By Margaret Sheard ……

Congratulations to Jarra Brown and the Esentepe Mayor, Cemal Erdoĝan, together with the cooperation of local restaurant owner, Senol, for organising a wonderful night of traditional Cypriot food and entertainment at the new Beach Restaurant in Esentepe on Saturday 8^th July.

There were around 250 people who turned up to enjoy the night on the large terrace overlooking the sea.  The evening was warm and with the gentle lapping of the sea on the beach it was a brilliant setting for the event.  There was music playing as people were arriving and this was followed by live Cypriot music played by Costa Tsadiotis which really got the feet tapping.  He really made the bouzouki sing and later in the evening he played with the instrument behind his head and also played it with a bottle, a tumbler, a plate and a shoe running up and down the frets.

We shared a table with Issy Hassan, his partner Debbie Knapp and sons Sugar Ata Hassan and Sayan Hassan – together with their friend Sol Akay, so it was a nice mixed group of young and not so young.

There was a fixed menu which started with 5 mezes and a basket of bread, a huge plate of chips, then a choice of chicken or lamb chops and melon to finish.  The staff worked really hard, which with the number of people present was quite a daunting task but they continued to smile and do a wonderful job of keeping everyone happy with food and drinks.

During the evening a circle of fire appeared on the dance floor area, which was quite a surprise and later a bonfire was lit on the beach.  This was all very effective and added to the atmosphere of the evening.

We were also treated to a fairly long session by belly dancer Alina and everyone enjoyed that immensely.  She was very good and mingled amongst the tables as is normal with this type of entertainment.

The live music then continued, and people danced and there was clapping and singing to the rousing tunes being played by Costa.

We didn’t stay to the end but I believe the event continued well into the early hours.

Jarra Brown was keen to introduce a traditional event of Cypriot cuisine and entertainment and it was certainly a great success.   It is intended to hold a Cypriot night every week during the summer months which should attract holidaymakers as well as the locals and residents who want to enjoy traditional Cypriot culture and entertainment.