Table of Contents:
1. Comment from the Editor
2. 35 North 33 East: Cyprus A Brief Overview
3. Pancyprian Organization of the Blind: Introduction to facts, figures and perspectives
4. Blind women in Cyprus: a brief view
5. History shadows ancient Nicosia villages, by Lonias Efthyvoulou
6. An oasis where it is most needed - Art, by Glyn Hughes
7. Under the Commandaria sky - 4000 years of wine making
8. Readers Feedback
9. Contact/Subscription Information
Back to the first Page
1. Comment from the Editor
Dear readers,
Welcome to the first issue of the Cyprus Braille newsletter. It is my great pleasure to express my deep gratitude to all of you, for showing your interest in our free Braille publication.
Our aim is to contribute to a better understanding between blind people of different nations in all continents. The newsletter is addressed to individuals who can read English Braille and are interested in topics such as the blind welfare, economic and political issues, historical events, cultural activities and environmental issues pertaining mainly to Cyprus.
We hope that while reading the newsletter you will always find something interesting and in general you will help us in further improving the newsletter. That is why we will welcome any contributions/feedback from you, concerning the form of the Newsletter and its content, in addition to any personal views and suggestions.
The first announcement about Cyprus Braille was published in 20 different magazines and other publications for blind people all over the world. The resonance was unfortunately not as expected. Only about 25 inquiries were received until the 27th August, 2001. The low number of subscribers is not significant taking into respect the great importance of Braille for blind people.
Our Organization cannot print out and distribute the Newsletter in the format as primarily planned. However we do hope, and are confident, that in a later stage and according to its expected growth in terms of the number of subscribers, we will be able to print the Cyprus Braille on a more professional basis.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you, in particular our friends from Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Greece, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Malta, Nigeria, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunis and the United States, who asked to be included on our mailing list and wish you a pleasant reading.
I would also like to thank the Rotaract Club Nicosia for their contribution in the development of this Newsletter.
Many happy regards and greetings from Cyprus to all.
2. 35 North 33 East: Cyprus, A Brief Overview
From various Internet sites regarding Cyprus
Cyprus has a total area of 9,251 sq.km and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily and Sardinia. It is located in the East Mediterranean basin (35 degrees North, 33 degrees East) and is considered as being at the crossroad of Europe, Africa and Asia. The country closest to Cyprus is the Asian part of Turkey, 75 km north, followed by Syria 105 km east, Egypt (Africa) 380 km south and finally the island of Rhodes, Greece (Europe) that is 380 km west of the island.
The total population of the island is 796,800. 85.0% of them are Greek Cypriots (including Armenians, Maronites (Catholic confession) and Latins). 12.0% are Turkish Cypriots and 3.0% foreign residents. The population density is 82 persons/sq.km. The official languages of the island are Greek, Turkish and English.
The main towns of Cyprus are Nicosia, the capital of the island, with a population of 205,300, followed by the port town of Limassol with 165,500 citizens. Larnaca is the town where the largest international airport is and has a total population of 68,800. Paphos is the oldest town of the island and its population is estimated at 49,500.
Cyprus has an Executive Power Presidential Democracy system of government. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term. The House of Representatives (Legislative Power) consists of 80 Members (56 Greek Cypriots, 24 Turkish Cypriots). The parliament representatives are elected by proportional representation for a five-year term. The Judicial Power is executed by the Supreme Court and the five Districts Courts.
Cyprus is a member of the United Nations Organisation since 1960. That was the year of the proclamation of Cyprus as an independent state. It is also a member of the Council of Europe since 1961, of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1961 and of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe since 1975. The first president of the island Archbishop Makarios was a leading personality of the Non-Aligned Movement, where Cyprus became a member directly after the independence in 1960. Cyprus is also a member of the World Trade Organisation since 1995.
In 1987 a Customs Union Agreement was established with the European Union (EU) and an application for membership was made in 1990. Commencement of substantive accession talks with the EU begun in 1998 and it is expected that Cyprus will become a full member of the Union in 2004.
