Lala Mustafa Pasa Mosque

Right side

The west front of Reims Cathedral

The Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (Turkish: Lala Mustafa Paşa Camii) originally known as the Saint Nicolas Cathedral and later as the Ayasofya (Saint Sophia) Mosque of Magusa is the largest medieval building in Famagusta, Cyprus. Built between 1298 and c.1400 it was consecrated as a Christian cathedral in 1328. The cathedral was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman Empire captured Famagusta in 1571 and remains a mosque to this day.

The French Lusignan dynasty ruled as Kings of Cyprus from 1190 to 1489 and had brought with them the latest French taste in architecture, notably developments in Gothic architecture.

The cathedral was constructed from 1300CE to c.1400CE and was consecrated in 1328. “After an unfortunate episode when the current bishop embezzled the restoration fund”, Bishop Guy of Ibelin bequeathed 20,000 bezants for its constructon.The Lusignans would be crowned as Kings of Cyprus in the St. Sophia Cathedral, now Selimiye Mosque in Nicosia and then crowned as Kings of Jerusalem in the St. Nicolas Cathedral in Famagusta.

The building is constructed in a flamboyant Gothic style, quite rare outside France, though “mediated through buildings in the Rhineland”. The historic tie between France and Cyprus is evidenced by its parallels to French archetypes such as the Rheims cathedral. Indeed, so strong is the resemblance, that the building has been dubbed “The Reims of Cyprus”. The building has three doors, twin towers over the aisles and a flat roof, typical of Crusader architecture.

The upper parts of the cathedral’s two towers suffered from earthquakes and were badly damaged during the Ottoman bombardments of 1571; they have never been repaired. With the Venetians defeated and Famagusta fallen by August of 1571, Cyprus fell under Ottoman control and the cathedral was converted into a mosque and renamed the “St.Sophia Mosque of Gazimagosa”.

Islamic tradition holds that the depiction of humans, animals and other faiths in their religious architecture is sinful and so almost all of the statues, crucifixes, frescoes, paintings, tombs, stained glass windows and the altar were removed or plastered over. The Gothic structure was preserved however and a few tombs can still be identified in the north aisle.

In 1954 its name was changed again to the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque after the commander of the 1570 Ottoman conquest, who is famous for the gruesome torture of Marco Baragadino, the City’s Venetian defender. Baragadino was beaten, and had his ears and nose cut off before being publicly humiliated and flayed alive, after Mustafa Pasha renegged on his amnesty pledge to Baragadino, which had secured the city’s surrender following a brutal 10-month siege in which 6,000 Christian defenders held off an army of more than 100,000 Ottoman Turks.

Northern Cyprus, mythical and unspoilt, how the Mediterranean use to be as well as the Mediterranean’s third largest island. Though this beautiful northern Cyprus has cultural influences from Asia, and Western Europe, it has a unique identity and enticing character of its own. You will find here endearing landscapes from pine-clad mountain peaks of the five finger mountains to golden sandy beaches of Famagusta that steal your heart away with their breath taking unspoiled beauty.
Some alluring places to visit
Some interesting places that should be a part of your travel schedule in Northern Cyprus are the heavenly golden beaches of the Karpaz Peninsula better known as the pan handle ,why not have a well deserved drink or two or have a romantic meal in the spectacular kyrenia harbour described by the mail on Sunday as one of the most beautiful sights in the world if your looking for a history lesson north Cyprus has over 9000 years of history you can Explore the medieval castles or the ruins of salamis or the gothic bellpais abbey the list is endless .
You can find the best holiday beaches in Europe on the famagusta coastline hundreds of miles of sandy beaches abound. Thrilling water skiing and even kite-surfing attract the adventure seekers in northern Cyprus while the warm turquoise seas caressing the sandy shores welcome the nature lovers.
Getting to Northern Cyprus
Most of the visitors reach Northern Cyprus by air via the Airports of Ercan in Northern Cyprus or Larnaca International in the south there are usually daily flights from the UK green island holidays are the largest tour operator to northern Cyprus offering cheap fares to North Cyprus year round All the flights to Ercan Airport North Cyprus are via Turkey with Touch down whereas flights to Larnaca are direct
Eating out
Don’t miss the Turkish Cypriots favourite mezze, a slow banquet of Cypriot delicacies that include the delectable grilled halloumi, dolma and scrumptious Firin Kebab or better known in the UK as Kelftico lamb slowly baked till it drops off the bone. Northern Cyprus is a modern country with an ancient history, its stone villages, scented citrus groves and perfumed five finger mountains are awaiting your arrival

W nasz ostatni weekend na Cyprze postanowiliśmy odwiedzić stronę północną. Jeśli nie jesteście świadomi, północny Cypr, obecnie Turecka Republika Cypru Północnego (TRNC), została zaatakowana w 1974 przez Turków w odpowiedzi na przemoc w stosunku do muzułmanów na terenie Wyspy. W ten sposób ta mała wyspa została podzielona na dwa odrębne kraje.  Towarzyszyło temu masowe przemieszczanie ludności greckiej i tureckiej, którzy stali się uchodźcami na ich własnym lądzie. Gniew i żal są wciąż silne w tych, którzy byli świadkami tych wydarzeń, jak i ich rodzin. Co ciekawsze, turecka strona nie jest uznawana jako odrębne państwo w świecie, z wyjątkiem Turcji. Czuliśmy się niejako winni, że mamy samą ochotę tam jechać. Pośród mieszkańców greckiego Cypru panuje niepisana umowa odnośnie  drugiej strony. Z zasady nikt nie powinien tam jechać, a już  zdecydowanie nie powinien wydawać tam pieniędzy, ponieważ nie powinno sie wspierać ich gospodarki. Pokusa i ochota były zbyt duże w naszym wypadku, by zmienić nasze plany

Wynajeliśmy samochód i wyruszyliśmy do granicy z samego rana. Mieliśmy spore obawy, co do procedury granicznej, ponieważ znalezienie zgodnych informacji na ten temat jest raczej zadaniem trudnym. Cóż, w chwili obecnej, dzięki naszemu doświadczeniu, możemy poinformować, że obywatele krajów UE (Polska), Kanadyjczycy, Amerykanie i Australijczycy otrzymują dwumiesięczną wizę bez żadnego problemu. Jeśli jedziesz samochodem z południa, trzeba zapłacić ubezpieczenie, ale niewielkie. To tyle. Żadnych innych zastrzeżeń.

Powinniśmy także zaznczyć, że istnieje kilka punktów granicznych, więc jeśli chcesz się z kimś umówić na granicy, upewnij się, że mówicie o tym samym miejscu. Nasz lokalny przewodnik był bardzo cierpliwy dla naszego ślepego błądzenia opartego na nikłym rozumieniu kierunków i posługujących się mapą z przewodnika, na której były zaznaczone jedynie główne miasta. Na szczęscie mieliśmy farta.

Jako grupa archeologiczna naszym głównym celem był oczywiście… alkohol, jakkolwiek archeologia sama w sobie też była ważna. Niestety, jedyne dostępne piwo to Efes, nie takie znów super, ale szczęśliwie jest tam duże bogactwo stanowisk archeologicznych zachowanych w różnym stopniu.

Naszym pierwszym celem było stanowisko Enkomi z epoki brązu. Tak jak reszta stanowisk brązowych, jest ono serią nisko leżących ścian. Następne miejsce, Salamina, było dużo bardziej spektakularne. I ogromne! Jednak szwędanie się w upale 40°C przez parę godzin nie należy do najlepszych pomysłów, dlatego ostatnie stanowiska obejrzeliśmy juz tylko z pewnej odległości.  Wrażenie na nas zrobiły dobrze zachowane łaźnie rzymskie ze ścianami o wciąż orygialnej wysokości.

Jednak najbardziej interesującym i zaskakującym doświadczeniem była Famagusta. Życie tam płynie normalnie. Nie jest to jak “safari okupowanego obszaru”, które można oglądać tylko z okien zamkniętego samochodu przy zielonej linii. Chociaż jest to obszar zdecydowanie mniej rozwinięty niż pro-turystyczne południe.

Famagusta jest także miejscem, gdzie znajduje się prawdziwe ‘miasto duchów’. Po południowej stronie  miasta, otoczone wysokim płotem i stanowiskami strażników, mieści się część miasta, która została przejęta w 1974. Wszyscy mieszkańcy byli zmuszeni do błyskawicznej ewakuacji bez czasu na zabranie ich własności. To co zostało jest upiorną, chylącą się ku upadkowi kapsułą czasu. Będzie to cudowny raj dla archeologów, jeśli kiedykolwiek zostanie otwarty. Niektórzy twierdzą, że są tam sklepy i salony samochodowe z najnowszymi modelami dla tamtego czasu. Ponoć stoi też przed hotelem pozostawiona walizka.

W Famaguście istnieje niesamowita ilość innych miejsc, jak kościoły, czy mury i stanowiska obronne, które aż proszą się o głębszą eksplorację, czy konserwację. Patrząc na takie miejsca czuje się głęboki żal, że pomiędzy mieszkańcami tej samej wyspy nie ma większej współpracy, a mniejszej wrogości.

