The power of a brisk walk, even in Nicosia

The pavements might try their best to trip you but the fresh air can always clear the mind and lift the soul

By Philippa Tracy

When you get to late middle age, which I can still just about claim to be, and wonder whether it’s time to join a gym, there’s a lot to consider! It’s not just the cost of the gym or whether you really want to be seen in lycra leggings. Once you start to research anything, from local gym prices to where to buy your gym wear, your social media feed will be bombarded with helpful articles about the benefits of building muscle in ageing bodies and how many minutes a week is an acceptable level of vigorous exercise. You start to dwell on questions like: cardio or weights? How can I burn more fat and stay healthier?

I have to admit, I am a reluctant gym membership holder who was easily drawn to reading an article, in Cosmopolitan, recently on 10 reasons not to go to the gym. Saying that, I am a real fan of exercise in the abstract, walking, in particular. This is something I actually do, and enjoy doing. Even in Nicosia. When it’s not too hot, obviously.

I have struggled to find any advice online from the government here about the benefits of walking. But there is copious amounts online from the UK government and the NHS about the benefits of brisk walking every day. It’s good for your bones and good for cholesterol. It’s linked to a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer.

Enough said. I like walking. It’s also good for stress and therefore good for the soul. And I have been on a mission to walk as much as possible in the area of Nicosia where I live.

While looking for walking routes, I found a very small article on the Nicosia municipality website about cycling routes in Nicosia instead. It says that the path near me, along the Pedieos river bed, “starts from the bridge south of the Presidential Palace, passes through the eucalyptus trees near the Presidential palace and through the bed of the area near the traditional core of Ayion Omoloyiton area and below the bridge Griva Digheni where it joins the park opposite from the Church of St John the Baptist near Giorkeio. Then it passes under the bridge to the road Chilonos and ends at the old General Hospital.” That is literally all it says. I know this cycle path well and it is actually also a walking, jogging and dog walking path, which can at times be rather annoying for us walkers. But hey, I guess we have to learn to share.

It is, of course, great that such a path exists at all. And it goes on for about 14km through Strovolos to Lakatameia. But the attempt to accommodate cyclists, walkers and dog walkers in one space is not always that successful. Along parts of the path there are separate lanes. But for much of it, the bits that I use anyway, there’s only one lane. And it is quite irritating, as a walker, with ear pods in, listening to music or a podcast, trying to de-stress, to have to keep jumping out of the way of bikes and scooters. This is not my favourite way of walking.

And if you keep walking the same route every day, no matter how picturesque it is, it can get really, really boring. Personally, I prefer to walk with a purpose. This is something my partner fails to understand. But, I prefer to have somewhere I need to get to, with a preferred method of transport, which is travelling on foot.

Of course, walking around Nicosia is not always easy. There are some nice pedestrian zones in the old town. But that is limited. And I am not always in the old town. There is also a distinct lack of pavement along many roads, particularly in areas such as Old Strovolos. And where there are pavements, some cyclists still don’t seem to understand the rules, written and unwritten, like: don’t ride on the pavements.

The pavements are often also uneven. Or there are trees growing out of the middle of them, or bikes, or cars just parked on them! What on earth are people thinking? How would someone in a wheelchair or with any mobility issues at all navigate this obstacle course? I am usually pretty stable on my feet and even I struggle at times. While out walking in Engomi the other morning, I fell over twice.

At 9am, during the height of the rush hour traffic, I was walking to meet a friend at the gym; I do go sometimes. I was walking with a purpose. Busy watching the queuing traffic, trying not to get run over, I tripped on some hazard protruding from the ground and then went flying. Fortunately, I landed on the island of earth in the middle of the two lanes, rather than in the road. Only my ego was bruised at this point; there will most certainly have been someone I know in one of those cars who spotted me.

Later that morning, I tripped again, hoodwinked by a hole in the ground. Observed by the coffee drinkers outside Cafe Nero, it was a full public display of humiliation. Twice in one day. As the song goes, “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. Or rather just one middle-aged English woman, with a purpose, trying to navigate broken pavements and pot holes at lunchtime.

It hasn’t stopped me in my mission to walk most places, yet. In fact, one thing I try to do on a daily basis, is to walk to Alphamega supermarket. I take a break from work, get some food shopping and usually bump into someone I know. It is all just so good for the soul that I can walk briskly to somewhere with a purpose. When you go anywhere that regularly though, it starts to feel like a place of worship. Unlike a church, visiting a supermarket is not necessarily an activity normally linked to calming the mind, but walking is.

I recently read about an abandoned women’s gym in the north of England that has been given permission to convert into an evangelical Christian church. Maybe gyms, rather than supermarkets, have more in common with churches than we think. Some people fear that gyms have become the new place of worship in an increasingly secularised society; I prefer Alphamega.

Ultimately, it’s not just about where anyone worships. Or whether or not weight training or walking is better for building muscle or burning fat. A combination of both is probably ideal. Any way people choose to relax and reflect has got to be good for the body and the soul. But walking is definitely cheaper than joining a gym. And you never have to queue for the equipment, even though the cyclists and scooter drivers are sometimes very annoying. The fresh air and the views are mostly relaxing. Unless of course, you are stuck in traffic fumes and trip up on the pavements.

I am still waiting for a call to see who spotted me fall. But never underestimate the power of a brisk walk. If you can find the pavements that are safe enough for the journey!