The geomorphology of the island itself is rather unique. Although small in size it is subdivided in the southwest by the Troodos massif with the highest point, mount Olympos, at 1953 m. On the north is the Keryneia or Pentadaktylos range with the highest point that of Kyparissovounos at 1024 m. In the middle of the island lies the Messaoria plain.
Due to the fact that the island lies in the Mediterranean it has mild, wet winters (10-15oC), but rather hot and dry summers (27-31oC).
Indeed, tucked away, as it is, in the easternmost corner of the Mediterranean Sea this island republic has its own particular beauty with sandy beaches enclosed by rugged cliffs, cool cedar forests, scented orange groves and gentle meadows blanketed in wildflowers.
It is also a country whose nine-thousand-year cultural legacy infuses East and West and where over two million tourists per year often retrace the footsteps of figures as diverse as Saint Paul, Alexander the Great, Richard the Lion Heart and Leonardo da Vinci. Moreover it is regarded as a romantic island, once being Anthony's gift to Cleopatra and where, according to mythology, the goddess Aphrodite first emerged from the sea. Indeed its history has been 'enriched' by its geographical position and its natural resources have always made it a target for conquerors. The Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Arabs, the Frankish dynasty of the Lusignans, the Venetians, Ottoman Turks and the British, all conquered Cyprus in turn and have invariably left their mark.
3. Pancyprian Organization of the Blind: Introduction to facts, figures and problems
The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind, was established in 1980 by 20 blind and partially sighted people, citizens of Cyprus. Until then, sighted people, members of the Pancyprian Association for the Welfare of the Blind, were representing the blind people in Cyprus and abroad.
The Organization is non-governmental and mainly charity funded. The main financial supporters of the Organization is the above Association, which is still working on fund-raising activities and projects for the welfare of the blind in general.
Any person over 18 years old whose total vision loss or vision acuity is below 6/60 on the best eye, even with the use of any corrective lenses or glasses can become a member of the Organization. The Organization has today 622 members (278 women / 344 men) out of the estimated 1000 blind and visually impaired people living in Cyprus. It is estimated that about 105 (56 pupils and 49 girls) of the above 1000 people are children and teenagers under 18 years old, who are also supported by the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind.
According to the Department of Statistics and Research of Cyprus 23785 persons with long term disability are living on the Island. From this group 5712 (about 25.2%) have a permanent job and less than 11% are unemployed. The remaining 63.8% are not considered unemployed as they have never registered as such and they have never been employed. From the above mentioned 23785 persons 4513 (19%) have a sensory disability.
According to statistical data collected by our Organization it is estimated that more than 468 (46.8%) from the 1.000 visually impaired people living in Cyprus are at a working age. From those 22.85% are visually impaired people employed by the government or in jobs at the semi-governmental sector and only 12.53% are working in the private sector, mainly for insurance companies, banks and investment institutes.
According to these data only a small percentage of 1.97% are self-employed. Unemployment is more than 40.05% of the above-mentioned population. The remaining 22.6% receive a monthly disability pension or other social financial support from the government because of their visual disability. The percentage of blind elderly people (over 65) is about 41% and that of children under 18 is 12.2%.
There is only one rehabilitation centre for physically disabled people in Cyprus, where only a very few training courses are offered. On the other hand, there is no training and rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired people, where this group could be trained in different skills, that could be relevant for an equal qualitative participation in the free labour market.
Blind people can be trained only as switchboard operators at the School for the Blind or can study at a university or college in subjects such as Law, Education, Psychology, Social Science and Music.
The main goals of the Organization are the promotion of social welfare, education and employment, prevention of blindness and medical treatment of the blind people in Cyprus. The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind employs currently about 15 persons in its different services and workshops.
Our Organization offers to blind and visually impaired people services not provided by the government such as:
- social and rehabilitation services,
- talking books and Braille libraries,
- information services,
- workshops,
- sports programmes,
- recreation activities, and
- national and international co-operation.