Ostatnimi przystankami naszej podróży była Kyrenia i Agios Ilarion, świątynie propagandy. Kyrenia jest malowniczym miasteczkiem leżącym nad morzem, którego główny dochód zdaje się pochodzić z turystyki. Kilka dobrych restauracji (polecamy Chimerę, jak i polecono ją nam) i główna atrakcja miasta: średniowieczny (Lusigniański i wenecki, moim zdaniem) zamek dominują nad resztą obszaru. Wszystko to otoczone jest małymi uliczkami, w których znajduje sie wiele sklepików, gdzie można kupić np. lampę, jako prezent dla kogoś. Nad ulicami wiszą tysiące małych, łopoczących czerwono-białych flag Turcji i TRNC. Najbardziej imponujące/ przerażające są dwie flagi rozwieszone w górach, które można dostrzec z dużej odległości, i których rozmiar wynosi tyle co podwójny rząd dwudziestu piętrowych autobusów poustawionych na sobie. Zastanawiamy się czy tych flag nie widać już  z samej Turcji. Bardzo nacjonalistyczne!

To prowadzi nas płynnie do Agios Ilarion (Święty Hilarion), gdzie flagi były rozwieszone. Przejażdzka w góry poprzez wojskowe obozy sprawia, że zaczynasz się czuć troszeczkę nerwowo, a widok dwóch gigantycznych flag dopełnia tego uczucia. Jakkolwiek niewiele może wpłynąć na wrażenie, jakie sprawia Św. Hilarion. Ponoć był on inspiracją dla zamku w “Królowej Snieżce” Jest to wyjątkowe miejsce, ale nie odradzamy odwiedziny jeśli masz lęk wysokości i/lub awersję do wspinania sie po schodach, lub słabe serce, lub problemy z kolanami (i zastanów sie porządnie jeśliś otyły, sorry). Każdy, którego to nie dotyczy, niech jedzie tam śmiało.

Mieliśmy dwa intensywne dni, z których nie żałujemy minuty. Było to także doświadczenie pełne emocji  i nawet wśród naszej małej grupki spowodowało pewne tarcia odnośnie panującej sytuacji politycznej, a zwłaszcza archeologicznej. Jeśli będąc na Cyprze masz okazję odwiedzic drugą stronę, nie wahaj się!

In our last full weekend on Cyprus we decided to visit the northern area. If you are not aware northern Cyprus, now the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (T.R.N.C.), was invaded by Turkey in 1974 as a reaction to violence against the Muslim community on the island. This way the small island was divided into two countries. This was accompanied by a massive displacement of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots who became refugees on their own island. Anger and regret still run strong in those affected by the action. What is also interesting is that the Turkish occupied part of the island is not recognised as proper political state at all, except for Turkey itself. We felt a little bit guilty about going to the north. There is great deal of negativity among Greek inhabitants of Cyprus about being there and supporting the TRNC economy. Spending money in the area is frowned upon. The temptation and opportunity was too much to pass up

We hired a car on Friday and drove to the border early in the morning. We were worried about this crossing as when we researched visa requirements for the north we received a lot of conflicting information, if any at all. Well, we can say definitively through experience that, at the time of writing this, E.U. citizens (Polish), Canadians, Americans and Australians will receive a two-month tourist visa at the border crossing with little problem. If you hire a car in the south and take it north you will have to pay extra insurance. That’s it. No other issues.

We should also note that there are several crossings so, if you happen to be meeting someone over the border double check that you’re crossing at the right one. Our local guide was very patient with our blind stumbling around with only a vague idea of direction and a map with very little detail. Thankfully we are pretty lucky.

As an archaeological dig team, our primary objective was obviously alcohol however archaeology was also a priority. Unfortunately efes is the local beer, not a favourite. Luckily there is a wealth of sites in the north though they are in varying states of maintenance.

Our first stop after crossing was the bronze-age archaeological site of Enkomi. As with most bronze-age sites this is a series of low-lying walls. The next site, Salamis, was much more spectacular. And huge! After trudging around in 40°C plus heat for a couple of hours we decided to skip a fair pit. We were amazed by the well-preserved Roman baths with the walls intact at the original height.

The most interesting and surprising experience was Famagusta. Life there is very normal. It was not like an ‘occupied territory safari’, peering through wound up windows behind locked car doors in the green zone. While generally less developed than the more tourist friendly south the area was reasonable prosperous.

Famagusta is also the location of a real ‘ghost town’. On the southern edge of the city, surrounded by high fences and guard posts, is a part of the city that was taken during the 1974 occupation. All the inhabitants of the area were hurriedly forced out without time even to take a few belongings. What is left behind is a kind of spooky, decaying time capsule. This will be a paradise for archaeologists if it is ever opened to study intact. Some hearsay states that there are shops and car lots with the newest car models and fashions of the time. There may even be luggage left laying outside of one hotel.

Besides this there is a great deal of other sites ripe for exploration and conservation including many churches and fortifications. Looking at these place left us feeling deep regret that there is not more co-operation and less animosity between the inhabitants of the same small island.

Our last stops were Kyrenia and Agios Ilarion, the temples of propaganda. Kyrenia is a picturesque sea-side town whose main income seems to be tourism. A couple of good restaurants (we recommend Chimera as it was recommended to us) and the main attraction: a medieval (Maria says Lusignan and Venetian architecture) castle that dominates the harbour. Small streets surround in which you might buy, say a small and stylish lamp as a gift for someone. Lining the streets are thousands of small, fluttering red and white flags of Turkey and TRNC. Most impressive/ daunting are the two flags that can be seen in the distance that measure about the size of double rows of twenty double-decker busses laid on top of each other. We are sure these can be seen from Turkey. Very nationalistic!

This leads us nicely to Agios Ilarion (St. Hilarion) from where the flags are hung. Driving up the mountains through military encampments makes you a bit nervous and the two giant flags dominate the scene throughout. Not much can take away from St. Hilarion itself though. This was apparently the inspiration for the castle in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’. It is truly stunning but don’t visit if you have a fear of heights and/ or an aversion to climbing stairs, or a heart condition, or weak knees (and think twice if your obese). Everyone else is ok.

In all our trip was two pretty full days. It was great to do so much. It was also pretty emotional and caused some friction even amongst our tight group over the situation specific to archaeology. If you have a chance, do not hesitate to visit though.

More images at Jeff’s Flickr page.

Fisicamente no he estado nunca en Famagusta. La he visto de lejos. Estábamos de visita en la casa de mi tío en Paralimni un pueblo a lado de Agía Napa, la “Ibiza” chipriota.  Mi tío nos llevó hasta la linea verde, la frontera que puso la ONU para separar las dos comunicades y asegurar que no hubiera conflictos, después de la invasión Turca en 1974. Realmente no se veía nada. Quizas, si concentrabas la mirada mucho, veías algo de los edificios  por el horizonte. Allí, en Deriña es donde tuvo lugar el asesinato de un joven griegochipriota en los 90 por intentar descolgar la bandera Turca. El sitio en sí tiene una energía rara porque deja claro que se trata de un limite. La verdad es que es tierra de nadie.

Los años pasaron y una prima mía logró entrar en Famagusta. Desde 2003 si no me equivoco la entrada se permite. Lo que no sé es si se pide algo a los visitantes o si dejan sólo gente concreta. Famagusta hasta el verano de  ´74 era el nucleo turístico de la isla. Por su ubicación, su clima y sus playas. La huella del turismo se nota en su arquitectura. Aunque era una ciudad pequeña de 35 miles de habitantes tenía su parte litoral ocupada por hoteles altos y eso hacía que la ciudad cogiera una vista espectacular. Para los griegos de la isla siempre ha sido la ciudad más bella, la perla de la isla. Se hablaba de sus olores del sol y, como no, de la naranja, la  týpica fruta de la región (Varosi). Desde que fue ocupada se abandono y se prohibió la ocupación de su territorio tanto a los Turcos como a los Griegos.

Una parte de la playa de Famagusta. El abndonado hotel a la derecha forma parte de la expansión turística que hubo en los 60 y primeros de los 70.

Actualmente Famagusta trata de ser un lugar sin sentido. Su turismo se ha transladado a Lemesó y sus alrededores del sur se conviertieron en zonas de turismo ingles. Hasta su equipo de futbol “Anórzosi” se mudó a Lárnaka donde tiene un estadio provisional como ellos dicen. Los turcochipriotas por otro lado y los turcos que vinieron después a la isla no intervinieron, dejaron la ciudad. Así que año tras año su fama como ciudad fantasma incremantaba. En estos momentos los visitantes de la ciudad, los psicogeógrafos como he leido en otro blog, miran los monumentos, las casas, las calles, los hoteles, las rejas que prohiben el paseo y los carteles e itentan, si no saben, adivinar que es lo que ocurría aquí antes.

Famagusta, Hotel Costanza.

Mas hoteles por Famagusta

Gracias A Jrista por las fotos!

The Ghost Town; an apocalyptic inspiration for filmmakers since the very beginning. There is nothing more surreal than witnessing an abandoned place that was once alive and bustling with people,  it is a feeling that many writers have attempted to put into words – often with apocalyptic tendencies – though few have succeeded. From the 1948 Ghost Town Western Yellow Sky starring Gregory Peck to the deserted London streets of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, from the frightful tension found in popular nineties video game Silent Hill to the post-apocalyptic nothingness of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer-winning novel The Road, the theme is well-trodden, everywhere you may choose to glance. There is however some degree of foundation to this surreality; the ghost town is common among the Americas, especially in the Central and Southern states. Surveys suggest that there are around 6,000 abandoned sites of settlement in Kansas alone, but what can cause such large-scale loss of population? One of the main factors is depleting natural resources, linking to roads and railways bypassing certain places. Another more sinister cause can be disaster, whether natural or man made. This two-part list will detail some of the more famous and evocative places on Earth. Enjoy!

