The Paphosfinder newsletter
March 2006

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CLEAN MONDAY or KATHARI DEFTERA

Easter is almost upon us and one of the most festive holidays of the year is Clean Monday. This is the start of Lent among Orthodox Christians
and is called Clean Monday because it’s the day to make a new or clean beginning in your spiritual life as Christians are asked to begin the holy season
with "clean hearts and good intentions". Tradition also has it that all meat and cheese residues have to be cleaned out of pots and pans in the household.
To celebrate Easter everything should look clean, so houses are cleaned, painted, or even whitewashed,
and new clothes are a must, especially new shoes.

Clean Monday is supposed to be a day of strict fasting when Christians are permitted to take no food from midnight to noon and no meat all day long.
They are also expected to spend extra time during the day in prayer and reading the Bible, just as they should throughout Lent.
However, because Clean Monday is also considered the first day of spring, Cypriots tend to celebrate it not so much with fasting and prayer
but rather with outdoor activities, particularly kite flying, and picnics.

Cypriots usually eat particular types of seafood on Clean Monday, such as octopus, squid, mussels, and shrimp; an array of pickled vegetables,
especially pickled small green peppers, carrots and cauliflower, olives, and dips that seem especially made for the day’s unique flatbread, lagana.


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EASTER RECIPE

FLAOUNES (Easter Cheese Cakes)

Makes about 12

Ingredients

• Yeast dough

• 1 ½ lbs (750g) strong plain flour

• 1 sachet easy bake yeast

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, water to mix

• Cheese filling

• 8oz (250g) cheddar cheese or 12oz flaouna cheese if available

• 4oz (100g) halloumi

• 1 tablespoon flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 tablespoon crushed dried mint

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten

• To finish

• 1 egg, beaten

• Sesame seeds

Method

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make a firm dough.
   Knead for at least five minutes until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a plastic bag and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise.

2. For the filling, coarsely grate the cheeses, add the flour and baking powder then gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasoning
   until you have a stiffish paste (keep some of the beaten egg back if the mixture becomes too runny).

3. Divide the dough into egg sized pieces and roll these into 4'' (10cm) discs.

4. Place a generous tablespoon of the filling in the centre of each pastry disc, spreading it slightly.
   Pull dough up at three points to make a triangle, or Four points to make a square. You should still be able to see the filling in the middle.

5. Press the corners together to seal and leave to rise. Just before baking, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds
   over the finished flaounes.

6. Bake in a hot oven gas 8, 450'C, 230'C for 12-15 minutes until the cheese filling is puffed and flaounes are golden.

7. Serve warm or cold.

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SNAILS, ANYONE?

Still on the topic of food, the Agriculture Minister for Cyprus has pledged to look into ways to support the island’s farming sector –
and one of these ways is to export snails to France! Apparently, stocks are low in France and farmers are having difficulty keeping up
with demand so the newly-established Snail Farmers’ Association in Cyprus is hoping to step into the breach.

Nicos Yermanos, president of the Association and a snail expert, says there are about 20 snail farms on the island. Nicos himself has been
in the snail-farming business for 43 years and says he gets calls from factories in Greece and big organisations in France wanting his snails.
He goes on to say that if the whole of Cyprus was a snail farm, it wouldn’t be enough to meet the high demand.

According to Nicos, snails are not just a gastronomic delight but can also help women with fertility problems. They are also a vitamin-rich food
and non-fattening.

Nicos says that for not doing much you can make a big profit from snail farming. “Which other business fetches that sort of income
by hardly doing anything?” he said. Their production is easy as snails give birth every three months, provided the right conditions
are created for them, like plenty of lettuce and fruit being available to them. The harder a snail's shell, the more expensive they are.

Nicos says the main demand is for a type of snail found in the village area of Ayios Theodoros, near Larnaca.

As easy as it sounds, not everyone can become a snail farmer just like that. You need to have the support of a vet, a geologist,
and herbs growing near the snails so that their meat is really tasty. Mmmm!

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HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

If you noticed the eerie fog covering the island recently, you now know that it wasn't the end of the world.

Department of Labour Inspection officer Savvas Kleanthous explained that the dust (yes, that's what it was)
was carried to Cyprus by north-westerly winds from North Africa. This dust caused dozens of people to be sent to hospital
and saw the cancellation of flights.

Kleanthous said the department had issued public announcements concerning the atmospheric situation and that the young,
old and infirm should not be out in open areas if at all possible. He added that by 2008 the department hoped to be able to predict
atmospheric dust up to two days in advance and be able to issue public warnings earlier.

FIRST AID TIP

The Heimlich Manoeuvre is the best-known method of removing an object from the airway of a person who is choking.
You can use it on yourself or someone else. These are the steps:

1. Stand behind the choking person and wrap your arms around his or her waist. Bend the person slightly forward.

2. Make a fist with one hand and place it slightly above the person's navel.

3. Grasp your fist with the other hand and press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust.
Repeat this procedure until the object is expelled from the airway.

