fez

Perhaps the best thing about Mr. F's job, besides the paycheck, is the week he gets off around the Christmas holiday.  It.  Is.  SWEET!  And with as busy as he usually is between work and church, we opted to divy up the vacation with equal parts nothing and wandering the island.  One day, we meandered over to the Turkish side for a walk and, for me, a bit of shopping.

We access the TRNC most often by walking across the border in the old city of Nicosia.  Through the heart of town runs the only straight road, Ledras Street, which leads from the parking lot on the Greek side, to the Turkish bazaar just on the other side of the border.  The difference between the two sides is staggering.  The old city itself is a different world from Greek Cyprus, but Turkish Nicosia is a land that time forgot.  Ancient people sell their wares from ancient buildings, bartering with you as you walk by.  Strangest of all?  Christmas trees being sold in the shadow of a minaret sounding the sabbath call to prayer.

The TRNC uses the Turkish Lira, while Greek Cyprus is on the Euro.  Because of this, everything in the north is cheap.  Dirt cheap.  Whenever we cross over, we load up on dried fruits, spices, and whatever else we can get our hands on.  This time around it was fruit, a beautiful hand made basket, and pottery.  Oh, the pottery!

The bazaar wraps around the mosque, which was bustling with sabbath excitement during our time there.  Shops, cafes, and stalls just wait for the eager tourist to snatch their wares.  It is so drastically different from the Greek side of the city that it is very often hard to believe that we live a few short miles away from the mosque and its environs.

But just like on the Greek side, boys stop traffic in the middle of streets and squares playing football and showboating to their hearts' content.  On one side, surrounded by the gilded domes of cathedrals, on the other, ancient mosques with towering minarets.