Cyprus - Cans For Kids

Another well deserved charity in Cyprus

Check out this video footage from the Cans For Kids project.

People from around Cyprus gather for the Cans For Kids 350 Challenge, to sort and bale, in 2 hours, 350 kilos of cans for recycling, as part of the largest global day of climate action ever.

Cyprus' Dogs & Cats Need Help

Stray Dog and Cat Problem

We would like to announce to all citizens and foreign visitors to Cyprus that their visit to our beautiful island will be marred by the sad sight of so many unwanted and abandoned dogs and cats. Although local authorities are legally responsible to capture and accommodate stray dogs in suitable pounds, they refuse to do it and are therefore in violation of the law. Apart from one or two Cyprus Animal Welfare Societies that can offer pick up services, the rest of them, due to severe staff and money shortage cannot offer such a demanding service.

However they can accommodate a stray dog or distressed cat / kitten brought to their shelter, provided there is space availability.
Unfortunately the Cyprus government has totally failed its responsibilities to offer a proper animal care and control service like their European counterparts. As a result of the local authorities’ indifference, incompetence and inhumane ways in capturing and accommodating the animals, the public is forced to turn to the islands animal welfare societies.

Although the animal welfare societies are burdened with sheltering 80% of the stray dogs, with all of the financial implications involved, the local authorities who profit thousands of euros annually from the dog license fees, refuse to help these organisations.

The Cyprus Voice for Animals has been lobbying since 2008 for the creation of suitable dog pounds in each district with proper staff and service. Unfortunately following a meeting with the relevant ministry on 24th September 2009, our proposal was turned down flat on the grounds of the economic crisis! As if this state has done anything for the animals when its financial situation was better. Shame on our country!

Mary Chrysochou Anastasi
Website: Cyprus Voice for Animals
Email: info@cva.com.cy 

How to report Animal Cruelty in Cyprus:

 http://www.cva.com.cy/CVA/Animal_Cruelty.html

The "Island of Love" abandons its' only dog beach

An extract taken from an article published in the local English newspaper....

THE ISLAND’S first and only dedicated dog walking beach in Ayia Napa is to make way for a 600 berth Marina and entertainment complex.

Ayia Napa mayor Antonis Tsokkos confirmed yesterday that the beach will be relocated when construction begins on the new marina.

Asked about the move, Tsokkis said, “This was only ever a temporary dog beach while we looked for a more permanent location.”

The marina was first proposed in 2003 – long before the dog beach was designated.

The final set up and facilities have not been confirmed yet, as the consortium is still in the planning stage but is expected that in addition to a 600 boat dock, there will be a restaurant, bowling alley, Olympic-sized swimming pool and a cinema complex.

The consortium has until January 2010 to finalise their plans.

Construction will begin mid-summer in 2010 and will take just over two years to complete. Tsokkos confirmed dog walkers will be able to use the beach until then. "There will definitely be a designated dog walking beach somewhere and we in the process of identifying the best one."

This will be reassuring news for the many local dog owners in Ayia Napa. The issues of dogs on beaches came to the fore in June last year, when a man and his dog were murdered for walking on the beach. Following an altercation, Zacharias Christodoulou, 64, from Neo Chorio, ran over Constantinos Anakatos, 50 and his dog, killing both instantly. Christodoulou was convicted of murder in February this year.

It is hoped that the new marina will provide a boost to Ayia Napa’s tourist infrastructure and revenue, after August 2009 tourism figures show island wide tourist arrivals down by 11.1 per cent and revenues down by 15.6 per cent.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

By Patrick Dewhurst

Omirou Antiques Shop, Ypsonas, Limassol

Images from Omirou Antiques Shop, Ypsonas, Limassol

Omirou lives just around the corner from us and has a large antique shop close by. At the moment there is a lot of building work going on above his store. The owner of the building is adding 2 more floors and poor Omirou is getting a bit swamped and hidden.

I thought I would give him a bit of exposure on my site as he is a very good friend of ours!

