Showing posts with label Cyprus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cyprus. Show all posts
Friday, 25 August 2017
Thursday, 21 May 2015
Cyprus Uncovered: My Insider Life…with Tonia Buxton
My Insider Life…with Tonia Buxton
My Insider Life…with Tonia Buxton
London Cypriot, Tonia Buxton, is a woman of many talents, keeping herself busy as a presenter, historian, writer, gourmet cook and beauty expert. And she balances it all with being a wife and mum to four children! Presenter and producer of The Discovery Channel’s award winning My Greek Kitchen, the series was such a success that she went on to make series two of My Greek Kitchen with the follow up, My Cypriot Kitchen. It has since received global acclaim, shown in 17 different countries and airing again in the UK this October.
Tonia is passionate about Greek food, inspired by her mother’s kitchen from a very young age, and believes Greek food is a big undiscovered secret! Having written on healthy eating and mood foods for years, she wrote her own Greek Cookery book, Tonia’s Greek Kitchen in October 2012.
She is now very excited to be working with Blink Publishing on her second book Eat Greek For A week which will be out in June 2015. Her series Beauty and the Feast is also shown on ‘UK Food’, and around the world, while she is currently in talks with a major supermarket to develop her own signature food range.
My Cyprus Insider asks her ten questions about her life in Cyprus which include long holidays ever since she was a young girl…read on!
1. Three things you most love about Cyprus…
My family, the food and the weather.
My family, the food and the weather.
2. Most beloved spot on the island?
Gosh that is such a hard question to answer as I am constantly discovering new places in Cyprus that inspire me! At the moment I just adore what is happening in the old town of Nicosia, I love the art galleries that are popping up, and all the cafes and shops, I could just spend days wandering around and soaking up the atmosphere; it’s edgy and young. I do have to admit though that if I can escape and have a cocktail at the Koi bar in the Capo Bay hotel at sunset, it makes me very happy! I am so very inspired by the amphitheatre at Curium, I am a wanna-be opera singer, one day I will pluck up the courage to sing an aria there.
Gosh that is such a hard question to answer as I am constantly discovering new places in Cyprus that inspire me! At the moment I just adore what is happening in the old town of Nicosia, I love the art galleries that are popping up, and all the cafes and shops, I could just spend days wandering around and soaking up the atmosphere; it’s edgy and young. I do have to admit though that if I can escape and have a cocktail at the Koi bar in the Capo Bay hotel at sunset, it makes me very happy! I am so very inspired by the amphitheatre at Curium, I am a wanna-be opera singer, one day I will pluck up the courage to sing an aria there.
3. Favourite town?
Your questions are impossible to answer because I cannot narrow it down to a single one! I adore Nicosia for its vibe, Lythrodontas as it’s full of memories for me growing up, and my family make the best rose water from the roses grown there: Kallonas Rodostema. Then there’s Larnaca because we spend so much time there at my parents’ house on the beach – it’s so peaceful – and I can’t leave out Limassol because I am a child of the 80s!
Your questions are impossible to answer because I cannot narrow it down to a single one! I adore Nicosia for its vibe, Lythrodontas as it’s full of memories for me growing up, and my family make the best rose water from the roses grown there: Kallonas Rodostema. Then there’s Larnaca because we spend so much time there at my parents’ house on the beach – it’s so peaceful – and I can’t leave out Limassol because I am a child of the 80s!
4. Best memory?
Cyprus is very much in my heart, and even though I am British born, it is somewhere I call home, my whole life is filled with memories on the island. One of my proudest memories is when I was filming series two of My Greek Kitchen and my camera man said that he had worked in many countries all over the world, but never had he come across hospitality like that of the Cypriots.
5. From sunrise to sunset, what’s your perfect weekend break?
Being a working mother of four I very rarely get time to be still so my perfect day would be very lazy, sitting under an umbrella reading a book listening to the sea, only getting up to eat freshly caught fish at lunch time, then more relaxing, before I get brought a lovely cocktail to do more relaxing with. Then I would be brought a fresh pitta of souvlaki with sheftalia YUM!!
