More random Larnaka images for the end of March

 For anyone who thinks Cyprus is all sunshine and warmth... this is a screenshot from March 21st, on a morning when my friend Sheila and I decided that we would not be going out for our usual 5km walk...

According to local news reports, it has been an exceptionally wet March.  It has certainly felt that way. It's a good thing, as the reservoirs are now in a much better state than they were at the start of the year, although we're still told to conserve water, and I believe the hosepipe ban is continuing. 

What to see in Larnaka

 For the first ten days of the month, we had some friends visiting: a couple we used to know well when we lived in Colorado Springs, back in the early 1990s.  We had not seen one of them for over thirty years! It was wonderful to spend time together, and also to show them something of the area. Richard took a week off (well, mostly off...) and took them on a few trips further afield. But we also liked showing them some of the sights and places of interest in and around Larnaka. 

On the first morning, we took a walk to the Salt Lake trail. We only went as far as the bird-watching platform, and it was disappointing: a couple of flamingoes in the distance, and not much else. There haven't been as many flamingoes as usual this year, and signs have been posted clearly prohibiting visitors from leaving the trail and walking closer to the lake. I didn't take any photos.

In the afternoon, we walked along Larnaka sea front, looking at statues and shops, and eventually reached St Lazarus Church. This is where Lazarus - sister of Mary and Martha - came to be bishop, and where he was buried, according to tradition, when he died for the second time. 

There's often construction or repair work going on, and sometimes hordes of pigeons in the grounds. But we didn't see many birds, and the church was open for visitors. One has to dress appropriately - no shorts, or bare shoulders. But it's February; we were all dressed in long trousers and more than one warm, long-sleeved layer. 

I've been inside the church several times previously, and am not a huge fan of the ornate decorations found in many Greek Orthodox churches. But it's an interesting place to see, and visitors always seem impressed with the interior. Here's just one image (taken by one of our friends).

I didn't go down to the crypt, although our friends did. 

Not far from St Lazarus is the Larnaka mosque:

We didn't go inside - I'm not sure if it was open to the public. But it's also quite an impressive looking building. It was closed down when we first moved here, but there's a growing Muslim population, including some of the asylum seekers and refugees, and so the mosque is now refurbished and used. 

Walking back to the sea-front, the third imposing building is the old fort:

We didn't go inside that, either. It was near to the closing time, and we didn't want to have to pay for just twenty minutes or so inside.  From past experience, it's not all that extensive or exciting anyway. But we could see through the entrance:

It's nicely renovated, and although I haven't been for some years now, I understand there's an indoor mini museum as well as the uncovered area, and information about how the fort was used, many years ago.

On Tuesday afternoon, we had thought of going to Cyherbia. But when Richard checked the location on his phone, we learned that it was closed during February, other than at weekends. So instead we drove to the Oroklini bird-watching platform, hoping to get a better view of flamingoes. We had never been there before, but other friends who visit go there regularly.  I was quite surprised at the impressive view of Oroklini lake:

The platform has a display showing different kinds of local birds, and our friends were able to identify many of them. We did see flamingoes, although not many, and not very close. 

Then we went to have ice cream on the Makenzy promenade, and walked around the fishing 'village' - really a kind of mini harbour for fishing boats. 

On other days our friends went sailing, and we drove to Curium, which I'll write about in a separate post at some point. We had a couple of take-away evening meals, and were treated to a meze at our favourite restaurant, Kyra Giorgena. 

We decided, after all, not to visit CyHerbia this time. On Saturday morning - when it was raining - Richard took our friends to see Angeloktisti (the church of the angels) in Kiti. Then they went to the Sultan Tekke mosque near the Salt Lake. All worth seeing, but I had seen them before and needed to do things at home. 

There are several museums in Larnaka, but we decided against going to any of those - we didn't need to fill up every minute of time with places of interest. Just walking around the block, seeing typical Cypriot homes, is something of an adventure to people new to the country.

But we did do two more fairly local things: we drove to the top of Rizoleia hill to see the view over Larnaka (and to have some hot drinks).

And on our friends' last afternoon, after a morning trip to Nicosia with Richard, one of our friends and Richard went to Salina Park, for more hot drinks, and time to chat.

