Lambousa Market re-emerges

By Margaret Sheard and Chris Elliott

I was aware that there was to be a new site for the Lambousa Market and, after a lot of hard work, the new area has been completed and the market is now operating in its new environment. so I took the opportunity to go along with Chris and see how things were going last Saturday 27th July.

There is now a very large car parking area at the rear of Chateau Lambousa and in front of the new market area which is accessed through a gateway and opens out into a large area where all the stalls are now positioned under the shade of trees and awnings, umbrellas etc. In the centre there is a replica of the wooden horse of Troy which is a lovely feature and no doubt very popular with the children who will want to climb up inside it.

It was nice to see many, if not all, of the stallholders have continued to sell their wares at the new market and although they are now in a different location it did not take too long to discover where everyone was situated. People have their favourites for home baked items, clothes, greetings cards, jewellery and antiques etc. and it does not take too long to locate them.

The market is spacious but it also has a definite intimate atmosphere and it is a pleasure to walk around the new area and see what is on sale, bumping into familiar faces of people doing the same thing and passing the time of day with them. I can never remember a time when going to Lambousa Market that I have not seen some people I recognise.

There is a cafeteria with a seating area under the shade of umbrellas where you can sit and have a bite to eat and a cool drink or coffee and I took advantage of this to have a chat with John Aziz Kent while Chris sought out Gordon Kent for an update on the progress of the new market.

The market is also open on a Sunday when there is a weekly auction and stalls which specialise in antiques, collectibles and crafts. I understand that there are plans to open the market on another day during the week so it will be interesting to know when this plan comes into operation.

After visiting the market we took the opportunity of wandering around the Chateau Lambousa area where there were sounds of much work being undertaken with the refurbishment of the hotel under the auspices of Girne American University. We met up with Serhat Akpinar, Chancellor of GAU, and his colleague Dr Ismet Esenyul, who were there checking on progress so we also managed to have a few words with them before looking inside the hotel and then the Aphrodite Bungalows to see how work was progressing. We hope to be able to tell you more in the near future.

By this time I was beginning to wilt with the heat of the day so after a very enjoyable and interesting morning we decided it was time to wend our way home.

To read more of the re-birth of the Kingdom of Lambousa click here