The hobbies you can try in Cyprus

‘Now I live in Paphos, I can do all sorts of things I couldn’t back in Manchester...”

There’s a fantastic thread on the r/Cyprus subreddit. ‘What Are Your Hobbies?’ it asks.

Some of the answers are hilariously tongue-in-cheek. ‘Dreaming of affordable property, cursing idiots who can’t park, hiding from Saharan dust!’ says one.

But many are highly informative: on this island, you can pursue everything from astrophotography to boxing, play ping pong or dungeons and dragons, try geocaching or coding.

Cyprus may not have any of the slightly wilder hobbies of other countries – Brits enjoy ferret legging (popping said animals down one’s trousers); the Finns favour wife carrying (exactly what it says); and the French have pioneered disco football (in which the can can is at least as important as goal-scoring; perhaps not a hobby that would sit well with fans of APOEL or Omonia?).

But, thanks to our wonderful weather and varied terrain, there are any number of pastimes to pursue on this island…

“I dive in the summer, ski in the winter,” says 35-year-old Limassolian Stylianos Papadimitri. “I used to go hunting with my dad, but I gave that up because it didn’t sit right with me.”

“I run, I play my guitar, I knit,” reveals 25-year-old Larnaca native Alexandra Attalidou. “And I travel whenever I can. Cyprus is great – but there’s a whole wide world out there.”

On Bazaraki, there are currently almost 13,000 ads in the Hobbies, Sports and Leisure category.

Bicycles are so big on this island that they have a separate category (if you’re an enthusiast, listings such as the Cube Stereo Carbon, the B’Twin Triban 3, and the Ghost Hardtail MTB may mean something to you!). So too do Musical Instruments (where you can snag everything from a baby grand to a bouzouki!).

‘Hobbies’ itself has over 3,000 separate listings, including rare coins and odd rocks, novels and magazines, vintage Monopoly sets and Pinball machines. There’s sewing and knitting paraphernalia, sketching and painting apparatus, and all sorts of equipment for jewellery making.

Someone’s selling a 3D pen; someone else is peddling nothing but satin ribbon. And one rather odd ad lists nothing more than a wooden ruler – for the price of €5!

Of course these advertisements may be more indicative of those who’ve grown bored of their hobbies than those who actively pursue them. Or perhaps it’s those who simply no longer have the time…

“I used to love reading,” sighs 41-year-old Limassolian Despina Vassiliou. “But with three children under the age of 10, I barely have time to shower – let alone dive into a good book. Now it’s all wiping, changing, crying, fighting, feeding.

“I think it’s always been like this in Cyprus,” she adds. “I remember my mum crocheting or knitting most evenings. But that was necessary for the home, the family. She didn’t have time for hobbies.”

36-year-old Nicosia resident Koulla Markidou agrees. “When I was single, I’d go to the cinema at least twice a week to watch a film. I’d meet up with friends to play tennis; swim 50 lengths most evenings. My husband still pursues his hobbies – he dives and fishes and goes hunting for mushrooms! But I’m too busy with the baby.”

Koulla raises an interesting point. The EU Gender Equality Index suggests that women still take on the burden of care in most homes on the continent. Thirty four per cent of women said they look after children, grandchildren, the elderly or people with disabilities on a daily basis compared with 25 per cent of men. Of those who do housework and/or cooking every day, 63 per cent are female and 36 per cent are male. 

So when it comes to Social Activities (or more precisely, ‘Workers doing sporting, cultural or leisure activities outside of their home, at least daily or several times a week’) we see more men than women actively pursuing their hobbies: 34 per cent of the former, and 29 per cent of the latter.

Granted, the difference isn’t that large. But in more traditional countries, perhaps women have less time for hobbies?

“I think that’s the case not just in Cyprus, but all over the world,” says Nicola Turvey. “Back when I was a young mum in the UK, my children were my focus. When they were old enough, we’d do jigsaw puzzles together; I’d take them swimming and taught them to sew. But it wasn’t really about my hobbies anymore – it was more about making sure they were happy and learning.”

Now retired, the Paphos resident has been able to take up her hobbies once more: “I swim in the sea almost every day, and I always have a puzzle on the go. And now I live in Paphos, I can do all sorts of things I couldn’t back in Manchester…”

Nicola’s taken up watercolours, because “the island is so beautiful you just want to paint it!” She’s learning Greek. And she’s adopted a dog. “Every morning we’re out exploring the beaches and the hills; that’s not something I could have done back in the UK, where it’s always raining and you have to drive for hours to see some countryside!”

Elias Anastasiou, a retired chemist, is also discovering – or rediscovering – Cyprus. “For nearly 40 years I was in the pharmacy from 7 in the morning to past 8 or 9 in the evening, six days a week,” he recalls. “Even when I wasn’t serving customers, I was placing orders, doing the books, updating the stock. On Sunday, I’d spend time with my family – but I didn’t have the energy for any hobbies.”

At the age of 69, Elias has finally rekindled his interests. “I walk every morning; I play tavli with friends at the weekend. And whenever we can, my wife and I go to restaurants in the mountains or by the sea – we explore places we never got to see in our younger years.

“Cyprus is beautiful,” he concludes. “And it’s made for hobbies,” he concludes. “But I suspect that hobbies are made for the young and for the old.”