Newsroom
There are certain phrases in Cyprus that require no further explanation.
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“I only parked for a minute.”
And, perhaps the most powerful of them all: “But everyone does it.”
That final phrase was reportedly deployed at a concert venue in Nicosia, where one man appeared to have established a small independent republic made entirely of plastic chairs.
A visitor looking for somewhere to sit noticed the man beside two tall stacks containing approximately 15 chairs. His two daughters were sitting on top of the piles, apparently serving as both border guards and an early-warning system against approaching members of the public.
The encounter was shared by the social media page “WHERE WE WENT,” which described the scene in language familiar to anyone who has attended a free concert, village festival, or public event in Cyprus.
“To make absolutely certain that no common mortal would dare to touch the royal stock, a daughter sat on each pile,” the post said.
The conversation that followed was brief but culturally significant.
“Do you need all of these?”
“Yes, my friend. Our friends are coming.”
“Are they here?”
“They’re coming now.”
The visitor pointed out that he was already there and could not find a chair because 15 of them were being guarded for people who had not yet arrived.
The response came swiftly.
“But everyone does that, man!”
Case closed. Supreme Court adjourned. Chairs denied.
The expression is Cyprus’ unofficial permission slip. It can excuse almost anything, from parking across a pavement to blocking a ramp, jumping a queue or reserving half a row at an event for relatives who are still at home deciding what to wear.
We know the system well. One person stands in line at the bakery and, just before reaching the counter, mysteriously becomes a family of six. A towel placed on a sunbed at 7 a.m. grants ownership until sunset...even if its owner is nowhere near the beach. Hazard lights transform any part of the road into a legal parking space. And now, apparently, sitting on top of 15 chairs gives temporary title over public furniture.
The problem, as the person behind the post explained, was not really the chairs. It was the idea that if enough people behave badly, the behavior somehow becomes acceptable.
“Everyone does it” does not mean it is fair. It usually means everyone else is expected to put up with it.
Of course, there is an easy solution. If your friends want seats, they could try the bold and revolutionary approach of arriving on time.
Until then, the rest of us should perhaps carry our own plastic chair, along with bottled water, sunscreen and the patience required to survive any public event in Cyprus.
