The latest book I have read ...

I have just finished reading the 734 pages of one more of Orhan Pamuk's novels - "A strangeness in my mind" and if it has taken me longer to read this book of his, it is simply because I did get carried away by his writing style and did quite often re-read what had touched me in his story-telling approach.



"What matters more in love: What we wish for, or what our fate has in store? Do our choices dictate whether we will be happy or not, or are these things determined by forces beyond our control?

 

 

 

If "this sprawling story of a street vendor's romance is above all a love letter to the Turkish city in all its faded, messy, dusty glory" is true, it is also true that "at the end of A strangeness in my mind you may not remember the manner in which the urban redevelopment initiative progressed, but you'll remember Mevlut. The unschooled, "poor cousin" of this epic struggles everyday with the philosophical dilemma of how one should live. In this way the human drama outshines the portrait of a fascinating city".









 

The latest films I've watched ...

I've been to the cinema twice over the weekend and feel the films I've watched, despite relating to totally different epochs and with significantly different types of approaches have both focused on the importance of values, solidarity and friendship in times of despair. 

Based on a novel by Hans Fallada, "Alone in Berlin" holds onto very strong performances of the main characters - " Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson bring some stoic dignity to a conservatively told true story of Nazi resistance".

"I, Daniel Blake" by Ken Loach is "a polemical indictment of a faceless benefits bureaucracy that strips claimants of their humanity by reducing them to mere numbers (...) it is a celebration of the decency and kinship of (extra)ordinary people who look for each other when the state abandons its duty of care."

Whilst Alone in Berlin is a slow pace type of film allowing you to gradually and almost unoticeably feel the pain of the main characters who choose the potential power of words written on postcards "silent and persistently" distributed in a city surrounded by Nazi informers as a  way of venting their disappointment and despair at a system they believed in and which has claimed their son, I , Daniel Blake has an immediate impact on the viewers because the sequence of the pronounced words and actions being so devastingly strong that the problematic situations which are being unveiled do almost instantaneously become yours ... 

The evening gathering with former travelling companions ... - The 16th of November 2016

Whilst I was in Cyprus I got a message from a couple I had got along well during my Vietnamese circuit at the beginning of the year letting me know they were in Lisbon.

 

 

I was fortunate enough to have got back into Lisbon before they left because Sakina, Daniel and I had a marvellous evening together strolling around the Lisbon downtown back streets with their multiple "secrets", till we ended up at a  local restaurant where we tried out a few Portuguese specialties ...

Some people one occasionally meets in the circuits can provide you with moments of joy you just instinctively add to your list of memories ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyprus - My 7 day circuit across the country - Day 7 afternoon - Troodos Mountains - The UNESCO Church of Panagia tis Asinou - The 11th of November 2016

We approached the village of Nikitari beyond which the 12th century rough stone walled church of Panagia tis Asinou stood in the middle of a valley surrounded by pines. We managed to stay in one of the parts of the church for quile a while, which was an absolute privilege despite the fact that once again no pictures could be taken. Illustrating various religious themes the over 100 frescoes are among some of the best realistic type of painting style. 

No description will ever get near the impact the frescoes had on me ... I won't even attempt to ... once I don't feel it would be "fair" on what they impart ... I was at times disturbed, others astoundedly speechless ...

As we moved away from Troodos and approached Larnaca with its red tinged sky ... I knew I'd miss Cyprus ... we were just a few hours away from our flight back to Paris ... and I felt I was richer than when I had first set foot on Cypriot territory six days before ...

Cyprus - My 7 day circuit across the country - Day 7 morning - Troodos Mountains - The UNESCO churches of Panagia tis Poditho and Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis and the UNESCO Monastery Agios Ioannis Lampadistis - The 11th of November 2016

We drove into the Galata area in the Central Troodos Mountains to visit the 1502 Panagia tis Podithou Church, whose interior paintings are said to denote both Byzantine and Italian influences. I was speechless as I looked up and around  ... Our Lady Queen of Heaven 's image imposed itself in a way, but there were quite a few other paintings that exerted a singular fascination, whether it was because of the poignant expressions of those depicted in them or simply the artistic achievement, it was irrelevant.

We soon drove onto the Southwest part of Kalopetria where we came across the cross-shaped stone Church of Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis, whose oldest section is said to date from the 11th century. We had to wait for a while so as to walk into its interior because of a group of tourists. I was dying to see it because its walls were painted over a period of about 500 years, between the 11th and the 15th centuries, which would allow me  to perceive the evolution of the Byzantine wall painting from the early Byzantine "hieratic" and "monastic"through to the Kommenos and Paleologos styles. I was once more mesmerised by a few frescoes ... It was really a pity I couldn't photograph the ones I liked most, so that I could later admire them.

We finally visited the Monastery Ioannis Lampadistis complex which we reached by taking an elevator down from the Kalopanagiotis village located on a mountain slope. In it we visited the oldest of the three churches, dating back from the 11th century and decorated with 12th through to 15th century frescoes, mostly illustrating scenes and key events from the life of Jesus.  I was once more astounded ...

Before having been driven to a fairly close restaurant for a lunch break and as we stood by the side of the road collecting and eating almonds whilst awaiting one of the group members who had left her lamp down at the Monastery I felt we had got the best for last ... and I was not easily coping with such an intensity and depth of feelings ... We would be leaving the following day and I just felt like winding the clock back ...

Cyprus - My 7 day circuit across the country - Day 7 early morning - The Forest Park Hotel - The 11th of November 2016

I woke up with a sense of having been drained ... I had felt quite restless the night before and had therefore searched personal balance in reading the book on the Cypriot church frescoes, I had previously bought, till around four in the morning.

Having had to wake up fairly early wasn't too dificult particularly as I opened the bedroom balcony and felt the air of the Troodos mountains, though I clearly envisaged I'd feel some tiredness during the day ...