The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind is a founding member of the World Blind Union and of the European Blind Union. It is also an active member of the International Sport Federation and of the International Parolympic Committee. The Organization is also in close co-operation with the European Disability Forum, the Disability People International, the Rehabilitation International and many other international Organizations.
The board of the Organization consists of 14 members and its present constellation is 11 men and only 3 women. There are also 13 committees operating in different activity areas. All members of the Organization can become members of these committees, on an effort to administer and coordinate the services mentioned above.
President of the Organization is 54 year old Attorney at the Law Services of Cyprus Michael Florentzos. He is the president from the year of the establishment of our Organization in 1980. I was elected as the Secretary General of the Organization in 1996 and was reelected to this post in June 1999. The election of the new board, due to the amendments of the constitution of the Organization, is next May, 2002.
4. Blind women in Cyprus: a brief view
One of the recent established Committees of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind is the women's Committee. This Committee was founded in September 1999, in an effort to overcome blind women's problems and special needs. At this early stage of its development the Committee is facing difficulties in getting the women interested and involved in its activities. For this reason it is extremely difficult to recognize the actual and specific problems that the female members of the Organization are facing.
Concerning the work of this Committee, the most important issue it is confronted with, is the unemployment crisis and the lack of any resource and rehabilitation centres for blind and partially sighted people mentioned above. There are not any permanent projects based on specific employment programmes, where visually impaired women can be encouraged to take part.
At present, apart from professional studies, the only occupation the women can be trained for, is as switchboard operators (telephonists) or as workers at the workshops of the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind.
Two of the most important aims of the women's committee are:
(a) Equality in every aspect of everyday life, and (b) to make the female members of our Organization realize that knowledge and information are the best tools they have, to support their goals and demand their rights.
One of the first activities of the Women's Committee was the hosting of the 1st meeting of the European Blind Union Commission on the Advancement of the Interests of Blind and Partially Sighted Women, which took place in Larnaca, in June, 2000.
This year's activities include a survey for collecting facts and figures in order to find out the actual status of the women in the Organization. Seminars on various subjects concerning health and nutrition, physical fitness and eugenics have been also planned.
It cannot be said that there is any obvious or express discrimination against women with visual problems, either in the society or in law in Cyprus. On the contrary, according to specific provisions of the Constitution and the relevant legislation no discrimination is permitted due to gender before the administration, the law or before the courts. Furthermore, an equal remuneration is provided for equal quantity of work.
In reality however, the perspectives of visually impaired women in the society of Cyprus in every day life are different, especially regarding their rights and the possibility of living a normal social and family life.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been any study to show the correlation between women and men with visual problems who got married and created a family and those who were not able to do so. Nevertheless, it is recognised in the society of Cyprus and generally accepted among visually impaired people, that men with such impairments more frequently and more easily get married not only to blind or partially sighted women but also to those with no impairment. They also develop social relationships more easily and are very rarely forced into any kind of isolation. On the other hand, the percentage of women with visual problems who get married and live an active social or family life is much smaller. There are more examples of visually impaired women who, even though they are well educated and hold a good job, are forced into a kind of social isolation in the sense that they are not active members of society. There is a greater prejudice against them, it is more difficult for them to get married and it is more difficult for them to make friendships.
However, becoming vocationally rehabilitated is more or less the same for men and women. The same applies to their education and training. They also have the same rights as regards the state and they receive the same allowances and assistance from the State as men with visual problems.
This is a short description of the situation of visually impaired women in the society of Cyprus. I believe that the issue has not been dealt with in depth. The special survey that will be carried out, might reveal facts and events on the basis of which useful conclusions could be drawn.
Participating in the broader Women's Movement is a step forward in achieving the global aims of our Organization. Through the representation of our Organization in the European Blind Union Commission on the Advancement of the Interests of Blind and Partially Sighted Women, we have managed to establish bonds with all the European countries and gained experience from their working methods and knowledge from their Tool Documents. Representatives of our Organization participated also to the World Women's Forum and the European Women's Forum preceding the General Assembly of the World Blind Union and the European Blind Union, respectively.
