After reading through the readings for Topic 1 (the readings are posted in http://pkaped.wikidot.com/articles), and especially the Cyprus-related websites, what did you find were the most common themes associated with Cyprus? How have web-based advertising agencies promoted Cyprus today? According to the websites you visit, what are its distinctive attractions?
It seems that a major theme running through the texts and especially the websites is the various conquests of Cyprus and how it has enriched its history. Many of the websites seemed to really capitalize on this type of diversity. At the same time, however, there seems to be a very strong emphasis on the dominant Greek culture. One website even emphasized the island as "the land of Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself" to appeal to newlyweds. There is also a large emphasis on the Greek Orthodox faith and the churches on the island. In addition, the sites advertise the warm Mediterranean weather and the resulting opportunities for outdoor sports and beach vacations.
Some distinctive attractions include the Archbishop's palace, the medieval walls of Lefkosia, and the National Struggle Museum. There were also numerous listings for various churches and mosques, as well as a listing for the Maa-Palaeokastro Settlement. I did find it interesting, though, that when doing a search for tourism in Cyprus, most results were about the southern half of Cyprus.
I looked up more information about the National Struggle Museum and I think this would be a really interesting place to visit. I'm interested in how the history of Cyprus is presented, especially in regards to how they view the events of 1974 and the occupation of the northern part of the island by Turkey. Some sites I looked at it called it the "Turkish invasion" which seems to present a certain connotation to the events.
Dr. Pettegrew—- is that on our list of places to go? If not, is it worth seeing in our free time?
Courtney,
I've never been but it would be great to go there. We will definitely be making a trip to Nicosia, probably near the end of our trip. We could try to squeeze that one in!
David
Similar to Caitlin, I found that a major theme of Cyprus is the multicultural nature of the island that has risen out of its vast historical ancestry. The texts and online sources emphasized that Cyprus is where 'East meets West' (and subsequently, I imagine, would present a rather unique challenge for the Cypriot historian who must deal with post-colonialism).
On quite a few of the websites there were multiple 'wine tours' which I found is not one of the top five exports of Cyprus (ironically, it's cement!?!). My first impression is that this seems to be a plug to appeal to tourist looking for a 'western' experience (like that you would get on a French or Italian wine tour). Yet, there are many places to visit regarding Byzantine art and Roman/Greek architecture.
Along with the major attractions Caitlin mentioned, I found information on the Tombs of the Kings as well as advertisements for beach and golf resorts.
I thought it was interesting how the websites tried to appeal to a broad audience: those looking for a more historical/cultural interpretation of Cyprus and those looking for a relaxing Mediterranean vacation.
On a random note, I found that Cyprus is sometime referred to as the 'island of sin'! Did anyone else find this, and do you know where it originates from?
I'd be interested in hearing more about the "island of sin" — if any of you find a reference to it.
David
I just found that the reference to 'island of sin' comes from the small town of Ayia Napa (Agia Napa—near Famagusta). Apparently it is quite the destination if you want to party (beaches, bars, clubs, etc). The name is said to mean something along the lines of "holy wooded valley" for the town's development around a monastery. It doesn't seem to be crazy enough to afford the whole island a nickname like the 'island of sin' so it's probably just a tourism marketing term.
Although apparently Ayia Napa has its own sea monster!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayia_Napa_Sea_Monster
The PKAP Project have a running joke about Ayia Napa — because of its notorious reputation. Actually, it's a lovely place to swim. I've yet to see the monster. Thanks for posting this, Courtney.
I know this sound’s like I am repeating what you all have said but Cyprus seems to be advertised as a trip to a Greek island. The setting and advertisement seems to reflect Greek culture. It also seems more directed toward the west, though this could be do to the fact that I was looking at western web sites. Though it resembles Grease it also has an Oriental twist which reminds us that we are at the gateway to the Middle-East.
