CYPRUS: land of the bittersweet blackberry? Somehow it doesn’t sound quite right. But my drive up to Agros on one sweltering day was full of rather odd antitheses. A hot summer’s lunchtime became more like a cool spring morning, a land barren and dry from the scorching sun began to look more like a green haven and the busy life city dwellers have become so accustomed to was replaced by an enviably simple pace.
Enter Maro and Christos Stratis who chatter away under a shady tree in a remote piece of land in the village of Agridia, just a stone’s throw away from Agros. Maro and Christos are 60 and 64 years old respectively, they wed in secret 40 years ago away from disapproving family eyes due to substantial class differences, and still call each other “my love” with almost every other word that they utter. And it’s this obvious adoration for each other that has led to their second biggest passion – growing an extraordinarily unique fruit for local standards on a piece of land that has fast become their second home, or rather, “their baby” as they often refer to it.
“Ever since we got married everything we’ve done in our lives has been pretty spontaneous; it was my spontaneity that led to all these fruit you see here,” says Maro.
To my left I’m surrounded by bramble bushes that are home to hundreds of blackberries. To the right, dozens of raspberries glimmer under the rays of the sun; a sight I’m certainly not accustomed to. Straight ahead is the breathtaking view of mountains covered in pine trees. “There’s no better spot,” says Christos. “Aren’t you glad I chose it?” Maro then turns to ask her husband. “It all happened totally by chance.”
On a day out for a quiet family lunch in Agros Maro overheard two men trying to strike a deal about a nearby piece of land but their conversation didn’t seem to amount to much. “My husband was sitting at the table and was very sad because both his parents had recently died and I suddenly made my mind up that we had to have the plot. I went up to the man with a £200 deposit, he took us to see it, and that was it – it was ours.” Christos always dreamt of having land of his own in the countryside and finally began reliving a part of his lost childhood after family land in Kyrenia was taken post invasion.
The year of new beginnings was 1995 and the couple have been driving from Nicosia to Agridia practically every other day since then. But how on earth did they come up with the idea of growing fruit that most people only ever associate with somewhat milder climates?
“I’ve always loved cooking and trying new tastes. I’ll give anything a go,” says Maro as Christos busies himself picking raspberries. Three years ago Maro opened the popular Edesmatopolion take away in Nicosia but had to recently hand over the business due to ongoing back problems. “So you see, food has always been my thing. I had an obsession with making jams and I got hold of these plants from Poland and brought them back with me! Six little plants led to all these bushes. It’s so cool up here with plenty of sunshine and it just seems to work well.”
Last summer the couple sold about 200 kilos of fruit in total but far more went to friends and family, with a season that starts in July and sometimes lasts all the way through to November. “As long as the sun is shinning and it’s not too cold they keep going. But come winter it’s usually all snowed over up here.”
A distant corner of their land is also home to a few blueberries. “Those were the hardest to deal with,” says Christos. “At first they just wouldn’t grow but now they seem to be doing well.” So what exactly does it take to keep the whole place thriving? “We wake up at 5am three times a week and we’re here by 8am. There’s lots of watering to do, weeding and pruning. Then there’s all the picking that needs to be done. We usually leave by about 7pm but I’m always sad to go,” he explains. “So sometimes we just stay up here,” Maro interjects. “We bring our little camp beds and battery operated lights and just sleep under the stars. But it gets freezing up here even in the summer.”
So how well received have the blackberries and raspberries been? Both agree that foreigners appreciate the fruit far more than the locals. “We’ve noticed it’s only the Cypriot doctors and people who are really well travelled who ask for them. Most people have no idea how good they are for the health.”
With blackberries rated as one of the world’s top ‘superfoods’, it’s now common knowledge that they are packed with antioxidants that help fight free radicals in the body. “Other nationalities living here just love them and many don’t even know you can buy them fresh. The imported frozen ones are tasteless compared to these. Just tasteless,” shouts out Christos from behind a load of wild greenery.
As I’m taken on a grand tour of the area, he then becomes extremely animated. “Try this one,” he says as he hands over a prime blackberry. “No no no, try this one instead! This one is just great, look at the colour, it’s absolute perfection.”
Christos is quick to point out that there’s no need to wash them first. ”I wouldn’t dare put any chemicals on them. Did you know that chemicals would completely destroy them? They’re too sensitive for that. This is all-natural produce, just what Mother Nature gives us. Plain and simple.”
Maro and Christos’ raspberries and blackberries will be available at Edesmatopolio, 41 Metohiou Street, Nicosia from August 24 (Tel: 22-775777). Personal orders are also available upon request, as are professional deliveries for groceries or health food shops. Tel: 99-300954
