Much of New Zealand"s cuisine, similar to the people themselves, tends to be straightforward and unpretentious. The country"s economy is largely based on agriculture, so not surprisingly the cuisine is based on fresh produce from the sea and the land. It isn"t all basic, the wave of immigrants from China, Korea and other parts of Asia have meant an explosion in ethnic cuisine.
As you enter the bustle of modern Famagusta from the direction of Salamis, you arrive at a roundabout with a sign to Geӧithavaalani. At the roundabout, you take the left exit, west towards the sea, and this road will bring you over a little hump to the northern edge of the walls at the mighty Martinengo Bastion. Squat and muscly rather than tall and towering, these Venetian ramparts are not visible from the modern town until you are nearly upon them. Their height, some 15m, is less than twice their width, often 8m. at the turn of the 20th century, before the industrial development had burgeoned, the imposing outline of the cathedral within the walls could be seen from a great distance as you approached. The soft brown limestone that was quarried to create the moat was then used to construct the walls, an immense task, which must have taken decades. Fifty years is the usual estimate. Leonarda da Vinci is recorded as visiting Cyprus in 1481, and is thought to have advised his fellow countrymen on the design.