It was good to have places to visit and see that were within walking distance, or a short drive, rather than taking up a whole morning or day out.  The weather was mostly dry and sunny, but not over-warm, so we didn't have ice cream more than once. Nor did we go to the beach. Since there were no children, we also didn't go to any of the many playgrounds that can be found within Larnaka and nearby locations. 

Kataklysmos fair in Larnaca

Today is Kataklysmos Sunday. That's Pentecost in the Greek or Eastern calendar.  Eastern Easter was a week later than Western Easter back in April, and thus Pentecost is a week later than the Western celebration of that important feast in the church's calendar.

However, whereas many folk in the UK were probably unaware of Pentecost (or Whitsun, as it used to be called) a week ago, it would be hard to miss it here in Cyprus. Larnaka is traditionally thought to have been founded by one of Noah's grandsons, and Kataklysmos (a word which means 'deluge') is a celebration - if that's the right word - of the Flood, as well as of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

At least, that's the official line.  As with many of the religious festivals, it has become an excuse for a sea-front fair, which lasts nearly two weeks, as well as concerts, games, and much more to attract visitors and locals. It's not something that appeals to me, particularly. When our sons were younger we visited a couple of times, but the noise, heat and general chaos left me with a headache.

Twelve years ago we went out to eat with our house group on the Friday before Kataklysmos Sunday (back then, the festival did not open until the Friday, and lasted only one week). Even sitting in a restaurant, it was noisy, and I had no wish to go anywhere near it again.  Then last year we took some visiting friends for a walk along the sea-front a week before Pentecost, when there were some stalls but it wasn't yet total chaos.

This afternoon we went out for ice cream about 4.30pm, and then I suggested we could have a brief look at the stalls.  Although summer is here, it hasn't been as hot in the past week or so as it was, and by 5pm I was fine walking mostly in the shade.  I certainly didn't want to go in the evening, when it will be very busy and loud, but a couple of hours ago it wasn't too bad at all.

There were far more stalls than I remembered from the last time we visited. Some were set inside little tents with pointy roofs, extending much further than they did twenty years ago:

What always surprises us is that there are so many duplicate stalls. We saw at least three (maybe more) lengthy stalls, in the main part of the sea-front, selling traditional Cypriot sweets and nuts.

There was a huge trampoline for children, and a bouncing castle, and bunting everywhere - the atmosphere is a carnival one, and I doubt if many people thought about the origins of the festival.

There are some stalls selling locally made jewellery and other crafts - we glanced at a few, but we didn't plan to buy anything.

Toy stalls are another kind replicated so many times that I'm amazed they manage to sell anything.  I hope the quality is better than it was twenty or so years ago when our sons bought super-soakers at one of these stalls, only to have them break within a few days. 

There was one book stall amongst the many others.  I didn't take a photo, but there were quite a few Greek hardback children's books.  Unfortunately this kind of fair doesn't have second-hand books, and those are the only stalls I ever really look at in fairs of this kind.

We had parked at the Marina (a fringe benefit of Richard having a boat there is that he can park there free any time he wants to) and walked almost as far as the fort.  It was half-past five, and the noise was increasing; there was going to be a concert later, and loud music was coming from some of the stalls, as well as from the concert area.

So we walked back on the other side of the road, in the shade, by the restaurants, and then came home.  Many locals and tourists will be down there this evening; some of the restaurants had extended out into the street with extra tables and chairs, hoping for extra customers later.  The noise will be unbearable (from my perspective) and the crowds claustrophobic.  But for those who enjoy crowds and loud music, the Kataklysmos fair is a highlight of the early Summer in Cyprus. 

Another meze at Kira Georgena taverna

About four months ago, some visiting friends took us out to eat at a local taverna whose name in English is Kira (or Kura) Georgena.  We liked it so much that when other friends were visiting last week, and wanted to take us out for meze, we suggested the same place.

Meze is a wonderful way for groups of people to eat in Cyprus. The idea is to have small portions of large numbers of different kinds of food, brought out gradually through the evening.The price per person is typically between about 15 and 18 euros, which sounds like a lot; but with four people it's usual to ask for a meze for three people, as there's always a vast quantity of food and not everyone likes everything. So that's what we did.

I remembered to take photos, this time, and we even attempted to count the dishes; we kept losing track, but think there were about thirty in all, excluding the dessert.