Being a working mother of four I very rarely get time to be still so my perfect day would be very lazy, sitting under an umbrella reading a book listening to the sea, only getting up to eat freshly caught fish at lunch time, then more relaxing, before I get brought a lovely cocktail to do more relaxing with. Then I would be brought a fresh pitta of souvlaki with sheftalia YUM!!
6. A day out at the mountains or beach?
I do like the mountains for a day but I think I am more of a beach girl.
I do like the mountains for a day but I think I am more of a beach girl.
7. Favourite place to eat?
Ok this is going to be long!!! I just love eating at my friend Roddy’s restaurant, Ta Piatakia in Limassol; he is great at modern Cypriot cuisine. Zephyros fish tavern in Larnaca is just the best there is, literally fresh out of the sea! The Four Seasons Hotel has the best lunch buffet of any hotel on the island, everything is fresh, tasty and well thought out. Archontikon Papadopoulou in Kornos is somewhere I have a soft spot for, I think it’s such a lovely restaurant, beautifully renovated & their tava meze all baked in the clay ovens is lovely. I am always looking for new modern/different places to eat in Cyprus so if your readers have any suggestions I would love to hear them.
Ok this is going to be long!!! I just love eating at my friend Roddy’s restaurant, Ta Piatakia in Limassol; he is great at modern Cypriot cuisine. Zephyros fish tavern in Larnaca is just the best there is, literally fresh out of the sea! The Four Seasons Hotel has the best lunch buffet of any hotel on the island, everything is fresh, tasty and well thought out. Archontikon Papadopoulou in Kornos is somewhere I have a soft spot for, I think it’s such a lovely restaurant, beautifully renovated & their tava meze all baked in the clay ovens is lovely. I am always looking for new modern/different places to eat in Cyprus so if your readers have any suggestions I would love to hear them.
Zephyros Fish Tavern
Archontikon Papadopoulou
8. Favourite place for a drink?
They do wonderful cocktails at Ousia Lounge by the castle in Limassol, the Vista Terrace in The Four Seasons is a favourite of mine, but I am always looking for new places, so I would love to hear some suggestions.
They do wonderful cocktails at Ousia Lounge by the castle in Limassol, the Vista Terrace in The Four Seasons is a favourite of mine, but I am always looking for new places, so I would love to hear some suggestions.
9. If you were to recommend a visitor tries just one local dish, what would it be?
So I can cheat a bit here, I would recommend that they try the traditional Cypriot meze, I do however suggest that they do their homework and ask around to find a restaurant that does it really well, like Voreas in Oroklini village or Agia Anna in Agia Anna village in Larnaca.
So I can cheat a bit here, I would recommend that they try the traditional Cypriot meze, I do however suggest that they do their homework and ask around to find a restaurant that does it really well, like Voreas in Oroklini village or Agia Anna in Agia Anna village in Larnaca.
10. Best season in Cyprus?
As I am a mother I always end up visiting during the school summer holidays which is great, but if I could, I would come to Cyprus in May or June: the flowers are still in bloom, the weather is wonderful and there is a freshness about the island that I adore.
As I am a mother I always end up visiting during the school summer holidays which is great, but if I could, I would come to Cyprus in May or June: the flowers are still in bloom, the weather is wonderful and there is a freshness about the island that I adore.
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Cyprus - Where Mythology Meets Fairy-Tale
Where Mythology Meets Fairy-Tale
23.11.2014
What makes Cyprus a destination of choice by many? It’s not just the expansive rugged coastline whose beauty could be considered unparalleled.
You see, Cyprus comes with it a rich history steeped in legendary tales of all things kings and knights, Ottomans and Phoenician, Romans and Egyptians and of course the Cypriot people too. A mythology that reads like a fairy-tale that continues to keep many entranced through the ancient relics that abound here.