Cyprus seems to rely on their beaches to bring in tourists along with western stile resorts. They also seem to rely on their ancient heritage and diverse history, to also attract visitors. One place I saw that looked interesting (at least from the photo) was an ancient aqueduct.
The only thing I found on the “island of sin” (honestly Dr. Pettegrew where are you taking us? lol jk) is that Cyprus is thinking about adding casinos to attract tourist during winter.
And actually, as Scott Moore has recently informed me, there's talk of putting in a huge amusement theme park in the territory behind our site—perhaps that will include casinos?
There is an aqueduct (late Medieval, but probably making use of a Roman one) on the outskirts of Larnaka. Neat stuff.
I also feel like I'm echoing everything that has already been said, but I went to the Cyprus Tourism Organization web page and one of their introductory sentences really caught my attention. "Cyprus lies at the crossroads of three continents, where East meets West…" Now I'm not sure if I'm being really picky with this or if it's a legitimate point, but the statement "where East meets West" makes it seem like Cyprus is most definitely a Greek/Western island with some Eastern influences thrown in. The fact that it is the East that is coming to meet the already stable West only reinforces the notion that the Greek heritage of Cyprus shines through with its tourist industry.
Also as a part of my research for this forum, I attempted to find Turkish websites that extol the virtues of Northern Cyprus. I thought that this was interesting, simply typing Cyprus into google, brought websites about the Southern half of the island; while a specific search for Northern Cyprus was needed to find the sites concerning the other part of the island. The Turkish websites certainly display their national pride. They compare the beauty of the island to that of their own culture and tradition.
Feeding off of what's been said, I've been finding that much of the tourism industry that is most quickly found searching the internets focuses heavily on the Greek aspect. The allure of the romantic Greek vacation combined with Mediterranean island seems to be a huge selling point.
I feel bad for the people in charge of these tourism sites, because the split between Greek and Turkish Cyprus really makes it hard for an honest description of the island. The tension between the two groups isn't communicated in the slightest on any of the sites I visited. The long history of the island is one of the main points of interest that is first stated by most organizations, but when it comes to the present day it is nearly impossible to define the cultural history. The idea of many civilizations melding into one fantastic island sounds great, but things didn't work out as well with the Turkish occupation. They can't point to a single culture that embodies the diversity of Cyprus' history - it seems that generally the culture that tourism likes most is the Greek half - often ignoring the turkish influences.
Beyond that though they seem to split the advertising between beaches and the occasional historical site.
I agree with the idea that on the tourism sites Cyprus is presented as a Greek island. Most of the sites I came across emphasized the Greek culture much more, and if the Turkish culture was mentioned it was more of a side note. I found this interesting because I thought perhaps some sites (other than the U.S. government travel site) might mention tension between the North and South, but I guess that wouldn't attract much tourism so I can understand why that wouldn't be included in descriptions of the island. Much of the advertising I saw was about the beautiful location for weddings or honeymoons. I think some of it was definitely targeted towards maybe a British audience because one line on a website was, "In Cyprus traffic drives on the left side of the road."
One thing I found that wasn't appealing was something about earthquake activity (hopefully they aren't frequent).
It seems like a gorgeous island based on the pictures, and from on the articles and the historical content from the websites I'm expecting it to be an exciting experience.
Even though I did not see the exact phrase that Melissa is referring to (about East meeting West), I wholeheartedly agree with your concerns over the wording. I had been considering something similar while reading Young and thinking a bit about the terms west and non-west - most of the phrasing we use to talk about and describe these things implicitly gives the west a place of dominance. I also wonder how much of the island's attractions are directed toward a western audience. While I love going to some tourist places, I definitely prefer finding where the locals go - it gives one a much more accurate view of the culture - but I feel like most of the advertising online is, like everyone said, a western twist of authentic Cypriot culture.
And this is really the key thing I want you to think about on the island: what constitutes authentic Cypriot culture? Is tourism a component of that or does it hijack it? Do the advertisements that you all mention appropriate culture or create it?
