Repairs, the Cypriot way!

This is gonna be another photoless quick blog.  One of those days that needs to be recorded so we remember.

Abbie and Matt arrive today and then Jess lands on Saturday and we have been merrily running the Jeep with no working aircon, windows open blowing the cobwebs away.  I love it, Andy hates it and as we will be travelling around the island with a car full of folks for the next few weeks we figured it was time to get it regassed.

Andy went into work and asked Mehmet where was best to go, Mehmet duely rang a man (who is probably his cousin's half brother's sister-in-laws friend's friend!)  That is just how it works here.  We pootled into Pergamos village - Andy gave me a quick boundary tour and explained how the goal at one end of the football pitch is in the republic of Cyprus and the other is in the Turkish north of Cyprus.  The border fence actually runs through the garden of the property we visited!

We arrived at a typically Cypriot house we intorduced ourselve to Ali who said he knew Andy from his last tour here in 2007/8!  This isn't uncommon, how the locals always remember dates and names of UK officers when they change so regularly is quite impressive.  Lots of hand shakes and smiles and welcoming greetings are exchanged, then he trots off to say something in Turkish to his daughter, chairs are brought round for us to sit on while he tinkers under the bonnet.  Then a young lad pops over from across the road, turns out the Ali is showing him how to tinker with and repair cars. 

Remember this is a country where cars hold there value and are repaired rather that scrapped or exchanged for new, there are so many old cars 20, 30 and even 40 years old trundling around the island, so the young lad is learning a valuable skill on a street corner in Cypriot village.

 I digress!

Having plonked ourselves down on the chairs Ali and Andy are chittering on about life in Dhekelia and the young lad then reappears with a small table which is placed in front of us, quickly followed by Ali's daughter who has made Turkish coffee and then offers us cake - both in Cyprus and Turkey the Turks are unable to serve coffee without a sweet accompaniment, it is usually a sweet, Turkish delight or a cake.   When Ali has finished the car he comes over and drinks coffee with us, there is no rush  "this is Cyprus my friend" .......... "slowly slowly".  After this very sedate and relaxing affair Andy talks money and this guy asks for only 20 euros, Andy only had a fifty to which Ali replies , 
"no worries my friend, no charge!"  We did not leave with paying the man, we scrabbled around in my rucksack and the car to coble together the reuired twenty euros.

I must also point out that this afternoon coffee date is not unique, we have visited Turkish Cypriot garages (not just houses on street corners) and have then been invited into the house next door where we are served Turkish coffee and sweet delights.

Turkish hospitality knows no bounds, they are so welcoming and humble, and very proud people both on Cyprus and on the mainland!  I shall miss this when we leave.