KOURION
Kourion is an ancient city kingdom located in Limassol that resonates of a history from an almost mythical era gone by. Whilst the earliest evidence of settlement in the broader area of Kourion dates to the Neolithic period (4500 to 3900 BC), the ruins in the area of the ancient city itself are connected with settlements and tombs of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Visiting this archaeological site sees one getting lost in a treasure trove of century’s old relics that comprise the spectacular Greco-Roman Theatre, the Roman Agora, an early Christian Basilica and stately villas including the Houses of Achilles and Gladiators whose floors are still covered by the most striking mosaics.
Kourion is an ancient city kingdom located in Limassol that resonates of a history from an almost mythical era gone by. Whilst the earliest evidence of settlement in the broader area of Kourion dates to the Neolithic period (4500 to 3900 BC), the ruins in the area of the ancient city itself are connected with settlements and tombs of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Visiting this archaeological site sees one getting lost in a treasure trove of century’s old relics that comprise the spectacular Greco-Roman Theatre, the Roman Agora, an early Christian Basilica and stately villas including the Houses of Achilles and Gladiators whose floors are still covered by the most striking mosaics.
LIMASSOL MEDIEVAL CASTLE
Steeped in tales of knights and Romans, the Limassol Medieval Castle is probably most legendary for being the site where in 1191, Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria of Navarre and crowned her Queen of England.
Steeped in tales of knights and Romans, the Limassol Medieval Castle is probably most legendary for being the site where in 1191, Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria of Navarre and crowned her Queen of England.
Archaeological findings show that the Castle was built over an Early Christian basilica (4th to 7th Century AD) and a Middle Byzantine monument (10th to 11th Century AD). From the time it was built, attacks on the city by the Ottomans and the Venetians as well as earthquakes have seen the Castle undergo many reconstructions.
Until 1950 the underground chamber and first floor were used as prison cells. Since 1987 the Castle has housed the Medieval Collection of the Cyprus Museum.
KOLOSSI CASTLE
A relic of the Knights Templar and the Knights of St John, the history of Kolossi Castle is one to fill the pages of a storybook. Originally belonging to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem where it was the seat of the most important of their Commanderies, the Castle was later in the 14th Century controlled by the now more famous Knights Templar. The area surrounding Kolossi Castle produced and exported the traditional sweet wine of Cyprus that became known as the “Vin de Commanderie” or Commandaria. It is said that during his marriage to Berengaria, Richard the Lionheart pronounced Commandaria as the “wine of the kings and the king of the wines”.
A relic of the Knights Templar and the Knights of St John, the history of Kolossi Castle is one to fill the pages of a storybook. Originally belonging to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem where it was the seat of the most important of their Commanderies, the Castle was later in the 14th Century controlled by the now more famous Knights Templar. The area surrounding Kolossi Castle produced and exported the traditional sweet wine of Cyprus that became known as the “Vin de Commanderie” or Commandaria. It is said that during his marriage to Berengaria, Richard the Lionheart pronounced Commandaria as the “wine of the kings and the king of the wines”.
AMATHUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Dating back to what is thought to be 1100 BC, Amathus is one of the most significant ancient royal cities of Cyprus where the infamous cult of Aphrodite was said to have flourished.
Dating back to what is thought to be 1100 BC, Amathus is one of the most significant ancient royal cities of Cyprus where the infamous cult of Aphrodite was said to have flourished.
Mythological tales would have us believe that Amathus was founded by King Kinyras and is where Theseus left the pregnant Ariadne who died during childbirth and was buried in a sacred tomb there. Others myths advocate that Amathus is where one of the sons of Heracles settled which is why he was worshiped there.
A number of ancient relics have been discovered at this UNESCO World Heritage site evidencing influences from the Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine periods and the Crusaders.
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