In the earliest days of arriving in Larnaca, before most of the other students had yet to arrive, I encountered a man standing in front of his business in the warm early evening. The Bowler’s Pub is located just across from the Jami Kebir Mosque, a block off the south end of the Finikoudes beach. He greeted me warmly as it seemed like he was looking to find people to patronize his establishment so I chose to sit down and order and ouzo. His name was Petros and the pub was his since 1990. He was a local Cypriot who was a wealth of information about his country and the history of the island. We covered numerous topics that night for the next few hours. You will be told numerous times by your professors about the warmth and friendliness of Cypriot and Petros was the quintessential example of this.

I continued to visit Petros at his pub frequently during my time in Larnaca, as he was excited to hear about the excavation work we were doing and I made sure to spread the word about his business and the experiences I was having there. Not only from conversation with Petros, but the numerous ex-pats from across Europe who come by the pub to have a drink and swap stories with Petros like I did.

Petros was 5 years old in 1974 when Cyprus had its most divisive conflict that redrew the borders of the nation. His village was northeast of Larnaca and everyone fled as the front quickly moved towards their quiet home. When the ceasefire agreement was made and the UN buffer zones were established, his village was caught in the ‘no mans lands’. In 2004, border crossing restrictions were lifted and he was able to visit his village for the first time along with his mother. Sadly his father died many years prior at a relatively young age. He told me about how much of the buildings had been looted, and depending on the construction of the buildings, they either completely collapsed from lack of maintenance or at the very least the roofs have fallen in. Petros still has the deed for his family home and he hopes that at some point in his lifetime the crisis and division will somehow end so he can go back and reclaim the childhood home in the village his parents used to tell him about.

If you, dear reader, chose to go on the PKAP excavations in the future, I urge to you visit his establishment and meet him for yourself. He will openly tell you about Cypriot life and culture, the changes since the war, the changes since Cyprus joining the EU in 2003, and the history of Cyprus and its relationship to both Greece and Turkey. Just make sure you tell Petros that his friend Adam sent you.

-Adam E.