City Love Companions

Limassol is a city like no other. It’s thoroughly Greek, but also genuinely cosmopolitan. Most Mediterranean resorts are basic, cookie-cutter towns. Tourists spend their days on the beaches and party at night. There might be an Old Town if you’re lucky. That’s it. Almost every resort there is identical. Limassol breaks out of that mold. It pulled off a combination of both the resort and the big city vibes. Kind of like Miami. That’s mostly thanks to Limassol’s location and status as a major business and trade centre. “Gateway into Europe”, I’m not a fan of this term. I mean there are a few Gateways into Europe. If you’re nicknaming something then at least make it unique. It’s not a shopping mall, after all. People have lived here long before Europe even had a name. Desp...

Cyprus is a paradise island, immensely popular with tourists from all over Europe who come for the steady sunny weather, azure blue sea and magnificent mountainous countryside. Traditionally also Russians and businessmen from the nearby Middle East have major interests in the flourishing local economy. Despite its friendly atmosphere the island has a long history of conflicts and occupations. In the past, it belonged to the Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Ottomans and even the English until 1950. Present-day Cyprus and even its capital Nicosia are split by, what they call, the Berlin Wall 2. The Republic of Cyprus, member of the EU since 2004 and part of the Euro zone since 2008, has formally sovereignty over the entire island. But in reality the island is divided into two main parts: the are...