Conducting fieldwork for linguistic research can be hard work. Getting men and women you’ve hardly ever met before to chat —preferably between them — in front of a mike is not an obvious request to present people with. Not that it doesn't have its good points of course, which, apart from providing one with the necessary data, include getting to visit places, meet new people, and escape another rainy winter (which people in Cyprus couldn’t really empathise with, given the serious shortages in water the island has been facing in the last few years). Which didn’t prevent me from enjoying some nice day-trips into the country…

Vassili Michailidi street in the village of Lefkara

…and view of the internal courtyard from a typical old-style house in the same village.

Contrary to what most people might think, Cyprus isn’t ALL about beaches. Some of the most wonderful landscapes and villages are to be found inland, scattered on the mountain ranges of Pendadachtylos and the Lefka Ori. Not unexpectedly, that is also where genuine Cypriot hospitality and food are to be sought.

A view of the mountains just outside the village of Agros

…and another view of the mountains just outside the village of Agros

Inside the monastery of Chrysorrogiatissa (Our Lady of the Golden Pomegranate) in the mountains of Paphos

With some of my informants (of various ages) against a background of the traditional "phithkiotika" laces of Paphos

OK, we all know Cyprus is full of antiquities and important archaeological sights. But who actually would sacrifice a day on the beach to visit them? (Seeing the pictures is not meant to save you the trouble!)

The Graeco-Roman theatre at Kourion, originally built in the 2nd century BC, is situated on an exquisite spot between the sea and the mountains

Part of the ancient town which lies near the theatre

A mosaic from the house of Dionysos in Paphos. This nobleman's villa, together with the house of Theseus and the House of Aion, boasts mosaic floors dating from the 3rd to the 5th century AD which are considered among the finest in the Eastern Mediterranean.