Good thoughts, all! I'll close this discussion tomorrow evening.
I'm not sure that i could give a great answer to the question of "what constitutes authentic Cypriot culture?" but i do feel that tourism can "hijack" culture and manipulate it. Tourism generally revolves around money rather than culture. While hot tourist spot may be located in areas where the culture is unique it generally capitalizes on the good or attractive aspects of a culture. In Cyprus's case this may be the western culture because it is more attractive to tourists which would then belittle the Turkish influence that is a part of Cyprus's story. In other words the tourist industry, at least in part, could manipulate or control the path of the culture (hijiack). These are outward forces that can control or create a culture for its profit. I cannot say for sure if this is the case with Cyprus but it seems plausible.
While reading through the thread I was struck by the islands timelessness. We seem to be following in the footsteps of a long line of visitors to the island. Settlers, conquerors, apostles, and now us the tourists. Perhaps tourism will be a major theme when future historians write the history of 21st century Cyprus. I don't know, but I find it kind of humbling.
Perhaps tourist site should not advertise a Greek culture or a Turkish culture but a more Cyprus cultur. Though again this might be hard to do given the many "visitors" to the island that never left. This seems to make the search for Cyprus’s culture through its history all the more urgent. Cyprus might be able to find their culture in their history and in their shared experience. Cyprus because it is an island is an island of immigrants from many different cultures. Yet this does not mean that they cannot have a unified culture. As Kyle was saying in the other thread American is a nation of immigrants but we still have a culture and history that is uniquely American.
I agree with Kyle, that no amount of reading could really show us the essence of a culture - but it must be experienced to understand in some way. But from what we've seen in most of our searching thus far, it seems to me that tourism definitely hijacks the way in which most of the world views Cypriot culture - their true culture is probably much different than what the tourism industry makes it seem. I appears as though tourism has greatly oversimplified an incredibly complex set of cultures, as I said earlier it tries to present a homogeneous culture while the island is made up of numerous ones, or at least a culture that has complex nuances depending on where you are, similar say between a person from Maine and Texas. But the fact that the origins of the cultures come from different regions, mainly Greece and Turkey, means that it will take a good deal of time before they've fully melded, a task that the Green line makes extremely difficult. Does Tourism hijack Cyprus' culture? They probably don't see it that way. It certainly hijacks our view of Cypriot culture from the outside.
To contrast with Alex, I think that defining a Cypriot culture is something that will require time and again a great deal of study. The tourist sites I saw did advertise (for the most part) a Greek or a Turkish culture as well, but perhaps for now instead of creating one, they should, as Messiah indoctrination tells us, "celebrate diversity," though of course not as a divisive tool. Perhaps they should merely take the time to recognize the differences between these groups, both as valid cultures of Cyprus. Again, I could be totally wrong not having seen Cyprus, and it could be that Cyprus is developing a concrete homogeneous culture, which would be a great step towards someday reconciling the two halves of the island.
Looking for a response to the issue of Greek emphasis. I too noticed the great lean towards the Greek side. Many sites I looked at gave notice to the Southern part of the island with brief glimpses of the North. I wonder if these have to do with the authors and their personal bias?
I also wonder if archaeology has a little to do with this bias. Many of the sites and books i looked at, emphasized the ruins and sites of Western culture. We ourselves are digging into Roman sites. Perhaps this is the only area that gets outside attention and therefore portrays Cyprus as an Ancient western land.
I like Alex's point that we should look at Cyprus as Cyprus. The country is having enough struggles trying to unify itself without the outside world splitting it apart again. Although it is obvious that the country is divided (in many ways), we should try to find the unity in the country and it's culture. And yet, while doing this I agree with Nick that we should also recognize it's diversity. It is a delicate balance that will be very difficult to achieve. But, I do not believe that the tourism enterprise helps that.