Cyprus is an amazing island. Here beauty competes with the desert. There is a lot of surprises here, but the number of empty and abandoned buildings is unusually large. And this is not echoes of the past war, but the realities of the present.
Of course, in the area where tourists live, cities and villages look very festive and beautiful. For example, where our hotel was located, road works were constantly carried out. Workers laid tiles right on the roadway. Expensive pleasure, it is necessary to notice!
But go a little over the edge, and you will see how here and there sprouts of all-consuming entropy are already beginning to eat away the beauty of urban landscapes from the inside.
The population of Cyprus is extremely small. It is home to about a million people. And it's on such a relatively large area! Perhaps for this reason, many people who at one time trying to start some business or small business, leave this business and go to another place.
Many times we have seen shops that a couple of years ago were inhabited, and now stand abandoned and empty, gaping empty eye sockets Windows and doors. The same is true for different offices and offices.
Many times we walked along the streets of cities and did not meet any of the passers-by. The houses around looked, though whole, but it was difficult to conclude about them, they are inhabited or not. In some places, for example, the porch was covered with grass and it was not cleaned off for several months.
Perhaps the reason is that many people come here not often, but only in a certain season. They build houses here, like we do outside the city, and the rest of the time these houses are empty or rented.
I did not try to find out how much it would cost to live in such a house, if you take it on vacation. But, judging by the high prices for all products and services, it will most likely not be cheap.
I also thought that the agriculture here is not so smooth. For example, the local watermelons are in season for 1 Euro. For residents of our country it is quite expensive, as in September, when in our Bryansk watermelons are 15-20 rubles per kilogram.
Why I started talking about watermelons, just a few times we passed by the large plantings. All the bakhchi we have seen are in a very poor condition. The remaining watermelons in the fields are small, dry, many rot on the spot. Once we saw a bunch of useless watermelons height of a man.
It seemed to me, and maybe in fact it is, that on the Turkish side, everything is completely different. I don't know what the reason is, but in these areas the organization of the population is better and people are more organized in their farms.
Returning to the theme of the cities, once we saw even a fitness center, which still retained the Shine of advertising signs, but which was also closed and did not work. And yet the same ubiquitous grass and weeds grew around...
Even the museums here are empty for some reason. We visited several, but were among the very few visitors. Perhaps local people have been here more than once and they are just not interested to go here often, and as for visitors, the thirst for sun and sea, of course, interrupts the desire to go to exhibitions.
I already wrote about cats, which are many here and which are almost homeless on the island. Of course, they are still fed, but the animals look quite thin and always hungry. But there are no stray dogs here. I guess it's tougher here than it is with the cats. I wonder why this is so?
Traveling to Cyprus, it is surprising that the transport here goes quite on time and regularly. We moved a lot by bus, and went to a taxi. But on the roads, too few cars, as well as pedestrians on the streets. The exception is the crowded tourist towns.
And there's a lot of all kinds of small transport. You can rent a scooter or an electric three-wheeled scooter. According to my information, the battery charge in such devices will be enough for the whole day of travel on sidewalks and Bicycle paths. But this transport is not a train from one city to another, in this case it is better to rent a car.
To all that said, Cyprus does not cause discouragement. It's quite fun and there are many ways to have fun. If you do not like crowded resorts of Turkey and Egypt, a trip to this island is your choice.