10. Bodie, California | An Original American Ghost Town

Founded in 1876, Bodie is the authentic American ghost town. It started life as a small mining settlement, booming into a town that attracted thousands thanks to the discovery of nearby mines. By 1880 Bodie boasted a population of almost 10,000 and at its peak, 65 saloons lined the town’s main street. There was even a Chinatown with several hundred Chinese residents. Dwindling resources proved fatal however, and although greatly reduced in prominence Bodie held a permanent residency through most of the 20th century – even after a fire ravaged much of the downtown business district in 1932. In 1961 Bodie was designated a National Historic Landmark, becoming a State Historic Park a year later after the few remaining residents moved on. Today, Bodie is preserved in a state of arrested decay. Only a small part of the town survives, but summer visitors can walk the deserted streets and witness the town’s interiors with their goods still intact.

09. San Zhi, Taiwan | A Pod-City from the Past

It may look like something out of a futuristic movie but this is actually an abandoned housing project in the area of ‘San Zhi’, just North of Taiwan.  This odd looking pod village was initially built as a luxury vacation retreat for the rich, but after numerous fatal accidents during construction production was halted, never to recommence. It was a combination of lack of money and lack of willingness that eventually closed the project, but the alien-like structures remain as if in remembrance of a lost race. Indeed, rumours in the surrounding area suggest that the site is now haunted by the ghosts of those who died during construction. Naturally, the local Government looked both to cover-up these happenings and distance itself from the project despite commissioning the site in the first place. The project will certainly never be restarted but Taiwan seems reluctant to destroy the site, perhaps because of the growing urban legend associated with it.

08. Varosha, Cyprus | A Beach Resort No More

These days Varosha is an abandoned city in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, though it once existed as a luxurious holiday destination and popular quarter of the city of Famagusta. In the year of 1974 Turkish forces invaded Cyprus and tore up the island, causing tourists and citizens alike to flee the city. The Turkish military then wrapped Varosha in barbed wire and has maintained complete control of it to this day. Such a hasty evacuation of the city means that this single moment has been preserved in dust for so many years, and despite the fact that its dilapidated buildings are slowly crumbling Varosha’s beaches are now home to rare sea turtles that nest there. Many plans have been drawn up to restore Varosha to its former glory – a famous tourist spot that once attracted the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot to its beaches -  but none have materialized.

07. Gunkanjima, Japan | An Island of Broken Dreams

Hashima Island (端島; meaning Border Island) is one of around 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki. It is also known as “Gunkan-jima” or Battleship Island thanks to its high sea walls and began life in 1890 when a company called Mitsubishi bought the island and began a project to retrieve coal from the bottom of the sea. This attracted much attention, and in 1916 they were forced to build Japan’s first large concrete building on the island; a block of apartments that would both accomodate workers and protect them from hurricanes. In 1959 the island’s population had swelled to a density of 835 people per hectare, but soon enough this would plummet, petroleum would replace coal and Hashima’s mines would be systematically closed. The island was the location for the 2003 film Battle Royale II and inspired the final level of popular video game Killer7.

06. Balestrino, Italy | A Crumbling Hillside Paradise

Balestrino is quite a strange case in that it was extremely difficult to find any decent information on it – at least on the abandonment itself – and no one is quite sure when the town was established despite records dating back to before the eleventh century. Records of population go back to around 1860 when around 800-850 people lived there, mainly farmers who took advantage of the landscape to farm olive trees. In the late nineteenth century the North-West coast of Italy was struck by numerous earthquakes, one of which in 1887 would destroy a handful of villages in the Savona area and damage Balestrino. Finally in 1953 the town was abandoned due to ‘geological instablility’, and the remaining inhabitants (around 400) were moved to safer ground to the west. Today around 500 people remain in the town’s newer area which is a good kilometer down the road.

Please feel free to comment or indeed suggest your own Most Interesting Abandoned Places.

The second part of this list can be found here>>>

Meteo World

De forts orages provoqués par une dépression qui circule dans l’Est de la Mer Méditerranée entre la Turquie, le nord de l’Égypte et la Syrie, provoque de forts orages sur l’île de Chypre.

Ces forts orages ont fait au moins une victime tuée par la foudre selon des informations rapportées par la gazette Famagusta. Il s’agit d’un agriculteur qui travaillait dans son champ situé à une vingtaine de kilomètres de la capitale Nicosie.

Les très mauvaises conditions météorologiques ont provoqué des inondations dans certains secteurs, le sud de l’île semble le plus touché, tandis qu’en montagne de nombreux automobilistes ont été surpris par la neige.

Des coupures d’électricité ont été signalées.

>> En savoir + sur cet article: Cliquez ici

Berikut ini adalah beberapa kota yang tidak berpenduduk sama sekali yang dikarenakan berbagai bencana sehinggga kota tersebut ditinggalkan penduduknya, kota-kota mati ini antara lain :

1. KOLMANSKOP (Namibia) : Dikubur dalam Pasir

Kolmanskop adalah sebuah kota mati di selatan Namibia, beberapa kilometer dari pelabuhan Luderitz. Di tahun 1908 Luderitz mengalami demam berlian, dan orang-orang kemudian menuju ke padang pasir Namib untuk mendapatkan kekayaan dengan mudah. Dalam dua tahun terciptalah sebuah kota yang megah lengkap dengan segala prasarananya seperti kasino, sekolah, rumah sakit, juga dengan bangunan tempat tinggal yang eksklusif yang berdiri di lahan yang dulunya tandus dan merupakan padang pasir.

Tetapi setelah perang dunia pertama, jual beli berlian menjadi terhenti, ini merupakan permulaan berakhirnya semuanya. Sepanjang tahun 1950 kota mulai ditinggalkan, pasir mulai meminta kembali apa yang menjadi miliknya. Papan metal yang kokoh roboh, kebun yang cantik dan jalanan yang rapi dikubur dibawah pasir, jendela dan pintu bergeretak pada setiap engselnya, kaca-kaca jendela terpecah membelalak seperti menunjukan kehancuran pada hamparan pasir yang menjulang.

Sebuah kota mati baru telah dilahirkan, sampai saat ini masih nampak sepasang banguna yang berdiri, juga terdapat bangunan seperti sebuah teater masih dalam kondisi yang sangat baik, dan sisanya, rumah-rumah tersebut hancur digerus pasir dan menjadi deretan rumah-rumah hantu yang menakutkan.

2. PRYPIAT (Ukraine): Rumah para pekerja Chernobyl

Prypiat adalah sebuah kota besar di daerah terasing di Ukraina Utara, merupakan daerah perumahan para pekerja kawasan nuklir Chernobyl. Kawasan ini mati sejak terjadinya bencana nuklir Chernobyl yang menelan hamper 50.000 jiwa. Setelah kejadian, lokasi ini praktis seperti sebuah museum, menjadi bagian dari sejarah Soviet. Bangunan apartement (empat merupakan bangunan yang belum sempat ditempati), kolam renang, rumah sakit, dan banyak bangunan yang lain hancur. Dan semua isi yang terdapat dalam bangunan tersebut dibiarkan ada di dalamnya, seperti arsip, TV, mainan anak-anak, meubel, barang berharga, pakaian dan lain-lain semua seperti kebanyakan milik keluarga-keluarga pada umumnya.

Penduduk hanya boleh mengambil dokumen penting, buku dan pakaian yang tidak terkontaminasi oleh nuklir. Namun sejak abad 21, tidak lagi ada barang berharga yang tertinggal, bahkan tempat duduk dikamar kecilpun dibawa oleh para penjarah, banyak dari bangunan yang isinya dirampok dari tahun ke tahun. Bangunan yang tidak lagi terawat, dengan atap yang bocor, dan bagian dalam bangunan yang tergenang air di musim hujan, semakin membuat kota tersebut benar-benar menjadi kota mati. Kita bisa melihat pohon yang tumbuh di atap rumah, pohon yang tumbuh di dalam rumah.

3. SAN ZHI (Taiwan): Tempat peristirahatan yang futuristik

Disebelah Utara Taiwan, terdapat sebuah kampong yang futuristic, pada awalnya dibangun sebagai sebuah tempat peristirahatan yang mewah bagi kaum kaya. Bagaimanapun, setelah terjadi banyak kecelakaan yang fatal pada masa pembangunannya akhirnya proyek tersebut dihentikan. Setelah mengalami kesulitan dana dan kesulitan para pekerja yang mau mengerjakan proyek tersebut akhirnya pembangunan resort tersebut benar-benar dihentikan ditengah jalan. Desas-desus kemudian bermunculan, banyak yang bilang kawasan kampung tersebut menjadi tempat tinggal para hantu, dari mereka yang sudah meninggal.

4. CRACO (Italy): Kota pertengahan yang mempesona

Craco terletak didaerah Basilicata dan provinsi Matera sekitar 25 mil dari teluk Taranto. Kota pertengahan ini mempunyai area yang khas dengan dipenuhi bukit yang berombak-ombak dan hamparan pertanian gandum serta tanaman pertanian lainnya. Ditahun 1060 ketika kepemilikan lahan Craco dimiliki oleh uskup Arnaldo pimpinan keuskupan Tricarico. Hubungan yang berjalan lama dengan gereja membawa pengaruh yang banyak kepada seluruh penduduk. Di tahun 1891 populasi penduduk Craco lebih dari 2000 orang, waktu itu mereka banyak dilanda permasalahan social dan kemiskinan yang banyak membuat mereka putus asa, antara tahun 1892 dan 1922 sekitar 1300 orang pindah ke Amerika Utara. Kondisi pertanian yang buruk ditambah dengan bencana alam gempa bumi, tanah longsor serta peperangan inilah yang menyebabkan mereka bermigrasi massal.

Antara tahun 1959 dan 1972 Craco kembali diguncang gempa dan tanah longsor. Di tahun 1963 sisa penduduk sekitar 1300 orang akhirnya dipindahkan ke suatu lembah dekat Craco Peschiera, dan sampai sekarang Craco yang asli masih tertinggal dalam keadaan hancur dan menyisakan kebusukan sisa-sisa peninggalan penduduknya.

5. ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE (France): the horror of WWII

Perkampungan kecil Oradour Sul Glane di Perancis menunjukan sebuah kondisi keadaan yang sangat mengerikan. Selama perang dunia ke II, 642 penduduk dibantai oleh tentara Jerman sebagai bentuk pembalasan atas terhadap perlakuan Perancis waktu itu. Jerman yang waktu itu sebenarnya berniat menyerang daerah di dekat Oradour Sul Glane tapi akhirnya mereka menyerang perkampungan kecil tersebut pada tanggal 10 Juni 1944. menurut kesaksian orang-orang yang selamat, penduduk laki-laki dimasukan kedalam sebuah gudang dan tentara jerman menembaki kaki mereka sehingga akhirnya mereka mati secara pelan-pelan. Wanita dan anak-anak yang dimasukan ke dalam gereja, akhirnya semua mati tertembak ketika mereka berusaha keluar dari dalam gereja. Kampung tersebut benar-benar dihancurkan tentara Jerman waktu itu. Dan sampai saat ini reruntuhan kampung tersebut masih berdiri dan menjadi saksi betapa kejamnya peristiwa yang terjadi saat itu.

6. GUNKANJIMA (Japan): the forbidden island

Pulau ini adalah salah satu dari 505 pulau tak berpenghuni di Nagasaki Daerah Administratsi Jepang, sekitar 15 kilometer dari Nagasaki. Pulau ini juga dikenal sebagai “Gunkan Jima” atau pulau kapal perang. Pada tahun 1890 ketika suatu perusahaan (Mitsubishi) membeli pulau tersebut dan memulai proyek untuk mendapatkan batubara dari dasar laut di sekitar pulau tersebut. Di tahun 1916 mereka membangun beton besar yang pertama di pulau tersebut, sebuah blok apartemen dibangun untuk para pekerja dan juga berfungsi untuk melindungi mereka dari angin topan.

Pada tahun 1959, populasi penduduk pulau tersebut membengkak, kepadatan penduduk waktu itu mencapai 835 orang per hektar untuk keseluruhan pulau (1.391 per hektar untuk daerah pusat pemukiman), sebuah populasi penduduk terpadat yang pernah terjadi di seluruh dunia.

Ketika minyak tanah menggantikan batubara tahun 1960, tambang batu bara mulai ditutup, tidak terkecuali di Gunkan Jima, di tahun 1974 Mitsubishi secara resmi mengumumkan penutupan tambang tersebut, dan akhirnya mengosongkan pulau tersebut. Pada tahun 2003 pulau ini dimbil sebagai setting film “Battle Royal II” dan mengilhami sebuah game popular “Killer7”.

7. KADYKCHAN (Russia): memories of the Soviet Union

Kadykchan merupakan salah satu kota kecil di Rusia yang hancur saat runtuhnya Uni Soviet. Penduduk terpaksa berjuang untuk mendapatkan akses untuk memperoleh air, pelayanan kesehatan dan juga sekolah. Mereka harus keluar dari kota itu dalam jangka waktu 2 minggu, untuk menempati kota lain dan menempati rumah baru. Kota dengan penduduk sekitar 12.000 orang yang rata-rata sebagai penambang timah ini dikosongkan. Mereka meninggalkan rumah mereka dengan segala perabotannya. Jadi anda dapat menemukan mainan, buku, pakaian dan berbagai barang didalam kota yang kosong.

8. KOWLOON WALLED CITY (China): A lawless city

Kota besar Kowloon yang terletak di luar Hongkong, China. Dulunya diduduki oleh Jepang selama perang dunia II, yang kemudian diambil alih oleh penduduk liar setelah Jepang menyerah. Pemerintahan Inggris ingin China bertanggung jawab terhadap kota ini, karena kota tersebut menjadi kota yang tidak beraturan dan tidak taat pada hukum pemerintah. Populasi tidak terkendali, penduduk membangun koridor lybirint yang setinggi jalan yang penuh tersumbat oleh sampah, bangunan yang sangat tinggi sehingga membuat cahaya matahari tidak bisa menyinari. Seluruh kota disinari dengan neon. Kota tersebut penuh dengan rumah pelacuran, kasino, rumah madat dan obat bius dan kokain, banyak terdapat makanan-makanan dari daging anjing dan juga terdapat pabrik-pabrik rahasia yang tidak terganggu oleh otoritas.Keadaan ini akhirnya berakhir ketika di tahun 1993, diambil keputusan oleh pemerintah Inggris dan otoritas China untuk menghentikan semua itu.

9. FAMAGUSTA (Cyprus): once a top tourist destination, now a ghost town

Varosha adalah sebuah daerah yang tidak diakui oleh republic Cyprus Utara. Sebelum tahun 1974 Turki menginvasi Cyprus, daerah ini merupakan daerah wisata modern di kota Famagusta. Pada tiga dekade terakhir, kota ini ditinggalkan dan menjadi kota mati. Di tahun 1970-an, kota ini menjadi kota tujuan wisata utama di Cyprus. Untuk memberikan pelayanan yang memuaskan kepada para wisatawan, kota ini membangun berbagai bangunan mewah dan hotel.

Ketika tentara Turki menguasai daerah tersebut, mereka menjaga dan memagari daerah tersebut, tidak boleh ada yang keluar masuk kota tersebut tanpa seijin dari tentara Turki dan tentara PBB. Rencana untuk kembali mengembalikan Varosha ke tangan kendali Yunani, namun rencana tersebut tidak pernah terwujud. Hampir selama 34 tahun kota tersebut dibiarkan dan tidak ada perbaikan. Perlahan bangunan-bangunan tersebut hancur, metal mulai berkarat, jedela pecah, dan akar-akar tumbuhan menembus dinding dan trotoar. Kura-kura bersarang di pantai yang ditinggalkan. Di tahun 2010 Pemerintahan Turki bermaksud untuk membuka kembali Varosha untuk para turis dan kota kembali bisa didiami dan akan menjadi salah satu kota yang paling berpengaruh di uatara pulau.

10. AGDAM (Azerbaijan): once a 150,000 city of people, now lost

Kota besar Agdam di Azerbaijan adalah salah satu kota besar yang populasi penduduknya mencapai 150.000 orang. Namun kemudian hilang setelah pada tahun 1993 sepanjang perang Nagorno Karabakh. Walaupun kota ini tidak secara langsung menjadi basis peperangan, namun kota ini tetap mendapatkan efek dari perang tersebut, dengan menjadi korban dari sikap para Armenians yang merusak kota tersebut. Bangunan-bangunan dirusak dan akhirnya ditinggalkan penghuninya, hanya menyisakan masjid-masjid yang masih utuh berdiri. Penduduk Agdam sendiri sudah berpindah ke area lain, seperti ke Iran.

Kota-kota tersebut diatas dapat sebagai alternatif pilihan untuk berlibur , bagi yang suka tantangan dan liburan dengan suasana yang baru.

sumber disini

Of course, now they just get visas, then, as night follows day, citizenship

From “How Europe Escaped Speaking Arabic” by Michael Novak

[Of course many Europeans ended up having to speak Turkish for centuries.]

Islam began making war on the Christian world from the very first moments of its birth. For a thousand years afterward, it fell to southern Europe, and in particular the Pope, to give active military resistance to the “Saracens” (as the Islamists came to be known in the West). From 632 A.D. until about 1292, Arab nations led the Muslim onslaught on the West. After that, the Turks established their dominion (the caliphate) over most of the Arab world. For hundreds of years a huge sea war ensued for control of the Mediterranean. But war by land was not called off. The Turks expanded their empire in all four directions on the map. For more than a century they made attempt after attempt to take down the largest and richest of the Christian capitals, Constantinople, whose walls they finally breached in 1453. There followed great plunder, huge fires of destruction, the desecration of Christian basilicas and churches, murder, torture and thousands of Christian men, women, and children marched off in long lines toward slavery in the East.

A long line of great warrior-sultans sponsored Turkish advances in shipbuilding, gunnery, military organization, and training. By the mid 1550s, they had slowly conceived of a long-term offensive, a pincers movement first by sea and then by land, to conquer the whole northern shore of the Mediterranean. They first launched a massive sea attack in 1665 on the crossroads of the Mediterranean, the strategically placed island of Malta, and were repelled after an epic siege (which in itself is one of history’s great stories). Their penultimate aim was to take all Italy; then all Europe. 

The northern pincers movement by land was aimed at an attack up through the Balkans for the onquest of Budapest and then, in a northeast arc into Slovakia and Poland. In this way, the Muslim forces would essentially encircle Italy from the North.

Because by 1540 the Reformation was separating the Christian nations of the north from Rome, the Sultans soon recognized that the Christian world would no longer fight as one. The next hundred years or so would be the most fruitful time since Mohammed to fulfill the destiny of Islam in Europe.

The Preliminary Battles on Malta (1565) and at Famagusta (1571)

Each new caliph of the Islamic empire was expected to expand the existing Muslim territories, in order to fulfill the mission given Islam, and to gain for the leader the necessary popularity and legitimacy. So it was that in the pleasant springtime of 1571, an entire Muslim fleet under Ali Pasha was ordered by the Sultan to seek out and destroy Christian dominance of the Mediterranean Sea, all the way up to Venice. During the summer, Ali Pasha raided fort after fort along the Adriatic Shore, picked up thousands of hostages as slaves, and sent at least a small squadron to blockade for two or three days the approaches to St. Mark’s Square in Venice, not least to plant a seed of terror about worse things to come.

