Pros and Cons for a move to cyprus

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by zeebo

I wish it was just the north.. found the same scum in Lara a few weeks back and the all the usual beaches in the south.. Only one i haven't been to yet are nisi and the kapas ones so hopefully i will find one that isnt ruined.. Actually just remembered the landfill on cape greco and those blue bags everywhere so i imagine nisi will be similar.

We have really ruined this planet its sad.

This is one of the tihngs that I really dislike as well. Unfortunately some people use the countryside as a dumping ground for any unwanted items of furniture, fridges, ovens, you name it. Quite apart from the unsightly mess t here is is also the danger to young children who have been known to get into old fridges etc to hide and suffocate. This is something which is not exclusive to Cyprus though as most mediterranean countries have similar problems and lets be honest even in the Uk fly tipping goes on. The difference is in the UK the environment agency will chase down the fly tippers and prosecute them while here people turn a blind eye to it.

Veronica

[kimonas]

To be fair, most of the Municipalities are seriously struggling with beach restitution problems because of storm damage. Several key beaches have been wiped out this winter season by tornados and storm surges - they're covered in far more debris than usual - some of it fly tipping, granted - but the majority of it was deposited by the same tornados that ripped through markets, destroyed beach facilities, paths, changing kiosks and redistrubted thousands of tons of rubbish from landfill sites onto the surrounding countryside (and beaches). There were at least six major tornados in the last four months that have done millions of euros of damage. It can't all be blamed on irresponsible fly tippers. They weren't minor 'whirlwinds' but proper class 1 & 2 on the Fujita scale (trees uprooted, roofs ripped off frame built buildings, market stalls and small movable objects moved considerable distances etc) and beach facilities totally destroyed). Devastating flooding followed, which rejuvinated ancient rivers and turned them into raging torrents that carried accumulated rubbish out to sea, some of which has since washed back to clutter the beaches.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by kimonas

To be fair, most of the Municipalities are seriously struggling with beach restitution problems because of storm damage. Several key beaches have been wiped out this winter season by tornados and storm surges - they're covered in far more debris than usual - some of it fly tipping, granted - but the majority of it was deposited by the same tornados that ripped through markets, destroyed beach facilities, paths, changing kiosks and redistrubted thousands of tons of rubbish from landfill sites onto the surrounding countryside (and beaches). There were at least six major tornados in the last four months that have done millions of euros of damage. It can't all be blamed on irresponsible fly tippers. They weren't minor 'whirlwinds' but proper class 1 & 2 on the Fujita scale (trees uprooted, roofs ripped off frame built buildings, market stalls and small movable objects moved considerable distances etc) and beach facilities totally destroyed). Devastating flooding followed, which rejuvinated ancient rivers and turned them into raging torrents that carried accumulated rubbish out to sea, some of which has since washed back to clutter the beaches.

Kimonas I am not talking about recent rubbish but an ongoing problem in the countryside as well as the beaches. Wherever there is a gorge or hillside you will find huge amounts of rubbish which has been deposited by people who are too lazy to take a trip to the tip.
Lara beach last summer was also littered with drinks cans and all sorts of rubbish that people had just left behind rather than putting it all in bag and taking it home to dispose of responsibly.
Yes of course things are worse than usual at the moment in some areas because of tornados but you cannot get away from the fact that fly tipping and general littering are a fact of life here.
As much as I love Cyprus this is one aspect of it that I hate.

Veronica

[PeterBu]

Originally Posted by zeebo

Oh and please don't move to holiday resorts as they are so deserted in the winter months its actually spooky..

This sounds like a very sensible point. Please let me check that I've identified the "holiday resorts" correctly. Of the four major towns, I would classify Larnaca and Paphos as probably holiday resorts, and Limassol and Nicosia as probably not. Am I right, please? All comments gratefully received.

[BabsM]

No the holiday resorts Zeebo is talking about are the likes of Agia Napa, Protaras, Pernera, Kapparis and the beaches around those. All of these shut down in the winter. MacDonalds is closed and even the toilets are locked!

Limassol, Paphos, Larnaca and Nicosia are the four main towns and have life all year. Of these four, Paphos and Limassol attract the most holidaymakers by far. Nicosia attracts visitors for sightseeing rather than holidaymaking.

[PeterBu]

Many thanks for clarification, Babs.

[anski]

i live in Paphos & just returned from a lovely walk along the coastal path, I paused to look at a recent burnt off area & what did I see amongst the debris & ashes several dumped doemestic appliances, beer & drink bottles etc. A real eyeshore overlooked by a lovely resort. Further along there someone had dumped a huge concrete monstosity that once had been stairs.

No pride here just dump it anywhere, tear a road up, patch it up badly, leave wires bits of formwork hanging out to damage cars & injure people. well I suppose these are antiquities of the future.

[zeebo]

Hello,

Went to Kapas this weekend and it was amazing.. the best beaches i have ever seen and completely unspoilt by the concrete sprawl typical of cyprus.. spent the whole day there and didnt see another person.

As for the rubbish.. there was a small amount of rubbish around the tideline but it really was minimal and cannot be helped.

Took 4hrs to get there (we went all over the monutains, villages below the huge 'flag' etc).. and 2.5hrs to get back.

The only negitave is the sad state the chruches are in over there.. They have been really vandalised not just neglected, crosses bent out of shape and ripped off of the bell towers and the insides gutted and sprayed with grafiti and evidance of bonfires in them.. what a shame. Its undestandable in Famagusta as it was 500 years ago since the destruction but these places were used 30 yrs ago.

[BabsM]

Originally Posted by zeebo

Its undestandable in Famagusta as it was 500 years ago since the destruction but these places were used 30 yrs ago.

If the destruction of the Churches too place 500 years ago they wouldn't be standing now, would they? Surely these churches have been desecrated over the last 35 years?

Yes, supposedly the best beaches are in the North. Its one of the reasons why those in the South lament the loss of their property in the North. Mind you, I wasn't impressed by the beaches around Kyrenia.

[kimonas]

Originally Posted by BabsM

If the destruction of the Churches too place 500 years ago they wouldn't be standing now, would they? Surely these churches have been desecrated over the last 35 years?

Yes, supposedly the best beaches are in the North. Its one of the reasons why those in the South lament the loss of their property in the North. Mind you, I wasn't impressed by the beaches around Kyrenia.

Most of the Churches supposedly desecrated by the Turkish invasion of 1974 included on the list of over 700 'desecrated' Churches presented to the Pope by the late Papadapoulos were grass covered basilica ruins by the 6th century, many others were Latin churches that had been destroyed in the various Italian trading state wars in the 15th century - the famous ruins in Famagusta have been romantic ruins for hundreds of years. They are impressive even though the Churches have not been used in a very long time. Most of the Churches and cathedrals converted into Mosques after the 16th century Ottoman invasion were Venetian (Roman Catholic) Churches.There are still plenty of desecrated Churches that do date from the 1974 invasion, but equally many that had already been abandoned and deconsecrated by the Orthodox Church in a rebuilding programme in the late 1960s. I wrote a book about this, but pulled the publication after the editors wanted to cut the chapters detailing the destruction of mosques in the intercommunal violence of the 1960s as my interest was in destruction of ALL cultural heritage on the island. There are also a good number of churches that were in private ownership that were vandalised well before 1974.