I also remembered an article a little while ago about a photograph album he discovered in a bureau that came to him from the UK. He wanted to reunite the album with its' owner and a friend of ours interested in geneology managed to track them down when she returned to the UK from her holiday with us in Cyprus. The photographs are now back with the owners and more than 3 generations of the family are linked up again....

The article is reproduced below:

The case of the old photos in the bureau drawer

A SERIES of family photographs dating back five generations are being returned to their rightful owners in the UK after being found locked away in an antique bureau in Cyprus. Kathy Stott was visiting friends in the village of Ypsonas outside Limassol when she was shown the photos by a friend’s husband, who knew the owner of the local antiques store. 


Omiros Christodoulou told the Sunday Mail that he ordered a bureau from England a couple of years ago. “A drawer was locked however and it was only four months ago that I found a key to fit the lock. When I opened it, there were five or six photo albums inside. I was upset to think that people were missing out on precious family pictures so instead of throwing them away, I passed them on to Kathy, who showed a keen interest in tracking down the owners.”


Along with Christodoulou, she was baffled as to how they initially got inside the bureau, but she collected them all and took them back to England earlier this month to do a bit of detective work, with the thought that many people these days are interested in researching their family history.


An amateur genealogist, she looked through the pictures in the hope of finding a clue - and there was one: a clipping from the Great Yarmouth Mercury reporting the diamond wedding anniversary of Bertie and Florrie Willis, on Boxing Day, 1982. Speaking from Manchester, Kathy Stott told the Sunday Mail: “As I was going through the albums, I realised it was the same family as the same male face appeared in all the pictures from a baby, to a teenager, to an adult with children.” 


She said that she, “really wanted to marry the photos up with the family. I cannot imagine they meant to lose these - family history is so important. Three or four generations later, children and great-grandchildren might want to see these pictures of their relatives.” Through Genes Reunited, a family tree tracing website, she managed to track down, Maurice Willis, the man who appears in most of the photographs who is the grandson of Bertie and Florrie. 


“He was absolutely delighted and wants to meet up with me,” she said. After an article appeared in the Great Yarmouth Mercury last Thursday, another happy family member also contacted her, via e-mail. “Please forgive me for contacting you, but I am rather overwhelmed,” it said. 


“I am the grand-daughter of Bertie and Florrie Willis, the golden wedding couple in the photo that you found in Cyprus. I could not believe my eyes when I opened the Mercury and immediately rang my mum (Bert and Florrie’s daughter) to go and buy a copy. My daughter Carly is the baby in the photo with Bert on the sofa. My uncle Keith e-mailed me the photos and I have printed them out and taken them around to show my mum. She was so happy to see them.”

By Leo Leonidou, Sunday Cyprus Mail, September 24, 2006

Kouris Dam Images, Limassol, Cyprus

The above photos were taken earlier this year, 2009 - thought we would share them with you.

Kouris Dam is situated between Ypsonas and the Troodos road. You can see the opposite side of the dam by Alassa village as you drive up towards Troodos mountains.

Cyprus Independence Day - A Public Holiday (1st October)

Today, we have a holiday!

Each year on 1st October, Cyprus celebrates its' Independence Day. It commemorates becoming an official independent country after their fight against the British between 1955 and 1959 when Cyprus was a colony under the British Empire.

The actual day of independence came about on 16 August 1960 upon an agreement in both Zurich and London - between Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Cyprus later became a member of the Commonwealth in 1961 and has been a member of the EU since May 2004.

The celebration is always held on 1st October with parades in most large towns and cities. The main military parade in Nicosia is televised and distributed throughout the local TV networks.

The above image of the map of Cyprus is taken from Kitab-ı Bahriye (The Book of Navigation by Piri Reis) and is one of the most famous books of navigation. The book contains detailed information on major ports, bays, gulfs, capes, peninsulas, islands, straits and sheltered spots of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The Book of Navigation was originally written between 1511 and 1521, but later revised with additional information and better-crafted charts between 1524 and 1525 for it to be presented as a gift to Suleiman the Magnificent.