After a long journey across the Atlantic, I arrived in Larnaca and caught my taxi up to Nicosia at about 5:00 pm Cyprus time (9:00 am Central). It was around 85 degrees when we landed, but is now a comfortable 77 with a breeze on Rachel and Nikos’ balcony. Dr. Iannacone and Dr. Bakirtzis (Rachel and Nikos) were the co-leaders of my Greece trip two summers ago and continue to inspire me academically. I owe them so much for their guidance and the letters they wrote for all of my awards. I will be staying at their apartment for a few days in south Nicosia’s Dasoupoli neighborhood until I find a place for my own. Nikos is eagerly waiting for my return to the basketball court (which won’t be pretty).
As I begin to settle in, I thought it might be helpful to explain why I am here. The island of Cyprus is divided a United Nations controlled Buffer Zone that separates Greek-speaking and Turkish-speaking regions and runs directly through the capital city, Nicosia (where I am staying). The entire island is considered the Republic of Cyprus (released from British control in 1960), but following an attempted coup by a Greek military junta seeking union with Greece, the Turkish military invaded the island from the north in 1974. The regions remain polarized to this day, and until only a few years ago crossing the buffer zone was not legal.
However, Cyprus lies at the crossroads of East and West, Christianity and Islam, & Europe and Asia and the Middle East. In addition, the island had been used as a main naval base/air craft carrier by many of the Mediterranean’s great powers. Both of these factors have given the island and complex history and identity, and this history is visible in its architecture.
Immediately following the division of the island in 1974, community leaders from both sides recognized the need to preserve the historic monuments in the capital city of Nicosia. For the 35 years since the Nicosia Master Plan has been put into action, over 100 monuments have been restored in an attempt to draw the two sides together by their common heritage. I am here to study this process as a conflict resolution strategy in a divided city through the built environment.
My main project is to document each monuments preserved under the master plan in a database at the Cyprus Institute (my host institution where Nikos works). In addition, I hope to help the NMP teams in any way I can while I am here to encourage and understand their work.
As I communicate with more people in the coming weeks my project will become more clear. For now… I still need to get an apartment, phone, bank account, etc.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Delayed Departure
Although my flight was originally booked to depart on September 10th, some passport control issues experienced by other Fulbrighter's headed to Cyprus pushed back my flight to September 15th. With these extra days at home, I got a chance to spend some bonus time with friends and family before I left them again and ensure that I my bags were packed with everything I needed and nothing more.
You will hear from me next in Cyprus.
You will hear from me next in Cyprus.
A Return to Action
Hello everyone and welcome [back] to my blog. I apologize for its stasis over the past year, but I hope the activity to come will make up for lost time.
Speaking of lost time, here’s a quick rundown of the past couple years of my life that led to where I am today:
September 2006: Began architecture program at the University of Minnesota, thoroughly unprepared for the journey ahead.
May-July 2008: Participated in the program “Tradition in Transition”, an architectural history seminar in Greece led by Professors Rachel Iannacone and Nikolas Bakirtzis. My sponge-like brain was immediately stimulated by the wealth of knowledge these two offered me during our tour of Athens, the Peloponnesos, and a few islands (namely Leros and Rhodes). I continued to travel to Turkey, Britain, Spain, Italy, and France during the following month.
August 2008-May 2009: Began architecture studio courses and worked at the Learning Abroad Center.
June-August 2009: Funded by the Metropolitan Design Center and Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, I investigated the island of Cyprus and the urban planning/heritage preservation approach to draw the divided island together in the capital city of Nicosia (called the Nicosia Master Plan, or NMP). In addition, I attended the Mount Menoikeion seminar at a monastery near Serres, Greece and traveled to Bulgaria, Israel, as well as many other cities in Greece that I had not previously been (including Crete, Meteora, and Thessaloniki). Please see all previous posts and my Flickr page for more detail on these travels.
August 2009-May 2010: Finish up school, feverishly apply for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, and add my photos from travels to the Digital Content Library.
May 2010: Graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a minor in Geography.
June-August 2010: Work at Artspace Projects Inc. as a property development intern.
Now: I eagerly await a journey of a lifetime to Nicosia, Cyprus from September 2010-June 2011 to document and look closer at the Nicosia Master Plan as a Fulbright Scholar.
Then: I venture to Belfast, Northern Ireland from September 2011-September 2012 as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar where I will be attending class at Queen’s University pending my acceptance into the Urban & Rural Design or Spatial Regeneration programs.
Thank you to everyone that has helped me achieve these lofty goals, and for your future support during the next two years and beyond. I hope you all will comment on my posts!
Speaking of lost time, here’s a quick rundown of the past couple years of my life that led to where I am today:
September 2006: Began architecture program at the University of Minnesota, thoroughly unprepared for the journey ahead.
May-July 2008: Participated in the program “Tradition in Transition”, an architectural history seminar in Greece led by Professors Rachel Iannacone and Nikolas Bakirtzis. My sponge-like brain was immediately stimulated by the wealth of knowledge these two offered me during our tour of Athens, the Peloponnesos, and a few islands (namely Leros and Rhodes). I continued to travel to Turkey, Britain, Spain, Italy, and France during the following month.
August 2008-May 2009: Began architecture studio courses and worked at the Learning Abroad Center.
June-August 2009: Funded by the Metropolitan Design Center and Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, I investigated the island of Cyprus and the urban planning/heritage preservation approach to draw the divided island together in the capital city of Nicosia (called the Nicosia Master Plan, or NMP). In addition, I attended the Mount Menoikeion seminar at a monastery near Serres, Greece and traveled to Bulgaria, Israel, as well as many other cities in Greece that I had not previously been (including Crete, Meteora, and Thessaloniki). Please see all previous posts and my Flickr page for more detail on these travels.
August 2009-May 2010: Finish up school, feverishly apply for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, and add my photos from travels to the Digital Content Library.
May 2010: Graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a minor in Geography.
June-August 2010: Work at Artspace Projects Inc. as a property development intern.
Now: I eagerly await a journey of a lifetime to Nicosia, Cyprus from September 2010-June 2011 to document and look closer at the Nicosia Master Plan as a Fulbright Scholar.
Then: I venture to Belfast, Northern Ireland from September 2011-September 2012 as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar where I will be attending class at Queen’s University pending my acceptance into the Urban & Rural Design or Spatial Regeneration programs.
Thank you to everyone that has helped me achieve these lofty goals, and for your future support during the next two years and beyond. I hope you all will comment on my posts!
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