Made of Stone

Last February, I had a chance to go to Cyprus to visit my brother and to see the sights around. Actually, I don't have a lot to say about what I saw out there but one.

I wanted to see the city, Kyrenia so we got in a car and started driving from Famagusta and since we were taking the shorter way, I can't say that it was a comfortable journey. Anyway, after 15 minutes I saw that church on the left side of the road. Two kids were playing games around it but the church looked really old and damaged. The cross on the roof had been taken down and the walls were covered with graffiti.

At that moment it hit me. The church was there because there were people attending, at least back in the day. I bet the Greeks attending that church had Turkish friends. What made them become so violent? In the end they knew each other. They danced to the same music, drank the same Ouzo/Rakı, ate the same food and maybe fell in love with the same people.

When I saw that church, I was listening to Stone Roses - Made of Stone -hence the name of the post- and probably this is the reason why I'm so overemotional about what happened to those people and what might have happened if they hadn't fought back then.

This trip also added to my favourite football teams. When I saw the ghost town Varosha closely and realized that the team Anorthosis Famagusta had to move South because of the war, I started to support them.

I hope the Cypriots realize that they need each other.

Back to the Spirit

It is always a bit hard to go back to your hometown if you've spent more than 3-4 months in the big city. I decided to start my vacation in my hometown to get rid of the stress of work and the madness of the city.

For some reason, this time it seemed way more attractive to be in the countryside for a bit. Gave me a feeling of safety and warmth...

Let me tell you the best part; Watching my hometown's football team play its last game of the season. I've always loved watching amateur games. I remember watching 4 games a weekend at some stage of my high school years. What makes me happy about watching the match is seeing my primary school friends play and giving them suggestions, swearing at the referee and knowing that he's hearing what I say, talking to my locals about how life is and eating dodgy food.

Well, the score was 3-1. We won and finished at the bottom of the league with only 2 wins. There were about 40 people watching. I'm pretty sure I do not enjoy most of the Turkish Super League games as much as I enjoy the local teams' games. That's probably why I named the post as "Back to the Spirit" and you'd understand what I mean if you had seen the dust behind the left winger's shoes while he was running.