If you must perform this manoeuvre on yourself, position your own fist slightly above your navel.
Grasp your fist with your other hand and thrust upward into your abdomen until the object is expelled.

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CYCLING The island of Cyprus is hosting an international cross-country mountain bike race this month in the hope of putting Cyprus
on the world cycling map as a prime destination for athletes and fans of the sport.

The event is being organised by the Cyprus Cycling Federation and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation who are keen to promote the island abroad
as an ideal, year-round sporting venue.

A €7,000 prize will be split among the winners in the three categories; men’s elite, women’s elite and men under 23 years of age.

The 36km-race starts at noon on March 19 and will take riders around the more picturesque areas of Limassol’s Yermasoyia village.

Officials said they hope the race becomes a fixture on the World Cycling Federation calendar.

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NEWS FOR MOTORISTS

ROAD TAX

If you have received a road tax renewal notice, you can get your new tax disc from any Co-Op institution until March 31.
If you have not received the notice yet you must go to a private garage to have your vehicle checked in order to obtain an MOT certificate.
For the first time credit cards are now being accepted for the payment of MOT certificates.
You can also renew your MOT online at http://rtd.mcw.gov.cy.

Apparently, you can also now renew your road tax online at www.jccsmart.com or at http://rtd.mcw.gov.cy.
The fee is paid by credit card and the documents are sent to your home within 24 hours. Reports say that between
February 20 and February 24, a total of 3,327 people renewed their road tax online. Not only can you renew your road tax by credit card,
but you can also change address information, access your car’s details and find out when you need an MOT.
Hopefully this move will end the long queues formed at Transport Department offices every year just before the road tax due date.

Parliament is still considering eliminating the road tax fee and transferring it onto petrol prices.

Supporters of the proposal say that shifting the road tax onto petrol will make the system more equitable as motorists
will be charged proportionally to the amount of time they spend on the road. However, opponents of the scheme claim that motorists
are not willing to pay any more for already high prices.


YOUNG DRIVERS

Young drivers are now facing double penalty points for traffic offences.

A bill has been approved by the Cabinet that means drivers with less than two years’ experience will get double penalty points.
So just a couple of offences could get them up to the maximum 12 points and cost them their licence.

Studies show that about 95% of accidents are due to human error, and that the number of fatalities has been steadily rising since 2002.
Since most of the accidents occur in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday, they have been attributed to young drivers.
The new bill targets the 18-21 age group and aims to curb the alarmingly high road death toll in Cyprus, which is well over
one-and-a-half times the EU average.

Not only will they incur double penalty points, but the youngsters’ cars may now be impounded or even confiscated if their owner
commits a traffic offence. And parents should beware too of lending their offspring their vehicles. Excuses such as, “He/she stole the keys
from the kitchen table” will no longer hold water. The responsibility for any accident will fall squarely on the owner of the vehicle’s shoulders.

Supporters of the bill say its purpose is to save lives, but it remains to be seen whether it will have a tangible impact on wayward drivers.
Cypriot motorists have proved to be notoriously immune to stiffer penalties, usually in the form of fines. Critics say that a more effective deterrent
would be to extend the time between when someone loses their licence and when the slate is wiped clean.

Authorities were galvanised into taking action early last year, after two teenagers tragically died when a motorbike crashed into them.
The 20-year-old biker, doing wheelies at the time, was later found guilty of manslaughter.You have been warned!

BAD DRIVERS IN CYPRUS? SURELY NOT

Pambos Charalambous, General Secretary of the Association of Driving School Owners (SISOK), has said that the Cypriots’ reputation
as the worst drivers in the EU is due to the absence of proper training and the way in which driving licences are acquired.
He went on to describe the driving licence system in Cyprus as a “sham”.

Apparently, driving test examiners do not ask learners for any proof or documentation that they have taken lessons.
Charalambous said that he knew of cases where a person had just taken a couple of lessons from an instructor and then shown up for a test.
SISOK has recently asked parliament for legislation making it compulsory that a would-be driver take at least 20 lessons before taking
a driving test, and that five of those lessons should be at night.

Charalambous also criticises Cypriot drivers’ mentality when they’re behind the wheel, saying it’s not enough just to know the rules
and the road signs but they need to acknowledge driving etiquette and practice patience.

Disy MP George Georgiou has joined the debate by proposing that candidates should sit a written test that must be marked automatically
so that all human intervention is ruled out. (Whatever can he be implying?) He said, “The current testing system is inefficient
for a number of reasons, with the result that many candidates successfully pass tests but do not have sufficient knowledge
of the rules of the road”.

According to an international report, Cyprus and Slovakia have the most dangerous drivers in Europe
with Cyprus having some of the worst statistics when it comes to traffic offences, such as speeding, drink-driving, and general driving habits.

PARKING FINES

The Council of Ministers in Nicosia have increased some parking fines by a massive 333% from £15 to £50.
So, if you park on the pavement, park too close to a corner or traffic lights, or other hazard, fail to stop at a zebra crossing
when someone is waiting to cross, or park against the flow of traffic, you will now be liable to a bigger fine.