The starter - which comes very quickly - is typical for a meze: a Greek salad (mainly cucumber, tomatoes and feta cheese), a plate of pickled vegetables and quail eggs, bread and dips.  There were two kinds of bread with the starter: some toasted bread dipped in olive oil and herbs (delicious!) and some pittas, and four dips: tzatsiki (cucumber in yogurt), tashi (a specialist tahini dip), humus (the well-known chickpea dip, oozing with olive oil and very tasty), and an egg-feta dish which, the waitress informed us, was their own speciality.

In addition, the starter included some raw root vegetables, some olive paste, a small plate of ham/cheese slices, and a small plate of dried goat meat.

So that was twelve different dishes just for the 'starter'.  It would be very easy to fill up on this - and I liked the dips so much that I had quite a bit, although I didn't have any of the meat or cheese.  But we hadn't finished when the next two dishes arrived:  some freshly grilled halloumi, and this, a tomato/cheese dish which I don't remember seeing before, somewhat reminiscent of pizza:

One of our number is a vegetarian, and I incline that way myself, so I wasn't going to take photos of the meat dishes; but the two meat-eaters said that the next item to arrive, two different kinds of sausage, was so good that it needed a picture:

Then some baked eggs arrived with some hot olives (we didn't know whether to count that as one dish or two - but it was on one plate) and some warm local fluffy bread:

There were a couple more meat dishes that arrived while I was still eating salads and dips, and some mushrooms cooked in scrambled eggs, which I enjoyed very much.  Then a medium sized plate of chips (french fries to any US readers):

Not all mezes include chips, which I suppose are a gesture to the international nature of many visitors and residents of Cyprus, and we were all feeling quite full by the time they arrived... but when we started eating 'just one or two' each, we discovered that they were light and perfectly cooked, and so delicious that we managed to finish them.

By this stage we had been given about twenty-five dishes, including several kinds of meat. We were asked if we wanted 'escargots', and declined politely but firmly.

A bigger plate of meat then appeared; this usually signals the end of a meze, and as we were all very full by this stage, we decided that we would probably ask to take most of this home with us:

We counted that as one 'dish' but there were three kinds of meat on the plate.

And food kept coming. The deep-fried courgettes, as last time, were my favourite:

I ate very slowly, as I was extremely full but wanted to enjoy them.  I didn't even touch the rocket-and-egg dish which arrived at the same time, although it looked good, nor the pasta with grated halloumi:

I don't think I've remembered everything, but that's most of our meze.  We were even given an extra dish of humus as we'd finished the first one.

Thankfully we were given ten minutes or so to digest before the dessert was brought out - all part of the meze.  Fresh seasonal fruit, candied fruit, and cherries in liqueur.  I didn't even try the candied fruit or the cherries, but very much enjoyed a strawberry and a couple of slices of orange:

Then... fresh loukoumades.  They're not something I ever make, or buy; but these were very good ones, and since our visitors only wanted one each. I ate (blush) three of them...

Then, when I was wondering if I would be able to get out of my chair and walk, one of our friends, who plays one of the Pokemon games on her phone, announced that there was a Pokemon just in front of the wall, next to me.  I said I couldn't see it, feeling slightly spooked, so she took a photo:

A few more additions to our house...

In this, the tenth anniversary of our selling our UK house and buying one in Cyprus, we have done a LOT of renovations and repairs. Some of them should really have been done years ago, including repairing some of our rotting windowsills and frames, but we're not very good at making decisions or at getting around to this kind of thing.

So we started by employing a teenage friend to some painting, and he did such a good job that he's done a great deal of sanding, repairing and more painting, and even some plastering.

In the middle of that, we had a damp-proof course installed. While it's still early days, and hard to tell now that the weather's warmer, we do think our guest flat seems to smell less damp and the kitchen and bathroom cupboards are a lot less musty.

Then we did the most major work of all, having our bathroom renovated. I'm still glad I was out of the country while that was going on, and am very much appreciating the new bathroom. It was basically complete about a month ago, but since then we've done a few extra bits and pieces - I bought a wooden toilet-roll holder in the UK, and Richard put that in.

We replaced the bathroom bin and loo-brush holder, both of which were ancient, and even bought some new scales when Lidl had some on special offer.

We spent a lot of time looking for towels, either in cream or peach, but couldn't find any at all despite searching in several shops locally.  The towels we had been using were ten years old and getting rather scruffy as well as having lost any hint of fluffiness. They were cheap ones and served us well, but having spent a significant amount on the new bathroom, we thought it deserved new towels.

