with the justice Ministry yesterday to decide on further strategy.

Several possibilities are being looked into, including the involvement of an ultra-nationalist organisation. The possibility that a group from Romania which specialises in stealing bodies and demanding ransoms may be involved is also being investigated.

Police say it was carefully organised and carried out in professional manner. At least four people are believed to have been involved. A number of people would have been required to move the 250kg marble slab from the grave before it could be excavated.

It happened nearly a year to the day after Papadopoulos died from lung cancer.

Large amounts of asbestos dust were spread around to destroy any evidence and heavy rain also swept away clues.

Police have no idea of the motive but are tentatively suggesting a political link.

Three people were questioned in connection with the incident but no arrests have been made.

President Christofias strongly condemned  the sacrilegious act.

“This is a violation of our traditions and institutions which demand respect for the dead…It’s also a blow to national unity which is more than necessary these days,” he told CyBC’s correspondent in Brussels where the President took part in the European Summit.

Christofias also called for calm to prevail and urged the police to carry out intensive investigations so that all culprits are brought before justice.

In a written statement, the family of the late president said:  “This sacrilegious action - beyond the provoked sorrow and anger – cannot, under any circumstances, bury the political inheritance of Tassos Papadopoulos. 

“Wherever his body is, his voice will still be heard loudly and long- lasting, especially during this difficult time for our national cause”.

The Church of Cyprus and political parties strongly condemned the unprecedented act.

Marios Garoyan, leader of the House and of the former president's centre-right Diko party, condemned the act as a "heinous and terrible crime".

Andros Kyprianou, the head of ruling Akel, described it as "macabre and utterly condemnable".

"I am honestly still trying to comprehend what kind of warped minds could even think of doing such a thing, let alone actually carry it out," he said.

Leaders condemn theft of late President Papadopoulos's body

NICOSIA 11/12/09

Archbishop of Cyprus, President Christofias and all leaders of political parties strongly condemned on Friday the sacrilegious act of the opening of former President Tassos Papadopoulos’ gave and removal of his remains.

“This is a violation of our traditions and institutions which demand respect for the dead…It’s also a blow to national unity which is more than necessary these days,” he told CyBC’s correspondent in Brussels where the President took part in the European Summit.

Christofias also called for calm to prevail and urged the police to carry out intensive investigations so that all culprits are brought before justice.

Early on Friday, police confirmed the grave of former President was opened the previous night and his remains removed. It was raining heavily during the evening. A relative had informed the police of the incident at Deftera cemetery.

The former president's one-year memorial service is due to take place tomorrow (Saturday).

In a written statement, the family of the late president said:  “This sacrilegious action - beyond the provoked sorrow and anger – cannot, under any circumstances, bury the political inheritance of Tassos Papadopoulos. 

“Wherever his body is, his voice will still be heard loudly and long- lasting, especially during this difficult time for our national cause”.

02/10/2009

The Cyprus hand-made lace, known as lefkaritiko, indigenous to the village of Lefkara, in Larnaka district, has been officially added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.

Mayor of Lefkara, Andreas Soseilos, has told CNA that he was informed by telephone on Thursday that lefkaritiko is among the 76 elements inscribed on 30 September on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, according to the relevant UNESCO committee. 

The request to include lefkaritiko lace was made one and a half years ago by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus in cooperation with Lefkara Municipality.

These 76 inscriptions were decided by the 24 member states of the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, in its 4th session in Abu Dhabi.

Asked about the importance of this decision and how the Municipality is going to promote it, Soseilos said that “it creates a great responsibility for us to preserve this kind of art which now belong to all world”. 

He said they will address themselves where it is needed at a national, European and international level, in UNESCO, to get support for their efforts to continue, preserve and expand this art, to secure raw materials for this splendid embroidery, assist the women who make the lace, help distribute their products and promote this art at exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally.

The Mayor explained that the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity includes only two kind of needlework, one Croatian and the other one is lefkaritiko.

