Cyprus Cantata

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. I have been pursuing love and beauty all these year. Unexpectedly and coincidentally I now have come to the island where Aphrodite was born, the goddess of love and beauty.

(Photo taken from the Medieval Museum in the Lemesos Castle)

Limassol

The conference was held in a beach resort with a full schedule. Yet I still managed to squeeze some time to walk around. I am an economist, ---staying in hotel helps nothing to know the local economy. I spent two early mornings in the old town and city center of Limassol. I chose bus instead of taxi to know the transportation fare and to observe the local people. I went to grocery stores and farmer market to buy fruit and check the local living cost. I window-visited several real estate agencies to collect a sense of house price. I am always curious about: What brand is locally brewed beer? How much does it cost for one pound of egg/tomato/banana? What is local people's income and tax rate? What makes this place so unique?

(from a farmer market in the old town)

What are my findings? (Skip this paragraph if you are not interested in economics or numbers.) The GDP of Cyprus in 2011 is 0.5%, after growing an average 4.2% from 2004 - 2008. The banking sector has a strong linkage  to Greek sovereign and private sector. As the saying goes, "one honors all; one damns all." The close relation which used to promote Cypriot economy now has brought them vast risk exposure. The second day of my returning to NYC, news came out that Cyprus asked for 1.8billion euro bailout! I surveyed people and collected the following numbers.  A local university professor earns about 40,000 euro per year. The average income is about 15,000 euro per year. All income is before tax and the tax rate is about 20%. If you earn above 60,000 per year, you can live as a King. The unemployment rate is about 25%. In the village where I lived, I hardly can see any young people since no job is available.

 (Argia Napa in the old town) 

It's said that Richard the Lionheart married his fiancée Berengaria in Limassol.

 

(Rainbow in a church)

Limassol is much like other medium cities in Europe, but she is also flirtatious. Look at these murals on the street!

Amathus

The conference is hosted in Amathus area. The area used to be an ancient royal city of Cyprus, now has clustered luxury hotels right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The weather was gorgeous! I was so tempted to change bikini and jump into the sea!

Economists are a little serious species -- surely with a few exceptions. I flew to Cyprus right after the WFA conference in Las Vegas (Gee, a hectic long flight with multiple stops!) There in the dissipated city, most economists maintain their 'rationality'. I did a random survey. Almost nine out of ten people I run across told me that they chose not to gamble. Now on the Mediterranean beach, similar things happened again! 

So what's the purpose to spend two thousand dollars flying all the hectic way to Cyprus while doing similar thing as in any domestic cities like Miami or New York? After all, life is composed of  unforgettable moments, isn't it? What that cliche says, "life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"(Hilary Cooper). Even staying one more day could make a big difference and you may encounter such beautiful moments in life! It's not guaranteed to happen. But at least it's worth a trial! I luckily and happily gained such moment by going to a mountain village, Lefkara.


Next Stop: Lefkara

Photographed by Jennie Bai.

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