Meanwhile, another large Muslim force soon conquered Cyprus, most practicing ritual cruelties on the defeated population of Nicosia, setting fire to churches, beheading the older women, and marching all younger Christians of both sexes into slavery. The Muslim armies then headed north for the fortress of Famagusta, the last Venetian stronghold on the island, the “extended arm” of the trading posts and protective forts of the Venetian navy in the entire eastern Mediterranean. An army of 100,000 opened the siege, against a force of 15,000 behind the walls.

Under the energetic generalship of the elderly General Marcantonio Bragadino, the small band of defenders held out for week after week, despite receiving more than 180,000 incoming cannonballs. The defenders ran so short of food that in the end they were eating cats, until they consumed their last one. The Muslim general was outraged by the length of the siege, which had already cost him 80,000 of his best men, despite the fact that Famagusta’s fate was sealed from the first days. Yet there were still long days and sometimes nights of hard hand-to-hand fighting just outside the walls. Muslim losses kept getting fully replenished by sea, and the Muslim forces grew stronger even as the Christians got down to their last six barrels of gunpowder, and had only four hundred men still able to fight.

On August 1, General Bragadino finally accepted surrender terms, which guaranteed safe passage of all his men to sail home to Venice, and safety to all citizens of the walled city. He walked with the full scarlet regalia of his office out from the walls and down to the tent of the Alfa Mustafa, the victorious commander. There the two leaders conversed. Then something went wrong, and Mustafa grew visibly angry and called for his men to behead the full complement of 350 survivors who had laid down their arms to march out with Bragadino. All 350 bleeding heads were piled up just outside Mustafa’s tent.

Mustafa then ordered Bragadino’s ears and nose chopped off, and forced the man to go down on all fours wearing a dog’s collar around his neck, to the jibes, mockery, and horror of the onlookers. Bags of earth were strapped over Bragadino’s back and he was made to carry them to the walls of the fortification, and to kiss the earth each time he passed Mustafa. As the old man grew fainter from the loss of blood from his head, he was tied to a chair, put in a rope harness and hoisted up to the highest mast in the fleet, so that all survivors of the city might see his humiliation. Then Bragadino’s chair was dropped in free-fall into the water and brought out again. The tortured Venetian was led in ropes to the town square and stripped. At a stone column (which still stands today), Bragadino’s hands were tied outstretched over his head, and an executioner stepped forward with sharp knives to carefully remove his skin, keeping it whole. Before the carver had reached Bragadino’s waist, the man was dead. His full skin was then stuffed with straw, once again raised up to the highest mast, and sailed around to various ports as a trophy of victory, and finally taken back to Istanbul for permanent exhibition.

Meanwhile, Don Juan had put the Christian fleet of some 200 vessels on course toward Lepanto, where Ali Pasha was refitting his vessels in the safe protection of an impregnable harbor. On board the Christian ships, the Spaniards were under secret orders to avoid fighting, only to keep their honor by going along, while urging reasons to turn back. By contrast, when a fast corsair dispatched from Famagusta arrived to deliver the tale of the last dishonors visited on General Bragadino and his 350 surviving soldiers, the blood of the Venetians boiled. They now allowed no question of turning back. They were determined to avenge the horrors suffered by their comrades in arms.

The young Don Juan was buoyed by this new resolve. Now he would be able to keep the vow he had made to Pope Pius V, to seek out and destroy the threatening enemy. The young admiral—he was twenty-two when he became commander of this fleet—felt confident in his battle plan. He had taken care to have his whole fleet rehearse their roles in the quiet seas of the Adriatic, just before turning toward Lepanto.

Don Juan and many of his men spent much of the night before battle in prayer. The fate of their civilization, they knew, depended on their good fortune on the morrow. The uncertainties of the changing winds and choppy seas, and the speed of the two onrushing lines of ships rapidly closing on each other, would erupt in unpredictable havoc. The odds against the Christians in ships were something like 350 ships to 250. But the Christians had a secret weapon.

The Greatest Sea Battle in History: Lepanto, October 1571

For more than three years Pope Pius V had labored mightily to sound alarms about the deadly Muslim buildup in the shipyards of Istanbul. The sultan had been stung by the surprising defeat of his overwhelming invasion force in Malta in 1565. The savagery of Muslim attacks on the coastline villages of Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, and Greece was ratcheted upwards. Three or four Muslim galleys would offload hundreds of marines, sweep through a village, tie all its healthy men together for shipment out to become galley slaves, march away many of its women and young boys and girls for shipment to Eastern harems, and then gather all the elderly into the village church, where the helpless victims would be beheaded, and sometimes cut up into little pieces, to strike terror into other villages. The Muslims believed that future victims would lose heart and swiftly surrender when Muslim raiders arrived. Over three centuries, the number of European captives kidnapped from villages and beaches by these sea pirates climbed into the hundreds of thousands.

The reason for this kidnapping was that the naval appetite for fresh backs and muscles was insatiable. Most galley slaves lived little more than five years. They were chained to hard benches in the burning Mediterranean sun, slippery in their own excrement, urination, and intermittent vomiting, often never lying down to sleep. The dark vision that troubled the pope during the late 1560s was of even more horrible calamities to befall the whole Christian world, bit by bit. But unity in Europe was hard to find, and even more scarce was the will to fight for survival.

Finally, Don Juan of Austria, the younger brother of the King of Spain, an illegitimate son, stood erect and summoned allies to repel the much-anticipated Muslim advance. He aimed at leading a large fleet to go after the new Muslim fleet preemptively, before they could depart from their home seas. Having seen Muslim ferocity first hand, the Venetian public was eager to contribute a fleet to the task. Their support was crucial, for Venice was in those days the shipbuilding and gunnery capital of the world, producers (for a profit) of the most innovative, most versatile, stoutest, and most seaworthy armed vessels in the world. The best sea captains of Venice were the most eager to avenge their friends and fellow citizens. 

For years, Venice had preferred peace with the Muslim East, in order to carry on their lucrative international trade. Now there was a cause that took precedence over the traditions of commerce. Genoa, too, contributed a fleet under their famous but now elderly Admiral Andrea Doria, these days a less bold warrior despite the glory of his earlier exploits.

The Knights of Malta, the premier sea warriors of the time, offered their small but highly skilled fleet in support of the Pope’s appeal, and agreed to work cooperatively with Don Juan.

The latter, whom his contemporaries described as a modest and humble man, characteristically set aside his own ego for the sake of the cause that engaged him. He pledged to the armada a large contingent supplied by Spain and Portugal. By the end of September 1571, eager to get their job done before winter turned the seas choppy and unfit for battle, the four distinct parts of the Christian fleet sailed past Italy, hugging the coasts, sending teams of observers to land to pick up the latest intelligence on the Muslim force. Finally, they learned that an enormous Muslim fleet, nearly 100 ships larger than their own, was sailing near to land toward the Gulf of Lepanto. No more talking, Don Juan told his leading admirals; now, battle.

Keeping the Knights of Malta in reserve just a short distance behind the main battle line, Don Juan assigned the impassioned Venetians the important left flank, with its leftmost ships close to the shore line. He himself commanded a hundred vessels at the center. In plain sight was his capitol ship, the Real, its banners of leadership visible to all. To the right flank he assigned the venerable Andrea Doria and the Genoese fleet. The plan was to hold his ships in as long and straight a line as seamanship in a besetting wind would allow, while heading directly for the Muslim line.

At his front, however, Don Juan placed a nasty surprise for Ali Pasha. Six new, taller, sturdier ships packed with cannons (especially in the bow) and heavily laden with lead and shot placed themselves a mile forward of the Christian line. They looked flat on top, like merchant ships. No one had ever seen such ships before. They lacked a bow rising up skywards, the one necessary weapon for vicious ramming. For the purpose of these new galleasses, as they were called, was not to ram oncoming ships but to blast them with an array of cannons. Their shot could carry a mile with great accuracy. When the galleasses turned sideways, they could blast with even more cannons, designed for shorter ranges, often aiming their cannon just at the waterline of their foes. They had the power to sink a smaller, lighter, faster Muslim galley with a single burst.

At first, the two fleets spotted each other on the horizon as single masts, then small numbers, and only as the two fleets closed to about two miles of each other could any one of the two hundred thousand sailors, marines, and janissaries on board catch a glimpse of the lines and dispositions of the fleets. The Muslims preferred to attack in a crescent rather than a straight line, but the winds at their back and tricky tides from the shoreline to their north forced them to straighten up their lines. Those who gazed on the massive array of ships and sails were filled with awe. On deck, one of those to be wounded in this battle, the great author Miguel de Cervantes wrote of “the most noble and memorable event that past centuries have seen.” Just over six hundred ships in two amazingly orderly lines, each stretching three miles from end to end, silently bore down on one another as the distance between them closed. The Muslim fleet outnumbered the Christian fleet by nearly a hundred ships. A sense of destiny weighed upon all who watched and waited.

The huge green battle flag of Allah—his name embroidered on it in Arabic some 29,800 times—marked out the tall capital ship Sultana, on which the fearsome young admiral Ali Pasha held command. Pasha was puzzled by the six more or less flat barges out in front of the Christian lines. His own armed soldiers were reliant mostly on clouds of arrows. His sailors had mastered the arts of ramming, and disgorging massive boarding parties onto the enemy’s slippery decks, then beating down their defenders by a sort of fierce land warfare out on the open seas. In those days, sea warfare was like land warfare, only carried out on open decks side-by-side instead of in open fields. Ship was lashed to ship, sometimes a dozen together. Hand-to-hand combat was the key.

