The traditional meze (appetizers) is usually some of everything that is available that day in the restaurant - as many as 30 dishes, starting with soup and salad; then such traditional hot dishes as haloumi, moussaka, afelia, stifado, souvlaki, sheftalia and calamari; ending with sweets. Good but inexpensive wines accompany this lingering repast, and as a finale, try a local brandy with a cup of Cypriot coffee.

Welcome to Cyprus, Sunshine Island of exotic fragrances and Eastern Mediterranean flavour.

Relax and let yourself slip into the Cypriot pace of life. Why not take a seat by the sea, under a vine pergola or mimosa tree and sip your first brandy sour, or an ouzo. Nibble on a nut or even better, pass the time with a handful of sunflower seeds or passatempo as the Cypriots call them.

Just sniff Cyprus and you could become intoxicated by, the tang of fresh lemons and the delicate citrus blossom, the wholesome smell of freshly baked bread or the fermenting grapes from the wine harvest.

Cypriots, as you will soon discover, are a naturally hospitable people and generous to the extreme, in a way that is so much part of the Mediterranean. Cyprus lies at the crossroads of the Levant, as this eastern end of the Mediterranean is known. Just take a glance at its history and you will see how various empires, invasions, foreign settlers and traders over the past: 3,000 years have brought their influence to Cyprus. They have also brought their recipes and many any of these have been introduced into Cypriot cooking, the main ones coming from Greece

Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria. Italy. France and latterly Britain. These foreign flavours have combined with the food produced on the island to give Cyprus its own traditional cuisine.

Its turbulent past has made Cyprus self-sufficient and in rural areas Cypriot families still produce almost everything they need, from pourgouri (cracked wheat) to cheese, home baked bread and smoked cured pork. Not so long ago the grain, oil and wine were stored in Pitharia, those enormous onion shaped terracotta pots that adorn the countryside. The island has always produced a huge variety of food due to its fine climate. In fact everyday foods such as figs, beans, chickpeas, bitter herbs, olives, dates, almonds and nuts date back to the Bible.

The Cypriots cook with less oil than their Mediterranean neighbours and their diet is a healthy one, apart from their love of syrup soaked pastries! Everything is cooked fresh, daily, and the quality of the produce is superb, due no doubt to the motto of the Cypriot housewife... 'If it isn't fresh we don't want it.'

If you are in a hurry, then you can find fast food in the shape of a pitta bread envelop, filled with souvlakia (kebab) and salad, but slow food is more the order of the day in Cyprus.After all, why rush when there is time to enjoy your meal.


SOME ADRESSES



LARNACA

MONTE CARLO
28 Plyale, Pacha
24 65 38 15

MILITZIS 
42 Piyale Pasha Street
24 65 58 6