First Impressions of Nicosia

As a pleasant consequence of having a connecting flight in Munich, we flew over the Austrian Alps on the way to Cyprus. I was lucky enough to be sitting in a window seat. It was definitely something special to see it them shining in the sun from above and this had my trip off to a great start. It didn’t stop there. Flying in to Cyprus over the Mediterranean, the cloudless sky gave us a fantastic clear view of the sea.

When we arrived in Cyprus, we were brought to our accommodation. We are staying in the University of Cyprus Student Halls, which provide very well priced accommodation to summer students. Due to the generous donation of some unknown past institute employee, I have been given a bike to use during my stay. I’m lucky enough to be able to cycle through the Athalassa National Forest Park on my route to work. It’s a beautiful green area equipped with lakes, cycle paths and picnic areas. Its mixture of wildlife, structured greenery and wilderness combine to make a great start to my day. I haven’t had the opportunity yet but I’m planning taking evening runs through it after I return from CaSToRC.

Me in front of the Cyprus Institute.

We had the opportunity to visit the cluster room at The Cyprus Institute where Cy-Tera, Prometheus and other clusters are stored. Prometheus is a test cluster and we have been using it over the past 2 weeks to compile and run sample programs.

switch cables.

Last weekend I decided to see some of the city. Taking the bus that stops right outside the University of Cyprus accommodation, I quickly found myself in the city centre. It was very quiet, but apparently this is normal for a Sunday, as the locals head to the beach and it gave me the opportunity to go sightseeing in relative peace. I went to see Famagusta Gate, the Archbishop’s Palace, and the Venetian walls. I also walked down Ledras Street. It was very nice to experience a very different culture from the more Americanized one I am used to back in Dublin.

I’m really enjoying working on the project so far. Up until now, I have been installing and compiling the required software packages and running test jobs on Prometheus, Piz Daint, and JUQUEEN. The project has been adjusted a little bit to better suit my physics background and interests and now, as a part of my project, I will be developing a program to measure the topological susceptibility of lattice configurations. I’m really looking forward to getting started on that.