There is no point here in giving the whole narrative of the battle. Suffice it to say that in the center the volleys from the galleasses out in front destroyed one Muslim vessel after another. Masts snapped, the oars of the galleys were shattered, and huge holes opened up the thin wooden sides of the galleys to the boiling sea. The Muslim ships that were not sunk were easily boarded by the Christian ships coming alongside, built a little higher, and amply supplied not only with boarding nets but, even more important, with ranks of the old-style predecessors to rifles—the arquebuses—directing point-blank rifle balls into the unarmored flesh of Muslim archers. It is true that in a few cases whole clouds of Muslim arrows felled many in the Christian ships, including the great Venetian admiral Marcantonio Bragadino shot in the eye. Mostly, the Christian warriors wore the latest in body armor, which often repelled wooden arrows harmlessly. Nonetheless, at least one Christian ship was later found aimlessly afloat, with every single man dead or wounded.

At the last, the two capital ships Real and Sultana clashed head-on, and Don Juan led the final boarding party which in its ferocity drove Ali Pasha to the aft poop, where he soon fell with a bullet in his eye. The Muslim admiral’s head was cut off and borne aloft on a pike to be mounted on the bow of the Real. The seas around were filled with cloaks, caps, struggling bodies, the vast wooden wreckage of battle, and large splotches of red blood.

On the Christian left, the Venetians attacked with almost blind rage and broke the line of the Muslim right with relative ease. They were aided by a revolt of the galley slaves on board a number of Muslim vessels, who in the explosions on board had their chains broken, and poured up on deck swinging their chains to left and right. So great was the Venetian fury that even after the battle, many of its sailors spent hours using their pikes to kill Muslim sailors and soldiers struggling in the sea. They tried to excuse their bloodlust by saying that they never wished to see those individuals sailing against the West again.

In four hours the battle was over. More than forty thousand men had died, and thousands more were wounded, more than in any other battle in history, more even than at Salamis or, in years to come, at the Somme. Never again did the Muslim fleets pose a grave danger to Europe from the South, although of course Muslim fleets kept busy expanding their bases on the African coast, harassing Western ships and territories across the Mediterranean. Technology, especially that pioneered by Venice and by ocean-going Portugal and Spain, had made the decisive difference. As Victor Davis Hanson writes, it was to capitalism that the victory was owed, for it was open markets that spurred competition to keep improving gunnery and ships, and it was the great merchant and commercial cities that built these new technologies. After Lepanto, the arts of gunnery replaced the arts of the bow and arrow, however deadly for many centuries those weapons had proved to be. Ships were made stouter, taller, more able to carry heavy armaments—and new methods had to be sought to replace locomotion by galley slaves.

As news of the great victory of October 7 reached shore, church bells rang all over the cities and countryside of Europe. For months, Pius V had urged Catholics to say the daily rosary on behalf of the morale and good fortune of the Christian forces, and above all, a successful outcome to the highly risky preemptive strike against the Turkish fleets. Thereafter, he declared that October 7 would be celebrated as the feast of “Mary, Queen of Victory.” A later pope added the title “Queen of the Holy Rosary” in honor of the laity’s favorite form of prayer. All over the Italian peninsula, great paintings were commissioned—whole galleries were dedicated—to honoring the classic scenes of that epic battle. The air of Europe that October tasted of liberties preserved. The record of the celebrations lives on in glorious paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, and many others.

The Northern Pincers and the Siege of Vienna, September 1683

Of necessity, our consideration of the Battle of Vienna must be briefer than our attention to Lepanto. But many of the same forces were at play as before, only this time by land, not by sea. The Protestant nations regarded the expanding Ottoman Empire as a Catholic problem. Few Catholic nations took the Muslim threat as seriously as it deserved. The French, in particular, had become used to buying off the Turks with trade and commerce, rather than resisting them in war. The French even preferred the defeat of their most dreaded rivals, the German-speaking Austrians. The nation Germany did not yet exist, only a number of smaller political units—Brandenberg, Saxony, Bavaria, and others, some Protestant and some Catholic. And so the Muslim overland advance through the underbelly of Europe seemed not only relentless but mostly unopposed.

The sultan of all Islam, Mehmet IV, spent his days in his unrivalled harems and on his huge hunting territories, some of them as large as nation-states. Thousands of mostly Slavic serfs were required to service his hunting party, in part by driving deer and other game animals his way. To uphold his obligations to Islamic expansion, however, Mehmet stirred himself to choose Kara Mustafa to be general of all his forces in the final conquest of Hungary, Slovakia, and the south of Poland — the greatest of all ventures on which the sultan’s historical reputation would rest. The sultan directly warned Mustafa not to try to take Vienna, for doing so would arouse the West to retribution. He gave Mustafa the long green cord of the Prophet to wear around his neck, both to signal the importance of his commission, and to warn him that failure meant that he must be hanged—must even hang himself.

For the drive northward, Kara Mustafa sent messengers throughout Anatolia, through Greater Syria, and out to the scores of Muslim nations from Morocco to India. He marched northwards with an ever-increasing army of more than three hundred thousand, many on horseback as cavalry to spread terror in advance of his main forces, other scores of thousands in his supply trains. This huge army took some five months to occupy Budapest, rest, and then push on northwards. They swatted resistance away like flies, and sometimes bypassed walled cities that refused instant surrender, to deal with them later with special severity.

By July 7, they were in sight of Vienna, which in those days was a walled and heavily fortified city, well designed by its military engineers to lay down fields of fire by which each strong point could assist its neighbors. Compared to today, Vienna within its walls was a small city, and yet large enough in those terrorized days to admit refugees from nearby villages who hurriedly sought safety. For the next weeks the sultan’s armies kept tightening the ring they had established on all sides of Vienna. Both Mustafa with his green cord around his neck and the leader of the Viennese defense, General Lubomirski, now knew that they were fighting to the death.

Meanwhile, the Turks launched massive engineering works, including many honeycombed tunnels beginning from long distances away, out of sight, and burrowing underneath strong points and vulnerable walls that ground troops might breach. These veteran and highly skilled sappers—the best in the world—dug all the way underground both to the wide moats at the base of the walls and still further underground to the very center of Vienna. Beginning in mid-August, without any warning, huge explosions tore gaping holes in one strongpoint after another, and sometimes beneath homes in the very center of the city. The twenty thousand or so warriors within the city fought with great determination and intelligence to drive back the screaming, bloodthirsty men who were storming through the breaches, while all around them Viennese civilians rushed to make repairs to the breaches in the walls. The Christians also sallied forth themselves, often at night, to drive far into the Turkish lines to blow up engineering devices and stockpiles of gunpowder.

Relentlessly, the Turks kept heaving up huge mounds—small mountains—of earth and sand just outside the walls, from which fire might constantly be poured down into the doomed city, from above its walls. With every Muslim attack, fewer and fewer Christian soldiers were left to repel them. In late August, supplies of meat ran out, and the population was reduced to eating horses and stray dogs. A very strict rationing of water became necessary. The elderly began to die off from starvation.

Meanwhile, the Christian relief forces were belatedly and all too slowly advancing from the north in four separate columns, from Catholic Germany and from Poland, to lift the siege. For nearly forty miles around the beleaguered city, Muslims had ravaged the land, and sent refugees fleeing by foot in all directions. Thus, making use of captured Muslim cavalrymen and foot soldiers, as well as the fleeing Christians, the Germans and the Poles picked up enough intelligence to learn that their best chances lay to the southwest, through the Vienna Wood. It would be hugely difficult terrain for cavalry, and also for quick forced marches by the infantry. But one other factor spoke for that line of attack: the supply trains and Mustafa’s luxurious tents, with their splendid harems and rich treasury, were also located on that side of Vienna. The approaching Christian generals met together to go over the plan of attack, and then rapidly set off to their southwest, far enough from the city to advance mostly undetected.

At intervals, back in Vienna, Mustafa had messages in German tied to dozens of rocks, which he had his catapults shoot over the city walls. One such message read:

Surrender now and you will be saved. Open your gates, turn your churches over to us and lay down your arms, and no one will be killed. If you resist the will of Allah, your leaders, and all of them, will be slain. Able men and women will be sold into slavery. You will be allowed no rights of worship, and your mighty walls will be thrown down. Fight and you die! Surrender and you live!

For more than four hundred years, hundreds of Christian villages and cities had received such messages. The duplicity and primitive brutality of Muslim conquerors were well known to hundreds of thousands of Christian families, through the fate of relatives in other overrun communities. Nevertheless, sometimes terror overwhelmed them and they surrendered. At Vienna, behind fearless and determined leaders, they chose to die fighting rather than to surrender. So the issue inside Vienna became whether food and gunpowder would give out before the long-promised army of relief would arrive. Dauntless messengers slipping in and out of Vienna kept hope at least flickering. The commander in Vienna promised he could hold out until September 1. The advancing army of relief replied that they would need almost two weeks more than that. Only gritted-teeth determination could bridge that gap in time.

One thing the Muslim armies were not trained to do, as were the Christian armies of that time, was to fight on two fronts—against the city ahead and against any oncoming forces that might arrive to break the siege. For this, Kara Mustafa relied on his mobile cavalry, some twenty thousand Tatars from the Asian steppes in camp about twenty miles south of Vienna. Because of the density of the Vienna Wood to the southwest of the city, this was the one region which the cavalry could cover only lightly. Still, if even small bands of mounted Tatars had infiltrated the hills and valleys of the Wood, no Christian soldiers could have made it through the narrow passes. Unaccountably, Mustafa forbade the Tatar leader to launch an attack on the Wood.

