THE VERY LAST POST OF BALKANOPOULOS - THE GRAND STATISTICS !!!

This is the 100^th and LAST post of BALKANOPOULOS – can you believe it !!!

 

Another epic Golfco Pictures adventure comes to an end with the usual amazing stats:

·           Visited a total of 18 UN Countries

·           Sailed a total of 1,158 kilometres to 10 new Greek Islands

·           Visited 12 new UN Countries bringing my total UN Countries visited from 98 to 110

·           Ran a total of 512 kilometres over all new 12 UN Countries bringing my running total from 92 to 104

·           Swam a total of 49 kilometres in 7 countries

·           Travelled a total of 206 days (almost 7 months)

·           I drove a total of 15,266 kilometres across 14 countries

·           Slept in a total of 93 different beds in apartments or hotels or with relatives

·           Kept an estimated total of 3,000 photos culled from an estimated 40,000 photos taken

·           Shot an estimated total of over 120 hours of footage (film clips)

·           An estimate of 800 GB of total media available for the film

·           A Grand Total of 61,447 kilometres travelled by me by air, land and sea not including my walking, running, swimming or trekking

 

This incredible journey all started back on 19 April 2022 when I left Sydney for Athens to spend my first Easter in my father’s village in Greece. Almost seven months later and I left Cyprus for Greece again where I am resting for a few days and then fly to Bangkok to visit my Mercy kids – there will be no posts during this time as it is devoted to recovery.

 

I expect the epic film BALKANOPOULOS will take the better part of next year 2023 to produce since I will be travelling on and off throughout the year. The film will be produced in 3 parts:

1.         PRE-FEATURE focusing on the 10 new Greek Islands I visited

2.         MAIN FEATURE presenting the 9 Balkan Countries visited by Paris, Leo and myself.

3.         POST-FEATURE presenting Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Cyprus.

 

It is likely that BALKANOPOULOS will premiere over 1 month with the PRE and POST FEATURES showing around 3 October 2023 and the MAIN FEATURE showing around my birthday on 3 November 2023. Double the fun !!!

 

I take this opportunity to thank you all for following the blog and look forward to seeing you all at the premiere next year. I really do hope that enjoyed the many interesting facts and photos.

 

May I leave you with my favourite photo of the entire trip, taken by accident, as I was walking down an alleyway in Damascus Syria – I quickly turned behind me and snapped this one in a hurry but caught a moment that I believe exemplifies what I have seen in all my travels – that all the peoples of the world, no matter where they live or whatever they believe in or whatever ages they are or whatever economic circumstances that they find themselves in – WE HAVE MORE IN COMMON that not and this photo says it all. If these two kids can unite in friendship, why can’t the rest of the world.

 

This is John Balkan Golfin signing off Houston…

POST FEATURE – CYPRUS – PALAICHORI – EPISKOPEIO – TAMASSOS – NICOSIA (LEFKOSIA) – LARNACA AIRPORT (LAST POST 24-26 October 2022, Days 12-14 covering 129km to a grand total of 837km)

Welcome to my LAST POST of Cyprus !!!

 

In this post I drive from Argos to Nicosia (Lefkosia) via: Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour in Palaichori, The Church of St Andrew the Apostle and All Russian Saints in Episkopeio and the Archaeological Site of Tamassos. I also walk and visit the centre of Nicosia and then drive back to Larnaca Airport on the last day to catch my plane to Athens.

 

Another cold morning in the mountains but bathed in more brilliant golden sunlight made it a pleasurable drive to the village of Palaichori where I visited the UNESCO protected Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. Its interior is completely painted with one of the most complete series of murals of the post-Byzantine period in Cyprus. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century and it belongs to the single-aisled, timber-roof type churches of the Troodos region. The main highlight of this tiny and isolated chapel is a series of wall paintings showing scenes from the life of Christ, painted in the early 16th century.

 

The next Church was completely different and the best I have seen, inside and outside in Cyprus. The Russian Church of St Andrew the Apostle and All Russian Saints is a masterpiece and sits in a huge enclosure that contains a huge ornate administration building, outdoor icon mosaic murals, a park with swings for kids and several covered shops and restaurants. The church boasts five gold domes transported from St. Petersburg and the central dome, weighing nearly eight tons, was placed on the church on July 7, 2016 to the sound of chanting and fireworks, followed by a music and dance program. The church holds 400 people and is supported by Russia. I came across this place completely by accident by spotting the golden domes shimmering in the sun as I was driving to the Archaeological Site of Tamassos, which is very close by.

 

Tamassos was a city-kingdom in ancient Cyprus about 21 kilometres southwest of Nicosia. This city was mentioned in 673BC and established by the Neo-Assyrian Empire and grew rich because of the abundance of copper in the area. It evolved into a place dedicated to the worship of Aphrodite especially by those unable to have children. The site itself is disappointing as there is not much left.

 

Nicosia (or Lefkosia in Greek) is the largest city and capital of Greek Cyprus. The Greek half has a population of 299,214 and sits at 220m. It was first settled back in 3900BC. It is a very modern city with a ring road and wide boulevards. I arrived early so I could have a haircut and prepare for my trip back to Greece. My visit of the city is described after the photos below.

 

At 6pm I met with my first cousin Dimitra (whose late mum Eleni was my mum’s sister) at her favourite café restaurant in the city. Dimitra moved to Nicosia almost 5 years ago with her husband Manoli and their two children, Markos and Eleni. I met with Dimitra, Markos and Eleni as Manoli was in Athens. We had a terrific time talking about Cyprus, Australia, the kids studies and interests, my travels and life in general.

Enjoy the journey to Nicosia…

 

 

My 10km run through the city of Nicosia was great. Saw many interesting parks and buildings. Traffic is bad in the morning. After some brekkie and phone calls to organise Thailand I ventured into the city. Great experience. Easy to walk. Easy to visit. Hardly any high-rise. The city was once surrounded by walls and gates, only four gates remain and parts of the wall can be seen. I visited the following places: Ledra Street & Checkpoint, Shacolas Tower 11th Floor Observatory, Archangel Michael Trypiotis Church, St Saavas Church, Omeriye Mosque, St Barnabas Church, Hadgigeorgakis House, St George Church, Liberty Monument, Famagusta Gate, Chryssaliniotisa Church, St Kassianou Chuirch, National Struggle Museum, Archdiocese Headquarters, Byzantine School of Music, Makarios V Chapel, Dimachieas Square, Faneromeni School & Church.

 

I did not realise how close my hotel was to the “Green Line” or border with the Turkish part of Nicosia and Cyprus. This “Ledra Street Checkpoint” is easy to cross and one of the few that allows Greeks and Turks in and out as long as they return before end of day. Ledra Street itself us the main pedestrian alley full of restaurants, cafes, boutiques and shops running through the middle of the city. The Shacolas Tower gives the best view of the city. The rest of the city comprises 11^th to 16^th Century churches and mosques with the occasional church dating back to the first 4 centuries AD.

 

Overall Nicosia has a very good feel to it and probably a comfortable place to live and work.

Enjoy Nicosia…

FAREWELL CYPRUS...