We also realised that there was a bit of a gap in the corner next to the toilet, and that we needed somewhere to store toilet rolls. So after much pondering, we decided to buy another Ikea unit, in the same range as our sink cabinet and mirror.

The shelf in the middle clearly needed a plant, so we spent ages looking for one that would survive in partial shade and would not need too much attention, and are happy to report that, four weeks later, it's not just alive but has some new leaves:

Any time we go to Ikea - which is just outside Nicosia - we seem to find several other things we weren't expecting to buy... and in this particular trip, we found some rather nice brown towels, both large bath sheets and some hand towels that would fit perfectly on our towel rail...

... and even a matching bathmat.

Bathroom complete, we didn't want to do anything else major, but we realised we had a new problem. For the last few years we have used an upright fan in our bedroom overnight, from about May through to October.  In the hottest weather, when the humidity is high, we use our air conditioning too, but right now the heat is dry, and a fan is all we need.

The trouble with the fan was that in order for it to be effective, it had to be in a place where Richard tripped over it or bumped into it almost every night. So he thought about affixing a wall fan in a corner, out of the way. I don't think wall fans look particularly nice and didn't know if it would work well enough, so for a few days recently we put the upright fan on top of the chest-of-drawers, and angled it with a couple of books underneath... far from ideal.

The obvious solution is one we had thought about ten years ago... a ceiling fan. We even bought one at Kleima, but it had the wrong kind of fitting so ended up in our guest flat. We had thought that nice ceiling fans, such as we have in our living areas (bought second-hand just before we moved in, from friends leaving the island) would be very expensive new.

But Leroy Merlin, a big hardware/DIY store in Nicosia (not far from Ikea) sells ceiling fans at very reasonable prices. So we went there yesterday, and bought ourselves a ceiling fan, of very similar style to our others. It's perhaps twice the price of an upright fan, but the ones we have elsewhere have lasted well over ten years, whereas upright ones tend to stop working after three or four.

Richard and Tim, between them, put the ceiling fan up yesterday afternoon....

I think it looks good - and more importantly, it was absolutely wonderful overnight. I felt pleasantly cool, Richard even complained of being cold this morning.

As I write this, the ceiling fan in my study is on, providing a pleasant breeze; they are wonderful inventions, and I am so thankful we now have one upstairs too. 

Re-designed Metro supermarket in Larnaka...

It was some weeks ago when Metro supermarket showed signs of redevelopment. Perhaps even months ago. It's our favourite supermarket in Larnaka, and we used to go there weekly. But with just two of us at home, and an excellent froutaria and discount mini-market within walking distance, we now only tend to go to Metro monthly.

Last time we went there, early in March, there was evidently a significant amount of construction work going on. Most of the upstairs was blocked off, and the small space remaining was cramped with stationery, kitchen equipment and the like. The only way to get there was by the stairs at the back of the shop, as the escalators by the entrance were not available.

We guessed that they might be installing a 'travelator' which would enable trolleys to be taken upstairs, rather than having to park them somewhere on the ground floor, hoping that nobody else would take them. And then, just before I went to the UK for a couple of weeks, Metro temporarily closed for the final reconstruction.

It opened while I was away, so the first time I saw the new design was just over a week ago.  I had already learned that, rather than a travelator, they had installed large glass-doored lifts by the entrance.  I didn't think to take a photo when we went in, but this is what they look like from the back:

We took a trolley (Metro are one of the few places that do not require a coin to collect a trolley - a definite plus point in my view) and went in the lift. It was smooth and quite pleasant; I'm no fan of lifts but it wasn't at all claustrophobic, and could easily have taken several people and their groceries.

Upstairs used to have non-grocery items: stationery, small kitchen appliances, cutlery and crockery, mops and buckets, plastic containers, vases, mugs and glasses; also sandals, slippers, bedding, towels, candles ... not as good a selection as at bigger supermarkets, but we've often popped up there to have a look round.

However it now also has items that I'd count as groceries: in particular cleaning products, shampoos and soaps, and cat/dog food and litter. There seem to be fewer electrical goods (though we did see and buy a fan on special offer) and we did not find ornaments, candles or crockery, though they may still be there. Oh, and the entire alcohol section seems to have moved upstairs - there were several aisles with wine and spirits. 