King Sobieski of Poland had drawn the privilege of advancing on the right flank, right through the heart of the Vienna Wood. His army’s double-time march through the Wood was arduous, by narrow valleys and slow but deep summer streams. Late on September 11, just as his men were making their initial contact with the Turkish outposts, and the final battle began to be joined, the King formed a resolution to attack on the morrow as swiftly and with as much surprise as possible, to overwhelm Mustafa’s bodyguard of cavalry and rush on with force as close to the supply trains as he could, and to conclude the matter on the next day. In the rough terrain where his troops broke out from the Wood on September 12, Sobieski held his famed hussars back. They were his best, his ultimate, weapon.

For hours all day long, left, center, and right flanks of the Christian army advanced far more steadily than expected, although the hand-to-hand fighting was furious, and the Turkish lines were yielding only a yard at a time. The last four hundred yards took an immense effort, but the Christian forces reached open ground with less than an hour of daylight left. This is when Sobieski made a huge gamble and boldly released his much-feared hussars. These famous horsemen wore special caps with strips of leather flying behind them in the wind, lined with feathers like the headdresses of American Indians, and the wind whistled through the leather with an eerie tone. As they charged across the open land the low, melancholy wail of the wind through their feathers frightened the Arabian horses—and their Turkish riders, too.

The sheer speed and force of the Polish hussars was too great and too surprising to be resisted. Mustafa escaped, but his tents and treasury were captured (one of his green velvet tents sits now in the Czartoryskis Museum in Krakow). The Muslim lines nearby broke, and their men began looting Mustafa’s rich supply wagons and pleasure tents on their panicky flight southward. The entire Muslim ring surrounding the city melted away, back whence it had come. Mustafa, slowed by a bad wound to his eye, was rushed southward by his remaining bodyguards. From the first moments of crushing defeat he began plotting his reports to the sultan, shifting the blame onto one of his subordinates. Yet as the Christians pursued the once-great Muslim army down through Hungary, retaking one city after another from Muslim control, and in effect laying the groundwork for the future Austro-Hungarian Empire, the sultan’s anger against Mustafa finally exploded. Mustafa recognized what must happen. He was hanged on December 25, 1683, by the green cord that he had worn round his neck, a little more than three months after he had imagined he had Vienna in his grasp.

Famagusta, Northern Cyprus

On the day of one of my visits to the historical city of Famagusta in Northern Cyprus, the local “Mediterranean Grammar School” had a day of celebration. These kids are playing yo-yo at the central square. Famagusta is Gazimagusa in Turkish and Ammokhostos in Greek. Before the current rulers of the city – the Turkish Cypriots - the place was successively ruled by Ottoman Turks, Venetians, Lusignans and the Byzantines, to name just some.

what a heart breaker last night…..2 – 0 up and it looked like Famagusta were on there way to the knock out stages of the Champions League…but it wasn’t to be…… for now at least but we live to fight another day.

The 1st half finished 0-0 with Bremen having 60% of the possesion but unable to break through the Anorthosis  defence. The match was staged at the National Stadium (GSP) in Nicosia  as the home ground in Larnaca would have sold out three fold. A win last night would have guaranteed a place in the knock out stage…..Larnaca was very quiet early last evening (although kick off wasn’t until 10pm local time) anticipation was very high…..but the Germans came out at full speed, determined to do better than in the first game….but it wasn’t to be.

Gossip in the pub suggested that if we could survive to half time we would make it. !!!!

What a second half !! 1-0 then suddenly 2-0…..fantastic the blue hools were on a roll….. everyone was out of their seats pinching ourselves as we looked forward to the draw and wondered if it would be Barca, Man U or Chelsea in the next round……..oh how things changed…..Poor defending and exhaustion seemed to be the main culprits as Anorthosis threw their 2-0 lead away as quickly as they gained it…2-2 in a matter of minutes…..4 minutes of added time seemed to go on for ever, but at the final whistle the Germans were mighty releivedthey had clawed their way back into the match and the mighty men form Famagusta fell to the pitched – exhausted. They had chased and hurried all game and briefly it looked like they were through, better defending and they might have been….but still the dream continues……to be concluded next month…..STAY HAPPY….

K

only for one morning so far this winter……

Yes friday morning did bring the immersion heater in to play but only briefly as the temeperatures have popped back up to 23-24 degrees during the day with plenty of sunshine to boot. However, we did have a tremendous storm on Saturday afternoon, but we need these on a daily basis to start to begin to replenish our empty reservoirs and disappearing water table.

The brief rains have brought the flamingo’s back to Larnaca’s salt lakes and the wetlands near Oroklini. A most welcome winter sight, all dark and grey when they arrive it takes only a few weeks for their feathers to turn a bright vivid pink, thanks to the famous waters around the Airport….

Champions league again this week…excitment building in these parts again….here we go …

Stay Happy and bravo Famagusta !!!!!!

Ooops nearly two weeks since last logged on… mourning for our beloved Anorthosis…

However we still have ALL to play for and only the Germans from Bremen stand in the way of the Blue Hools setting more Cypriot footballing history.  Last weeks game in Nicosia against Milan was a spectacle in itself!! 3-3 was the final score with the mighty Italians having to work hard for their point.  Its a distinct possibility the boys from Famagusta will be through to the knock out stages of the Champions League…..what a fantastic result that would be… here’s hoping…

The extremely conservative and very boring English language newspaper The Cyprus Weekly celebrates 30 years in business and its 1500 issue this week with a re-vamp and a re-launch…..and my word it is long over due… In the press release that came with last weeks edition it talks of offering …”even more … independent coverage of the main local and international news”  that makes me smile because turn to ANY of the pages covering International news and its all simply cut a pasted, copied from either AP or Reuters..so much for indenpent coverage…Still the new papr cannot e any worse than its current product….here’s to next week… but don’t hold your breath….still after 30 years they must be pleasing some …. just not me ..and anyone I know…

Last time I put finger to keyboard we had had two consecutive days of rain, we had not seen any rain none since then, until this morning.  Larnaca and indeed most of the country was subject to a spectacular thunderstorm which lasted most of the morning. So heres to more regular postings to improve our winter rain fall…

More tomorrow…..PS here are the dreadful English language newspapers we have to suffer…

Stay happy

www.cyprusweekly.com.cy/

www.cyprus-mail.com/ -

http://www.goldcy.com/

Well it was a truely historic night for Cyprus Football as Anorthosis Famagusta (a team exiled in Larnaca) was the first Cypriot team to compete in the Group stgaes of the Champions League…and my they did them selves proud, hannging on for a draw against much fancied Bremen. The Werder Bremen coach had the quote of the night…..”We seem to have only one motto: prepare well, play well, fall apart well.” Thanks Mr Schaaf that made me smile….. we look forward to welcoming you to Larnaca very very soon to enjoy the atmosphere of the Blue Hools. Our very own Ketsbaia had a wee bit more to say……. 

Werder Bremen 0-0 Anorthosis Famagusta

Temuri Ketsbaia: “We have five more very difficult matches and we want to play as well as we did today in them. We were concentrated right from the outset and were very tight defensively. I played Traianos Dellas from the start and he proved that I was right to put my faith in him by putting in a very committed display.”

Unfortunately over in the UEFA Cup APOEL Nicosia came unstuck 1-4 against another German outfit – Schalke.  Shame because IMHO the score line flattered the German team…still looks like its all over for this particular Nicosia team…..which only leaves their neighbours and BITTER, BITTER rivals Omonia to do battle with Manchester City and their Billions  on Thursday……  

Stay Happy

Die ersten Schlachten in der Champions League 2008/2009 sind geschlagen und zwei Überraschungen gab es gleich zum Auftakt. Bremen konnte zuhause gegen Famagusta nicht gewinnen und der AS Rom verlor gegen Cluj aus Rumänien. Was nehmen wir also vom ersten Spieltag mit?

• Auch 65% Ballbesitz, zahlreiche Torchancen und Heimvorteil reichen nicht immer für drei Punkte. Bremen war gegen die Zyprioten von Famagusta zwar über weite Strecken des Spiels drückend überlegen aber schlussendlich blamierte man sich
• Champions League Neulinge sind brandgefährlich. Bei Famagusta ist dies zwar nicht 100%ig der Fall, denn die Zyprioten konnten sich auf ihren Abwehrbunker verlassen. Umso mehr trifft die Aussage aber auf CFR Cluj zu, denn die Rumänen kamen keineswegs glücklich zum 2:1 Erfolg beim AS Rom. Ein Blick auf die Statistik zeigt, dass Cluj neun Torschüsse abfeuerte während dem AS Rom nur drei Schüsse aufs Tor gelangen. Auch der Ballbesitz von 55:45 für die Römer zeigt, dass die Rumänen durchaus mitspielten.
• Man sollte endlich aufhören Shaktar Donezk zu belächeln. Auf den ersten Blick mag der 2:1 Sieg beim FC Basel nicht sonderlich aufregend zu erscheinen, doch Basel gehörte in den letzten Jahren zu den heimstärksten Mannschaften im Europacup. 8 der letzten 10 Champions League Heimspiele hatte der FC Basel zuletzt gewonnen und auch Kaliber wie Werder Bremen, La Coruna, Inter Mailand oder Juventus Turin konnten in der Vergangenheit beim FC Basel nicht gewinnen. Donezk ist eine Mannschaft die eigentlich jedes Jahr in der Champions League vertreten ist, und die jährlich vom Besitzer Millionen investiert werden
• Chelsea ist im eigenen Stadion einfach nicht zu schlagen. Der 4:0 Sieg gegen Bordeaux ist zwar nicht unbedingt überraschend; unheimlich ist hingegen schon die Heimserie des FC Chelsea; damit ist Chelsea in der Champions League zuhause seit Februar 2006 ohne Niederlage

Steaua - Galatasaray 1-0 (‘58 Banel Nicolita)

Steaua se califica pentru a treia oara consecutiv in grupele UEFA Champions League dupa ce a reusit sa invinga formatia turca Galatasaray Istanbul cu scorul de 1-0 prin golul marcat de Banel Nicolita dintr-o pozitie suspecta de offside .Un meci in care spectacolul a lipsit insa miza era enorma :calificarea in grupe si premiul de 10.000.000 de euro , banii primiti in ultima calificari de la Uefa.Fiecare stelist dintre cei titulari aseara va incasa o suma de 150.000 de euro,prima de calificare in grupe.