ANCIENT TRADITION

The tradition of lacemaking in the village of Lefkara in southeastern Cyprus dates back to at least the fourteenth century. Influenced by indigenous craft, the embroidery of Venetian courtiers who ruled the country beginning in 1489, and ancient Greek and Byzantine geometric patterns, Lefkara lace is made by hand in designs combining four basic elements: the hemstitch, cut work, satin stitch fillings and needlepoint edgings.

It was an art form good enough to impress Leonardo da Vinci when he visited Cyprus in 1481, local legend says. He is said to have taken one of the embroideries back with him as a gift for the Milan Cathedral.

That same legend suggests, but cannot be verified, that it inspired the tablecloth design on The Last Supper painting, depicting Jesus and his 12 disciples having their last meal.

Da Vinci began work on the mural, which does feature a light-coloured tablecloth draped over a long rectangular table, around 1495.

Notebooks left by the Renaissance master which include references to Cyprus suggest a visit to the Mediterranean island.

Cyprus House call for stolen Parthenon Marbles return

The Cyprus House of Representatives has called for the return of Parthenon sculptures to Greece. In a resolution which the House plenary adopted unanimously on Thursday, Cypriot MPs called on the British government and every other competent authority of the United Kingdom to give a definite end to the adventure of the Marbles, by returning them to their natural space.

Having debated the issue of the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece and taking into consideration the opening of the New Acropolis Museum, the House called on all countries as well as UNESCO to renew and intensify their efforts for the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece ''and for the reintegration of this unique element of the global cultural heritage to the natural space where it belongs''.

The House expressed its deep satisfaction over the functioning of the New Acropolis Museum and congratulated the government of Greece and all others involved in its establishment.

Today it is obvious that the Marbles must be placed next to the other marbles, in their museum, next to Acropolis itself, the resolution added.

Furthermore, the House said it joined its voice ''with millions of citizens in the whole world who ask for the restoration of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece.''
It added that the functioning of the New Acropolis Museum, which was inaugurated on June 20, constitutes the strongest argument for the security, maintenance and exhibition of the Marbles as a single monument of cultural heritage.

Who is killing the ampelopoulia?

Activists point finger at Cyprus

Michael Theodoulou in Nicosia [28/12/09]

In 40 years Cypriots have given Britain kebabs, easyJet, George Michael and Stavros Flatley...

Set against these varied gifts is a rather less palatable practice that is currently in full swing. In Cyprus they are trapping British robins, roasting them and eating them for dinner.

Many robins stay in Britain all year round but each winter thousands migrate in search of warmer climes, fetching up on the Mediterranean island.

Lured with false birdsong into netted thickets, or caught on sticks dipped in a natural glue, they are among a million songbirds slaughtered and sold to restaurants as part of an illegal multimillion-pound industry.

Conservationists say that the practice has made a significant comeback in the past three years and use of fine “mist” nets to trap the birds has risen by 35 per cent this autumn.

Snaring songbirds dates back to medieval times. The birds were considered necessary sustenance when meat was hard to get and expensive in Cyprus. In recent years, however, they have become gourmet fare, served as a delicacy known as ambelopoulia.

At the table they are generally gobbled down whole, after diners have spat out the feet and beak. Like the Queen of the nursery rhyme, two diners might eat four and twenty of the birds in a single sitting and pay €80 (£70) for the privilege.

“If I was on death row, I’d choose ambelopoulia with a little lemon and salt as my last meal,” a middle-aged, Oxbridge-educated senior civil servant said. “They’re incredibly tasty. I feel no more guilty eating them than pork or chicken.”

Oddly, the poachers are particularly prolific on the British military base of Dhekelia on the island’s eastern coast and on a live British firing range on Cape Pyla.

“It’s just bedlam there,” Martin Hellicar, the campaign manager for Birdlife Cyprus, told The Times.