Liaising with every country and with each individual separately is the main purpose of the Committee in order to spread its message and become stronger. Disability is not a way of life. Disability is a way of thinking and the struggle is against any such discrimination and superstition.
5. History shadows ancient Nicosia villages
By Lonias Efthyvoulou
(Cyprus Weekly Friday July 27 - August 2, 2001, with kind permission of the publishers)
SHADOWS and echoes of some 3,000 years of history shroud four ancient villages just south of Nicosia. Pera Orinis, Episkopio, Politiko and Ergates, just a half hour's drive from
the capital, were originally main quarters of the ancient city of Tamassos in the foothills of the Macheras mountain massif, near the monastery of Ayios Iraklidios. Driving south out of Nicosia, past the Presidential Palace, you follow Strovolos Avenue through Strovolos itself, then Lakatamia and Deftera.
From Deftera, along the "new road" to Macheras monastery, you pass Psymolophou off to the right, then come to Pera Orinis, from where the road starts climbing into the foothills proper. The toponym of Psymolophou is derived from "opsimos lofos", the "hill of early ripening crops", and according to the locals, crops on a low hilly rise south of the village, do ripen much earlier than those in the rest of the region.
Driving along the main road, the old village of Pera below in the valley on the right, could go unnoticed as only new bungalows are visible. Take a sharp right turn along anyone of a number of roads and you are soon surrounded by the mud-brick built homes of Pera proper, the largest preserved village among the four. Most roads lead to the main, or coffee-shop, square, with political factions having separate establishments on either side, as is customary in most Cypriot villages. A main feature here is a street - literally through a house - which leads from the main square to the church square, a cobbled area with two churches and old schools. Unfortunately, a new and "modern" pergola-type structure has now obstructed most of the charm of this square.
Although history here goes back thousands of years, there is not much on the site itself. One can visit tombs and some excavations of the classical period which testify to past glories from pre-Christian times, as well as the monastery (now a convent) of Ayios Iraklidios, who was the first Christian bishop of Tamassos. The Archaeological Museum in
Nicosia holds some of the recent finds - lions and sphinxes and an interesting reconstruction of one of the graves. Most of the ancient city still lies under the village of Episkopio, waiting for the archaeologist's spade in order to reveal further secrets. Just past the convent, traces exist of an Palaeolithic settlement on the southern slopes above the Pedieos river. Pera was the residential quarter of Tamassos. The name Pera - on the right bank, the orini (or mountain bank) of the Pedieos river - is derived from "peran", like the Constantinople area across the Bosphorus, which means the suburb across the water, on the other bank, or beyond the city.
Pera lies beyond the river from Tamassos. In Cypriot dialect "pera" is also used to designate "overseas." People still say we went "pera", meaning abroad. The toponym Pera is not unique to Pera Orinis. There are a number of other villages using the same toponym, such as Pera Pedi, Pera-Horio, Pera Yitonia and others. Across the river, the village of Politiko was the seat of government, now only brought to the imagination by the remains of ancient stone walls. It is where officials lived, the kings of Tamassos had their palaces, and where royal tombs have been found. Religious authorities of the city in Christian times lived in Episkopio or Piskopio, near Pera, with the Episkopi, or bishopric, originally housed in a monastery. A new bishopric was built by the Franks in 1222AD on the same site as the older monastery, and later, the village itself when the area was granted to a feudal lord of the time.
Not far from Politiko, Ergates was an area housing the thousands of workers needed in the ancient copper mines of the region. Herod the Great, perpetrator of the "massacre of the innocent children" was reputed to have leased these copper mines and also of encouraging large numbers of Jews to emigrate there.