Astazi va avea loc tragerea la sorti pentru grupele UEFA Champions League.O alta echipa romaneasca angrenata in aceasta competitie este campioana CFR Cluj.Iata rezultatele mansei retur din turul III Preliminar:

BATE Borisov-Levski Sofia 1-1
Kaunas-Aalborg BK 0-2
Dynamo Kyiv-Spartak Moscow 4-1
Steaua Bucuresti-Galatasaray 1-0
Fenerbahce-Partizan Belgrade 2-1
Basel-Vitoria Guimaraes 2-1
Atletico Madrid-Schalke 4-0
Dinamo Zagreb-Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3
Marseille-Brann Bergen 2-1
Olympiakos Piraeus-Anorthosis 1-0
Slavia Prague-Fiorentina 0-0
Arsenal-FC Twente Enschede 4-0
Liverpool-Standard Liege 1-0

URNELE:

URNA 1: Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Lyon, Inter Milano, Real Madrid.

URNA 2: Bayern Munchen, PSV Eindhoven, Villareal, AS Roma, FC Porto, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisabona, Juventus.

URNA 3: Fenerbahce, Marseille, Zenit St. Petersburg, Steaua, Panathinaikos, Bordeaux, Celtic, FC Basel.

URNA 4: Atletico Madrid, Şahtior Donetk, Fiorentina, Dinamo Kiev, CFR Cluj, Anorthosis, Aalborg, BATE Borisov.

Urna a doua se anunţă de asemenea foarte grea, deoarece aici sunt nume precum Juventus, Werder, Porto, Bayern sau PSV. Un adversar interesant din această urnă ar fi AS Roma, echipă bătuta de Steaua într-un amical disputat în această vară cu 3-1!

Steaua va face parte din urna a treia valorică, urmând să evite adversari precum Marseille, Celtic sau Zenit St. Petersburg. Adversarii abordabili de aici ar fi fost Panathinaikos sau FC Basel.

În urna a patra se află şi CFR Cluj, iar printre echipele “uşoare” cu care ar putea cădea Steaua se număra Anorthosis Famagusta, BATE Borisov sau Aalborg. Din păcate pentru CFR, tocmai aceste echipe nu vor putea face parte din grupa ardelenilor. De evitat aici ar fi Fiorentina sau Şahtior Doneţk.

Programul meciurilor din grupă:

Faza grupelor, etapa 1 – 16, 17.09.2008
Faza grupelor, etapa 2 – 30, 09/01.10.2008
Faza grupelor, etapa 3 – 21, 22.10.2008
Faza grupelor, etapa 4 – 04, 05.11.2008
Faza grupelor, etapa 5 – 25, 26.11.2008
Faza grupelor, etapa 6 – 09, 10.12.2008

Tragerea la sorţi a grupelor Ligii Campionilor va avea loc azi, la Monaco, de la ora 19:00.

Rapid, Dinamo, Poli Timişoara, Urziceni şi, foarte probabil, FC Vaslui vor avea emoţii mîine, de la ora 14:00, cînd este programată tragerea pentru turul 1 al Cupei UEFA.

Famagusta spielt also in der Saison 2008/2009 in der Champions League. Wer hätte das gedacht?

1. Der Gegner hieß Olympiakos Piräus und die Griechen sind wahrlich keine Unbekannten in der Champions League. Seit der Saison 1997/1998 waren die Griechen jedes Jahr in der Hauptrunde der Champions League vertreten und das können auch einige ganz große Namen des europäischen Fussballs nicht von sich behaupten – nicht mal die Bayern. Wie stark Olympiakos Piräus sein kann, hat letzte Saison außerdem Werder Bremen schmerzhaft erfahren müssen, als die Bremer in Griechenland mit 0:3 untergingen und damit den Aufstieg ins Achtelfinale der Champions League verpassten.
2. Wer Famagusta im Rückspiel der zweiten Champions League Qualifikationsrunde gegen Rapid Wien gesehen hat, musste davon ausgehen, dass die Zyprioten gegen Piräus in ein Debakel laufen werden. Nach dem 3:0 im Hinspiel gegen die Wiener, sicherte sich Famagusta trotz der 1:3 Niederlage das Ticket für die nächste Qualifikationsrunde, doch auch über ein 1:5 oder eine noch höhere Niederlage gegen Rapid hätte sich Famagusta nicht beschweren können.

Die zweite Überraschung lieferte BATE Borisow aus Weißrussland. Mit dem 1:1 im Heimspiel gegen Lewski Sofia sicherten sich die Weißrussen ebenfalls das Ticket für die Königsklasse des europäischen Fussballs. Gut, Lewski Sofia ist sicherlich nicht die ganz große Nummer im europäischen Fussball, doch nach der Zulosung von BATE Borisow stellte man in Bulgarien wohl schon den Sekt kalt. Es ist übrigens das erste mal, dass Weißrussland einen Vertreter in die Hauptrunde der Champions League schickt.

Die dritte Überraschung hätte beinahe Standard Lüttich geliefert. Bis in die Verlängerung zwang man den scheinbar übermächtigen FC Liverpool. Noch zwei Minuten hätten zum Elfmeterschießen gefehlt, doch Dirk Kuyt netzte für die “Reds” ein und beraubte die Belgier aller Champions League Träume.

Ansonsten bleibt von der diesjährigen Champions League Qualifikation noch das Ausscheiden der Glasgow Rangers in der zweiten Qualifikationsrunde in Erinnerung. Kaum jemand konnte ernsthaft damit rechnen, dass der UEFA Cup Finalist der Saison 2007/2008 tatsächlich gegen FBK Kaunas aus dem Bewerb fliegen würde. Schlussendlich hat es für Kaunas dann zwar auch nicht für den Einzug in die Champions League gereicht (0:4 Gesamtscore gegen Aalborg).

Nun, die “Kleinen” haben jedenfalls ein kräftiges Lebenszeichen von sich gegeben und man darf gespannt sein ob man dann auch die ein oder andere Überraschungsmannschaft im Achtelfinale der Champions League wiedersieht.

Rapid Wien wird mit sechs Punkten Vorsprung überraschender Meister der Saison 2007/08, hat zumindest die Aussicht auf die Teilnahme am UEFA-Cup über den Umweg Ausscheiden in der dritten Quali-Runde zur Champions-League und was passiert? Bazina wird ablösefrei zur Austria vertrieben, Korkmaz geht für 3 Mille nach Deutschland, zudem verletzt sich Tormann Payer. Der Ersatz dafür sind ein zu alter Deutscher Ketelaer und ein zu schwacher Jelavic. Über Koch erübrigt sich jeder Kommentar…

Anorthosis Famagusta wird ohne Niederlage zypriotischer Meister der Saison 2007/08, hat Null Aussichten auf ein Überstehen der zweiten Quali-Runde zur Championsleague und was passiert? Noch vor dem Duell gegen Rapid holt man den griechischen Abwehrhünen und Europameister Dellas, nach dem überraschenden, aber verdienten Aufstieg gegen inferiore Rapidler rüstet man sich zusätzlich für das Prestigeduell gegen Olympiakos Piräus, greift tief in die Tasche und verpflichtet für kolportierte 2 Mio. Euro den 86-fachen peruanischen Nationalspieler Nolberto Solano, einst bei West Ham und Newcastle eine große Nummer…

Da stellt sich die Frage nach den unterschiedlichen Auffassungen und Durchführungen von Kaderplanung. Wo andere Mannschaften das Geld herhaben, um sich für internationale Aufgaben zu verstärken, ist egal. Denn bei Rapid scheint irgendwie der Wille nicht da zu sein, sich nach gewonnenen Meisterschaften zu verstärken…

Recently I was reading up a little bit on the history of Cyprus. I was fortunate enough to travel to Cyprus many years back (I think 1996) and it has always remained one of my favourite places I have visited.  Cyprus, unfortunately is a divided nation having been invaded in 1974.  Turkey occupied the top third of the island, establishing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Now when I was in Cyprus we visited a beachside town quite close to the border area and were encouraged to climb viewing towers so that we might view the famed ghost town, Famagusta.  So the story goes, when Turnkey invaded all the Greek residents of the Varosha area of Famagusta fled for their lives.  The Turkish army then walled off the area and have refused admittance to anyone ever since.  Here you can see some photos of the area.  Apparently, (and I think this is not really confirmed), there are still cars in the vehicle dealer showrooms from 1974 and merchandise in the departments stores from the era.  A veritable museum and fascinating stuff.  According to Wiki, the Turks plan to reopen Varosha as a tourist destination by 2010 although I am sure they will have a hell of a job reclaiming the town from the decay.

I find the whole concept of a ghost town fascinating stuff.  To me it used to just conjure up an image of the wild west style abandoned gold town.  Today though, in reading some feeds, I came across this link to the “10 Most Amazing Ghost Towns”.  Famagusta makes it in at number 9.  They are all (aside from Varosha) essentially stories of commerce gone bad.  Stories of diamond mines drying up, coal mines closing, and nuclear reactors disintergrating all causing populations to up and move, and not a wild west gold town in sight.

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