Tim Stowe, the international director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: “For such a trapping free-for-all to be going on in an area supposedly controlled by British authorities is unbelievable and unacceptable.”

The British bases say that they are fighting a war on the illegal industry. In August they launched “Operation Freedom”, a campaign that aims to stop the songbird death squads and free birds trapped in nets or glued to “lime” sticks. The bases police have freed hundreds of trapped birds.

A key campaign was fought on October 2 when 75 soldiers from the Princess of Wales’s 2nd Royal Regiment joined local police in a dawn raid, seizing thousands of pounds worth of songbird trapping equipment. “Operation Freedom is still very much ongoing,” Captain Jim Mansell, a spokesman for British Forces, Cyprus, said.

“Only last night there was a significant haul of netting paraphernalia recovered from areas within the eastern sovereign base. Our police will do everything to stop this illegal activity.”

The Cypriot authorities insist they are doing their best to fight the songbird trade, saying that they have prosecuted more than 1,000 offenders in the past five years.

One trapping family was fined €25,000 last year. A villager from Larnaca, southeast Cyprus, was arrested after being caught with 1,000 lime sticks in his back yard “factory”.

Trapping birds with mist nets or lime sticks is strictly outlawed by international conventions because of their indiscriminate nature. Falcons have been found in poachers nets, as have endangered birds such as the Cyprus scops owl. The practice persists, however, because it is so lucrative.

It is also cruel. Birds ensnared on lime sticks placed on trees remain stuck until the trapper returns to kill them, usually with a toothpick to the throat. Many birds are ripped off alive, leaving their feet behind.

Like strategists in a drug war, some conservationists believe that it would be better to target the demand side of this illicit bird-killing industry.

“There’s never been a systematic and determined effort to stop restaurants serving ambelopoulia,” said Mr Hellicar. “Until that happens, this problem is going to persist.”

Birds that have been trapped in Cyprus for the table

How to cook our feathered friends

Catch 12 robins, using mesh nets or by trapping them on twigs dipped in a sticky substance made from local fruits

Pluck them. Fry them whole in olive oil, or boil them (for 30 minutes) in stock of pourgouri (cracked wheat)

Serve with salt and lemon with the beaks and feet, with pourgouri as the main accompaniment

The robins, each no bigger than a British two-pound coin when plucked, are eaten whole, and the beaks and the feet are spat out on to a side dish. The eyes and the skulls are eaten by all save the fainthearted

Best appreciated with a glass of Scotch, Uzo, Cyprus brandy or zivania (a mind-numbingly strong grape-based aquaforte)

The robins can also be plucked and pickled in vinegar.

Pigeon pie is served in Cyprus but robins are never served in pastry

Police turn to DNA in Tassos case

17/12/09

Police investigations into the theft of the remains of former President Tassos Papadopoulos are now focusing on DNA evidence which have provided positive leads.

The force is also investigating 20,000 telephone calls made in the Deftera cemetery area, up to the highway.

Police looking at two possibilities;  first that people of the underworld being implicated in the case and possibly acted on behalf of a third party, or individuals who wanted to cause internal turmoil.

Police denied a ransom demand has been made for the return of the body of former president Tassos Papadopoulos, snatched last week after his grave was dug up.

“We contacted the former president’s family and it is categorically denied,” police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said. “Such a demand has not been made to the family.”

Papadopoulos’ remains were stolen last Friday, in what was described as a professionally executed act that has left authorities baffled over a possible motive.

The Holy Synod dealt with the matter in its Wednesday session and in an announcement said that the people who stole the remains in no way can tarnish the memory of the former President who said ‘no’ to the plans of the enemies of our country.”

Outrage in Cyprus at Tassos Papadopoulos tomb raiders

12/12/09

Politicians in the Republic of Cyprus have voiced outrage after thieves stole the corpse of former President Tassos Papadopoulos from his grave.

His ex-rival and successor as president, Demetris Christofias, condemned the "unholy" theft and urged the public to remain calm.