Adventurous
The Phoenicians, the adventurous merchant seamen of the Eastern Mediterranean, were also involved in Tamassos of old and its copper trade. Starting with trading posts and shops at Kition and Idalion (today's Larnaca and Dali) they eventually reached Tamassos unable to resist the lure of the copper trade. Pera has been described as the only preserved village in Cyprus where there is not even a trace of modern structures within its preserved boundaries. Most of the houses enclose gardens within their mud-brick compounds and are over 150 years old. Many are now in ruins, abandoned, their roofs collapsed, and their mud brick walls showing the ravages of the elements. The architecture here has a special character with the lower parts of walls, up to heights varying from one or more meters, built of native river stone.
This in itself is not unique in Cyprus. However, the beauty of this construction in the Pera Orinis area is that the cracks between these uncut river stones were filled with chips of white stone which were held together with native mud clay mud, framing the river stone itself. Builders of old used this technique to allow the walls to "breathe", as did the top parts of the mud-brick walls. The structures were topped by beams, bamboo and earth matting, and then tiled. This construction ensured cool temperatures during the summer and retained warmth in winter. The "breathing" characteristics also eliminated damp in the walls. There are some excellent examples of reconstructed homes mainly around the cobbled central square between the old and new churches, as well as in the village. With more and more city people returning to their roots, ancestral homes are reconstructed under strict regulations with the help of the authorities and state subsidies. A great number of others, however, remain derelict. Ancient Tamassos was among the first cities to be converted to Christianity by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas who preached there. The two were led to the area by Iraklidios.
Idolaters
Their guide was eventually ordained the first bishop of Tamassos by Apostle Paul and preached there until he was persecuted and eventually burnt to death by idolaters. He had
lived in a cave which still exists under the convent church. Iraklidios was succeeded by Mnason, who lived to old age and was buried next to his predecessor in the same cave. The first school in the region was established at Pera in 1861 by one Ioannis Tzovanakis from Zagora, in Epirus, Greece - reputed to have been one of the fighters during the siege of Mesolongi by the Ottomans during the 1821 Greek War of Independence. Pera had its own schoolhouse, thanks to the generosity of Hadji-Theodoulos Andreadis, a native of Pera, who was established as a merchant in Egypt. Children came to this school from as far away as Klirou. Tzovanakis had a peculiar way of teaching arithmetic, using piles of ten small pebbles to teach subtraction and addition. He remained famous because he made the first school flag of white cloth, on which he wrote the inscription "School of Pera - Fatherland, Liberty", in black letters. He hoisted his flag on a stout bamboo pole on the school roof. This, however, drew the ire of local Turkish mudir (district administrator) who ordered him to remove the words Fatherland and Liberty. He was forced to leave the village the following year and go to Ora, eventually returning and dying in Pera. The village is surrounded by fertile citrus orchards, and some olive trees near the modern cemetery are reputed to be hundreds of years old.
New dam
Two water mills are still to be seen in the village environs, one with only its water channel visible across the river, and the second next to the village itself, with traces of mud-brick walls still visible under the water race. A new Pedieos dam now under construction is just up the river from the village, which will collect water when the river flows as a winter torrent and retain it until it is fed to areas below to enrich subterranean water resources and support boreholes. Remnants of ancient copper mines and their slag heaps can still be seen in the surrounding foothills. Although copper mining on a large scale has been given up, they were still being used not too long ago, but were apparently once again abandoned as all the rich copper veins had already been mined throughout the centuries. Copper is now extracted chemically and profitably exported from Cyprus in sheet-metal form from a modern new plant at the mine of Skouriotissa.
6. An oasis where it is most needed - Art
by Glyn Hughes
(Cyprus Weekly Friday July 27 - August 2, 2001, with the kind permission of the publishers)
The country can boast The Power House in Nicosia and truly out of town there is the Monagri Foundation.
Limassol has the Rialto/ Patticheon. Larnaca's Municipal Gallery of Contemporary Art has visitors - including many tourists - all the time.
