For this trip back into the history of the Island of Cyprus, we are going to need to hang on a little more tightly to each other than in our past adventures. As I explained earlier, my friends call me Omorfos, not because I am handsome, but because they consider me easy to be around and speak what is on my mind that comes from my heart. I want to share with you the history of this beautiful island which will always be a part of who I am, but without exposing a little bit of myself, could never fully tell the story the way I feel it deserves to be told.
As a student in school, I always felt sorrow when studying the wars and turmoil associated with the Ottoman Empire. Today, as a man in my 30’s, I realize something that only comes with the passage of time. While taking photos of my beautiful island, I know that the sunset and the ocean have no political opinions nor do they mention any preferences – they just smile upon us all without a care in the world. While riding in the meadows on my horses surrounded by scenery too spectacular to be captured on camera much less by words, there is no conflict other than the wind or the rain.
The island has no “worry-lines” because memories are only measured by the sun rising and setting. Change is embraced and welcomed as each day passes and the land adapts to climatic variations, and the true colors remain splendid – year after year and century after century. Our Cyprus and our world entire are glorious because they ignore all of us and our little differences and just continue to turn without pause. Let us follow that example of nature and strive to be one with this little slice of paradise, take my hand as we stroll together back to the 16th century.