American in Cyprus: The Village by Marilyn

We are now at the village of Salamiou having left our first very pleasant home away from home on Monday morning. The altitude is about 3000 feet with the highest around 6000. Many villages are scattered about the mountains and are all very old and quaint. The families are from past generations, mostly farmers. The population is about 300. Villages usually include a school, cafe or restaurant, and always a church. Homes are made of stone, usually with a stone wall around them and a courtyard paved of stone. The building behind ours at one time served as a type of barn and also for tools. Today it has been renovated into a modern home for Uncle Harris. The home we are staying in has one small kitchen, a long living area, one long bedroom upstairs, a separate building with another bedroom and three modern bathrooms. It has been completely renovated with a matching grant from the government. More families are doing this to preserve their old structures. The streets are narrow, hilly, and paved with small stone. Farmers live in town then go out to tend their vineyards or orchards of olive and almond trees. These are located randomly along mountain sides. We could hear the roosters crowing every morning, or as Kadi said, "The chickens going off." I love the cafe where the old men sit on the veranda any hour of the day and evening just watching or playing backgammon. We ate at the restaurant (Emilio's) last night with the locals and had authentic Cypriot food. It was very busy there. Everyone here eats dinner between 9:00-10:00 when it is cooler as air conditioning is rarely used. It is really hot! We thank Demetris' mother, Electra, for allowing us to stay in her childhood home. We feel a part of the past.