Paphos has its fill of strong contemporary artists and one should never leave out Droushia Heights of course. Then ampitheatres, odeons, museums too. But what about the other end of the island?
Last week there was a partially surrealistic film being shot at Dherenia looking over the ghost town.
On the Friday it was motorbike time for both aggressors and funsters in the area. Sirens were screeching, tyres answering back. Backed by a skyline of tinsel lights from a highway, cars were concertinaed as if Cesa (of the Yellow Buick 1961) had been assigned a happening at the midnight hour. And yet amongst all this fragility of spiky contrasts an inner peace was enveloped by art purity. This was at Mersinia Art Centre the home/studio/garden of Yiorgos Skotinos and his wife Noni. When you consider the life of the painter - who is from Famagusta and has lived and seen it all including British rule - it is surely his greatness of creativity over continual stressful times which has formed an oasis where it is most needed. This oasis amongst political and media blemish has sprung from Yiorgos and Noni, not the art establishment.
Mersinia Art Centre presented on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st July the Group Motion Multi Media Dance Theatre and I went there on the 20th, a day of memories. When Andrea Clearfield and Manfred Fischbeck visited Cyprus last year, they were introduced by Cypriot composer Sophia Serghi to Yiorgos and Noni Skotinos and the Mersinia Art Centre, as well as to Yiorgos' paintings. An immediate attraction and interest in artistic collaboration arose. This interest was fuelled and nourished by the experience that Manfred and Andrea had of the Cypriot culture and history, of which Yiorgos' work appeared to be a profound and visionary expression.
Seeds were planted for a future project which to all of the participants seemed to be an important move towards artistic and cultural dialogue and exchange across the continents. Funding support was sought on both sides, in Cyprus as well as in Philadelphia, USA where Manfred, Andrea and the Group Motion Dance Company are based. Enormous investments were made by everyone, including the dancers and their supporting Philadelphia community, to manifest this performance as the last part of Group Motion's European Tour 2001. During this residency, all of the artists shared a growing excitement
about and commitment to the Mersinia art Centre and its role in future artistic, cultural and educational developments and national and international collaborations. It is hoped that this project and future ones will help to create mutual exposure between Cypriot and American art and culture. An expanded residency of Group Motion Multi Media Dance Theatre is already planned for next year. Group Motion Multi Media Dance Theatre has international recognition for being on the forefront of contemporary dance for over thirty years. Originally formed in 1962 in Berlin, Germany, the company relocated in 1968 to Philadelphia, USA, where it runs its own dance centre. With local and national funding support, the company has created a large body of work, including numerous collaborations with international artists in all fields, and has toured its work throughout the USA as well as in South America, Europe and Asia.
The company is proud to add Cyprus to the list of international tours.
7. Under the Commandaria sky - 4000 years of wine making
Cyprus has always been famous for its wine for centuries now as Cypriots in the past worshipped Dionysus as God of Wine and celebrated the pleasure that wine drinking offers. Cyprus, it can be claimed, also occupies a unique place in the history of wines and the development of the wine trade. The island is not only the motherland of wine, but one may even call Cyprus the "great" motherland of all European wine grape varieties.
The method of wine production goes back to Persia or Mesopotamia some 5000 years ago. It is since then, that Vilis Vinifera (cultivated species of vine) started its "world-wide trip" reaching the northern regions of Loire and the Rhine.
The vine seems to have reached primarily the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. It was first brought to Cyprus and then taken to the rest of ancient Greece. Through the latter Greeks, the culture of the vine was then transferred to all the Mediterranean countries. Indeed recent research proves that most of the European vine varieties are identical to those planted in Cyprus and Greece during the last 3000 years. At least two of the most famous European types of wine are produced of vines brought directly from Cyprus, centuries ago. These are the "pinot" grape used by the French for Champagne taken to France by some young crusaders, and the wine grape borrowed by the Portuguese in the 14th century, which produced Madeira.
