HUMAN INTEREST STORIES

TRAVELS WITH MY DUAL CITIZENSHIP …

by Simon Ordever

Before I begin, at the very beginning, I want to make a few things very clear.

This essay is not a political one. I have every respect for the growing Palestinian population of Alexandria and have always claimed that the Israel l/Palestine issue is of one where “everyone is right and everyone is wrong.”

My journey started in Paphos, Cyprus.  The island of Cyprus is an independent country, a member of the European Union. In 1974, Turkey “invaded” the north of the  mainly Greek speaking island and a population transfer followed. Muslim Cypriots living in the part of the island that Turkey did not occupy moved north and the Greek Orthodox population moved south.

A border was constructed across the island, the northern Turkish section, only being recognized by Turkey.

More about population transfer later on, suffice to say, I bet hardly any of you were aware of this situation and the “cold peace” that has existed there since 1974. 

In fact, the sub Indian continent also underwent a similar but massively larger population transfer in 1947, with most Muslim Indians moving to the new Muslim nation of Pakistan and the Hindu majority establishing the new independent nation of modern day India.

Cyprus is located a few hundred miles off the coast of Lebanon and Israel. Surrounded by the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, the temperate climate makes it an all year-round vacation destination for Brits escaping the gloomy UK weather.

A multitude of low cost airlines fly between London’s second and third airports, Luton and Stansted, on a daily basis. The Cypriots drive on the left hand side of the road and their electric sockets are identical to those in the UK.

I also found out that Cypriot Greek is quite different from the Greek spoken in Greece. Not just dialect, much much more.

Real estate is very good value in Cyprus, a 880 square foot apartment, near the seafront can be purchased for about  $250,000.

A similar vacation rental on AirBnB will set you back about $80 per night.

The food in Cyprus traces its origins, flavor, and style to Greece. But, with such a vast number of British “holiday makers” there at any given time, there are plenty of traditional English restaurants along with the usual a plethora of Italian, Asian, and Indian.

I spent nearly one week in Paphos, on my way to visit my two grown children who live just a few hundred miles away, but on “another planet” at the moment”, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The two sides of the same Mediterranean Sea, one supplying the tranquility I enjoyed around the hotel pool in Cyprus, couldn’t have had a more absurd juxtaposition, than the other, with a situation I found myself facing, just a 45 minute flight away.

In part 2, next month, I will enjoy your company again in experiencing with me the extreme moments I faced with my children and 13 month old first grandchild, in Israel’s largest city, Tel Aviv.

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