Then I realised that it's not just 'non-food' upstairs, but there are also apparently random items such as flour, nuts, health foods, and some cordials. Probably other things too but I was trying (in vain) to make sense of the layout. We found displays with sandals and slippers in at least three different places, and I'm not sure we went down all the aisles.

Still, we found the cat litter which was our main purpose for going to Metro last week. We went down again, and made our way around the ground floor level of the shop. I very much liked the style, which has much wider aisles than previously, making it much easier to navigate even when there are a lot of people around.

It will take a while to learn where everything is now being displayed, as lots of it is different from the way it used to be. It doesn't seem very logical, either; we found some flour downstairs, but nowhere near the selection they have upstairs. It would be annoying to do a big shop there and have to keep popping up and down in the lift; perhaps they will make it more clearly organised in future.

Still, the fresh fish and meat counters are in the same places, at the far end of the supermarket, and the freezer sections are where they always were, near the entrance (and thus also near the new lifts).

The checkouts are where they always were, too, with the same friendly people staffing them, and a display of chocolate nearby:

It was a quick visit, and my feelings were mixed. It looks good, and I very much like the wide aisles which makes the displays seem lower; the whole place looks more up-market and lighter.  Having to learn a new layout is a bit frustrating but then supermarkets change those from time to time anyway, and I try not to be annoyed by changes of that kind.

However I do hope they'll sort out the upstairs part a bit better, and make it more obvious what is up there.  I imagine we'll continue using Metro rather than any of the other supermarkets, and we'll get used to it. It will be interesting to know whether the new design attracts more customers, or causes some to leave, as it's unlike anything we've seen before in Cyprus.

Larnaka Salt Lake and the flamingoes

This morning I went on another walk with Sheila, and there seemed to be even more flamingoes on the Salt Lake. The first picture was taken while the sun wasn't quite up (although it was quite light) and you'll have to click the photo to see a somewhat larger version if you want to see actual flamingoes. But that pink blob is probably five thousand or more:

Work is evidently going on beyond the aqueduct:

We assume it's more sewerage pipes being laid, but these pipes seem to have been sitting there for quite some time:

There wasn't much cloud so the sunrise wasn't all that spectacular, but I can never resist a picture...

Here's another shot of the flamingoes, taken when the sun was a bit higher on the way back:

And for those who want to know how flamingoes sound, here's some rather shaky video I took:

Visiting the beach

After we had been living in Cyprus for a couple of years, a friend in the UK commented that we must have a wonderful life, going to the beach every day. I replied that we didn't visit the beach very often despite living only about a mile away from the sea. I explained that living here is very different from being a tourist, and that we'd acclimatised to the extent that, unless we had guests staying, we only really considered it 'beach weather' from June to September.

Now we've been here nearly eighteen years, we don't go to the beach other than during July and August. Indeed, I'm not sure that we really go 'to the beach', as such; we like to cool down in the water, perhaps to swim a little. But we have no wish to sunbathe, or build sandcastles. We only go when it's shady, not before about 5.00pm.

Last year, I didn't go to the beach at all. Not once. That's mainly because I was in the UK from the end of June until mid-August, but if I'd wanted to, I could have gone. I did walk, a few times, along the sea front, and we drove past the beach a few times. But I didn't get my feet wet in the sea; I didn't take my shoes off and walk along the beach. We didn't spend any evenings there at all.

But this year, after much discussion, we and our closest Cyprus friends decided that we'd get together at the beach yesterday evening, to swim and then have a picnic. So I cleaned out our cool box (not used for nearly two years), chopped salad vegetables, and cooked some halloumi; Richard delved into our storage closet (which is technically a shower, but that's another story...) for our beach chairs and mats.

Then, after changing into swimsuits, we drove to our favourite spot, perhaps three kilometres away. I expect it's quite crowded during the main part of the day, this being high season, but there weren't many other people around at 5.30pm; most of those had gone by 6.30.

Tim and I went into the water along with most of our friends. It wasn't quite as warm as I remembered from previous years, and there were some quite chilly spots as we waded out, but it wasn't  unpleasant. We managed to swim a little. Neither of us is very good at swimming, and we won't put our heads in the water, but it's good exercise, and fun in a strange sort of way, although it was windy and the waves were bigger than we liked.