Indeed from the very beginning, Cypriots shared their rich heritage with other nations. They supplied the Pharaohs of Egypt whereas a great demand existed from the ancient Greeks and Romans. In fact the wine traditions of Cyprus go back over 4,000 years, virtually to the dawn of civilisation. One of the wines "Commandaria" is acknowledged to be the oldest in the world and probably the first-ever to be given an "Appellation of Origin."
The Greek dramatist, Euripides, talks about "Cypriot Nama" and chooses the "smooth slopes" of Mount Olympus in Cyprus to place the domain of the Muses, the Graces and Bacchus (Dionysus). Geographer Strabon calls Cyprus "evionos", meaning producer of good wine.
Recent excavations in Paphos have yielded old coins with a representation of a vine on one side. These date from the 3rd century BC and indicate that even in those days, wine was a major source of the island's wealth. An old Cypriot chalice of the 6th century BC recommends its user to "Be happy and drink well", signifying the quality of wine in the life of Cyprus. Mosaics also, discovered in ancient sites on the island, bear witness to the importance of Cyprus grapes and the wines they produced.
In the early Christian years, Saint Tychon, Bishop of Amathus, accomplished his greatest miracle with vine and grapes. He planted a vine that "immediately took root, immediately put forth shoots, immediately blossomed and produced a branch of ripe and sweet grapes."
In Byzantine times, it is recorded that many eminent citizens were wine drinkers. And a 16th Century Italian traveller wrote about "the delicious Cypriot wine, which has the qualities of medicine and is like a balsam for the body."
In the 300 years of Ottoman rule viticulture in Cyprus lost its leading role. However, fortunately for the wine lovers, the 78 varieties reintroduced in the 60s from Europe already started to bear fruit. The reintroduced plants, growing in familiar ground and environment have responded beyond any expectation.
The Limassol district developed an important tradition in wine production because of its rich vineyards cultivation. In the wine-growing villages around Limassol, most houses were once equipped to produce and store wine. This area lies mainly to the southern slopes of the Troodos Mountains, high up where the sun shines clear and hot. As the winter snow slowly melts from the peaks, it supplies the ideal amount of underlying moisture. There, in conditions well nigh perfect for vine cultivation, you will find the classic grapes of Cyprus: the Mavro and the Xynisteri, the Opthalmo and the Muscat.
But nowadays, you will also find the European newcomers such as the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carignan. Grenache and Palomino.
Although the number of local wine producers has fallen, that welcoming tradition is still a feature of life in Cyprus. The vine - grower was always happy to offer wine from his own cellar to visitors. Independent wineries play their part island-wide, with the Big Four (KEO, LOEL, ETKO and SODAP) constantly expanding and further improving their operations.
The traditional wines of Cyprus - rich, vigorous and strong - are still there. But side by side with them these days are more delicate ones, fruity and mellow. They include names like Palomino, Salamis, Thisbe, and White Lady, and they have a great appeal to the European palate. These new-generation Cyprus wines are becoming available around the world.
Every year in September, the Municipality of Limassol organises a wine festival at the Municipal Gardens, when over 150000 people enjoy more than a week of wine and food festivities.
8. Readers Feedback
As already specified we welcome any form of feedback. This is your page and here you can put forward your own ideas/contributions.
Please note that we have many different questions over a wide spectrum. Many of these questions will be answered here in this section whereas others will be answered through the various articles to be incorporated in this newsletter. Therefore please do not hesitate to ask or put forward your ideas concerning any kind of information
Your ideas/contribution will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
9. Contact/Subscription Information
If you would like a copy of this newsletter in electronic form please send an e-mail to:
pot@logos.cy.net
Subject line: Subscription to Cyprus Braille
If you require a braille copy of the Newsletter sent by snail mail please send a letter to:
Christakis Nicolaides, Editor
Cyprus Braille
Pancyprian Organization of the Blind
P. O. Box 23511
1684 Nicosia
Cyprus
Or fax your request to:
Fax: 00357 22495395
For direct contacts please call:
Mob: 00357 99657467
The end