The remains were stolen during a thunderstorm, shortly before the first anniversary of the ex-leader's death.

As investigators sought a motive for the act, three people were questioned.

The desecration is bound to stir up passions over peace efforts aimed at reuniting the Turkish and Greek parts of the island, the BBC's Malcolm Brabant reports from Greece's capital, Athens.

Papadopoulos made many enemies during a long and eventful political career, after fighting British colonial rule in a guerrilla group.

The pinnacle of his career came in 2004, when he made an emotional denunciation of a [highly biased towards the invader Turkey] UN plan to reunite the island, our correspondent says.

His tearful appeal convinced 76% of Greek Cypriots to reject the proposal in a referendum, which Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly approved.

He died on 12 December last year of lung cancer at the age of 74, and a memorial service is due to be held on Saturday.

'Warped minds'

Police in Nicosia said that three people were being questioned in relation to the theft but no arrests had been made.

There has been no sign of the corpse, which was stolen either late on Thursday or early on Friday, and there were no immediate claims of responsibility.

"This is an unacceptable, unholy, unethical and condemnable act that damages our tradition, our culture and our respect toward the dead," said President Christofias.

Andros Kyprianou, head of the ruling Akel party, described the theft as "macabre and utterly condemnable".

"I am honestly still trying to comprehend what kind of warped minds could even think of doing such a thing, let alone actually carry it out," he added.

State television interrupted normal programming throughout the day to broadcast live reports and reaction to the desecration, AFP news agency reports.

The theft was reported by a former bodyguard who visited the tomb and found piles of earth by the graveside and an empty coffin.

The inscription of the late president's name on a wall above the grave had been spattered with a white substance.

The thieves had to shift a marble slab weighing 250kg (40st) to dig up the grave and apparently used asbestos or gypsum to cover their tracks.

Police described the theft as "deliberate and carefully planned".

BBC

Greek Orthodox church sues Turkey over access to religious sites in Cyprus

Church goes before European court alleging Greek Cypriot faithful barred from worshipping in Turkish-occupied north

25 November 2009

The Greek Orthodox church of Cyprus has taken Turkey to the European court of human rights for preventing the 500 Greek Cypriots living in the Turkish army occupied northern part of the island worshipping at religious sites there, a church lawyer said this week.

The lawsuit concerns 520 churches, monasteries, chapels and cemeteries under Turkish control since Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, said Simos Angelides. The occupied-north's Greek Cypriot community cannot worship at these sites because they are either derelict or have been converted into mosques, army barracks, stables or nightclubs, he added.

Turkish "officials" were not immediately available for comment.

The Mediterranean island is forcibly split along religious as well as ethnic lines. The Greek-Cypriot south, seat of the country's internationally recognised government, is overwhelmingly Greek Orthodox. The Turkish-Cypriot army-occupied north is Muslim, but some 500 Greek Cypriots still live there.

The lawsuit will likely further stoke tensions between Turkish Cypriots and the church leader, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, whom they see as an outspoken but influential hardliner representing a nationalist fringe.

It is unlikely, however, to damage ongoing reunification talks between the Cyprus president [who is Greek], Dimitris Christofias, and Turkish Cypriot minority leader, Mehmet Ali Talat.

Although critical of Christofias' handling of the talks, Chrysostomos has been careful not to interfere, saying the lawsuit is not linked to the peace process. The church is suing Turkey because the court's past rulings hold that country responsible for the northern part of the Republic, where it keeps 35,000-strong military force, Chrysostomos told the Press.

The church has "documented proof" of the destruction of religious sites in the north, and will seek unrestricted access to its property there so the faithful can worship freely, he said.

The archbishop added that the church was also seeking damages for being denied use of property that should be restored to its pre-invasion condition wherever possible.

"It's obvious that the only reason why these aforementioned rights are being violated is because we are Greek Cypriot Orthodox Christians," Chrysostomos said.