Then we had our picnic, and chatted with our friends, and decided that it was relaxing and enjoyable being by the sea, even if it was rather sandier than any of the adults liked.

We might even go again next week.

After the fire on the Larnaka Salt Lake trail

A few days ago, there was a fire near the Salt Lake in Larnaca. We saw smoke from our house, and heard sirens. I gather an arrest has been made, and that it was most likely bored teenagers; however it's also been said that it was possibly deliberate, in the hope of destroying mosquitoes. The latter seems rather unlikely, but perhaps we'll never know.

I took my camera when I walked with Sheila a couple of days later. I'd seen a few photos of the fire itself, and the various vehicles that arrived to assist in putting it out. But I wasn't really prepared for the extent of the damage:

Just a couple of days earlier this area had been mostly green, overgrown after the extensive winter rains. Some of the grasses were beginning to turn brown as Summer approaches, so they were ripe for burning out of control once a fire was started.

While ash is a good fertiliser, and weeds will no doubt grow even faster next winter, some trees are unlikely to spring back into life. This one, surrounded by white ash, looks almost like something out of a stark winter scene, not the end of May in Cyprus:

There was one place - on the other side of the trail itself - where there was still something smoking. We watched for a while, wondering if it was dangerous. Sheila said that, the day before, there were several such smouldering piles but the fire fighters were keeping an eye on them. That didn't stop one of them bursting into flame later on, but we thought this one was probably safe enough:

One of the reports said that an area of around two hectares was destroyed by this fire. Hectares sound to me like imperial units, but apparently a hectare is 10,000 square metres; two hectares, in units that might be more familiar to some, is around five acres.

Thankfully there was still plenty of beauty in the rest of the shrubbery and wild flowers by the trail:

Coffee at Al Dente on Greek Good Friday

For perhaps the first time ever, we've had coffee out for two weeks in a row. That's three times so far this year - more than I think we've ever had coffee out in the space of four months.

We parked at the music school on Friday morning and wondered how many shops would be open, as it was a religious holiday for the 'Eastern' Good Friday. The local population are almost entirely Greek Orthodox here, and while for many of them it's quite nominal for most of the year, they make a big effort on the special and most holy days.  As we passed St Lazarus Church, we saw people emerging, dressed in black; presumably from a service to mark the day.

It was quite warm and sunny, and by the time we'd walked down to the sea front and past several restaurants, I was feeling already as if I'd been for too long in the sun. So we stopped at the first suitable looking place we came to.  Al Dente is an Italian restaurant, with photos outside showing, among other things, pizza and pasta dishes:

In between the restaurant buildings and the main part of the street, are more temporary structures where people sit to eat or have coffee; there are several of these, with plastic 'windows' that will be removed when the weather gets warmer:

We went inside and sat down at a comfortable corner table. Nobody else was there, and it felt quite peaceful despite plenty of noise in the areas outside. There was gentle romantic music from the 1970s coming through the speakers in the ceiling, but it was quiet enough that it was not at all intrusive, and we hardly noticed it, other than when we recognised songs from our teenage years.

A waiter brought us a menu; there were various coffees and frappés available, mostly at €2.90. Richard decided on an Americano hot coffee, and I opted for a frappé as I was still feeling quite warm:

We liked the fact that they came in a real mug and glass rather than plastic disposable ones. We also liked the comfortable, if slightly odd decor:

So on all aesthetic counts, we liked this place rather more than last week's Coffee Island. It was more comfortable, much less crowded, played quieter, more pleasant music, and had soft furnishings to improve the acoustics. It was nice to be waited on, too, rather than having queue; then again, we were paying almost half as much again.

Unfortunately, the drinks were not as good as those of Coffee Island. They were nice enough: we appreciated the break, and the caffeine boost, and there was nothing wrong with either the coffee or the frappé - no bitter or strange taste.  But nowhere near as good as last week's.

We sat in comfort for maybe half an hour, and one or two other customers wandered in.  When we left it started spitting with rain, and I felt quite chilly after my iced drink.

As we walked back to the car, past St Lazarus Church, we saw a queue of people - mostly locals, again - waiting to go in by a side door. The larger windows had been covered so it must have been very gloomy inside. We don't know if they were waiting for another Good Friday service, or perhaps going in to light candles and pay their respects to the ikons.

The banks and post offices were closed, but all the shops were open.  For most people, it was simply a day off work.