13th January 2006, 08:29 PM
Having lived in Cyprus twice, for a total period of 5 years I feel I can comment on what it's like over there, though I came back in 2001, so I have no knowledge of what it is like since they adopted the Euro
The people are very friendly, like anyone if you treat them with respect you will have no real problems. The climate is great, though extremely hot from around Mid April through to the end of October. If you are going over around March this should give you chance to acclimatise before the thermometer starts to climb. Just remember all the usual Sun Safety tips, Sun block, Wear a Hat, keep a shirt on and of course Drink Plenty of water, especially when working, rule of thumb is a litre per hour at least whilst working, I've seen plenty that havent followed these simple tips and it aint pretty.
The food is fantastic, try too eat at places where they have a lot of local customers, this usually indicates good food and good prices.
Limmasol, Ayia Napa etc are like your usual British Saturday night in town multiplied by X (X being factored on what month of the tourist season it is, July and August being about 10). In all honesty the only unpleasantness I ever encountered involved drunken British tourists, and believe me the Cypriot Police crack down hard, and be aware they will, almost inevitably take the side of any locals who may be involved in a fracas, road accident etc.
As far as digging and the Archaeology, well apart from the ground being like digging concrete, the archaeology is some of the sexiest you are liable to experience. Complete ceramic assemblages are commonplace for example. I spent a whole summer digging in 2000 and had some stunning finds, worked ivory discs, copper alloy jewellery, a single gold earring of Late Cypriot Bronze age date and more complete ceramics than you can shake a stick at, so just go out there and enjoy.
Troll has been over there more recently than I so hopefully he can update you a little better. Hope this helps a bit?
I'm officially jealous as hell
Penfold
The people are very friendly, like anyone if you treat them with respect you will have no real problems. The climate is great, though extremely hot from around Mid April through to the end of October. If you are going over around March this should give you chance to acclimatise before the thermometer starts to climb. Just remember all the usual Sun Safety tips, Sun block, Wear a Hat, keep a shirt on and of course Drink Plenty of water, especially when working, rule of thumb is a litre per hour at least whilst working, I've seen plenty that havent followed these simple tips and it aint pretty.
The food is fantastic, try too eat at places where they have a lot of local customers, this usually indicates good food and good prices.
Limmasol, Ayia Napa etc are like your usual British Saturday night in town multiplied by X (X being factored on what month of the tourist season it is, July and August being about 10). In all honesty the only unpleasantness I ever encountered involved drunken British tourists, and believe me the Cypriot Police crack down hard, and be aware they will, almost inevitably take the side of any locals who may be involved in a fracas, road accident etc.
As far as digging and the Archaeology, well apart from the ground being like digging concrete, the archaeology is some of the sexiest you are liable to experience. Complete ceramic assemblages are commonplace for example. I spent a whole summer digging in 2000 and had some stunning finds, worked ivory discs, copper alloy jewellery, a single gold earring of Late Cypriot Bronze age date and more complete ceramics than you can shake a stick at, so just go out there and enjoy.
Troll has been over there more recently than I so hopefully he can update you a little better. Hope this helps a bit?
I'm officially jealous as hell
Penfold