Cyprus Classifieds

Finding work in 2019 can be a problem. Otherwise, I’d be working right now and not typing up a free blog post. But the Craigslist jobs of today pale in comparison to the backbreaking jobs available in the country of Cyprus in 1928.

First off, we have the arduous task of rockbearing. Don’t let the smiles fool you; as soon as the sun went down, they were off to the local chiropractor and physical therapist to straighten up those spines.

Nat Geo July 1928

For those of you who enjoy being bent over all day (but don’t like transporting rocks), consider washing laundry with your feet, like the women of Kalopanayiotis traditionally do. Bonus duty: using a paddle to bludgeon the water out of the clothes.

Helene and her mother seem to have found a more suitable alternative to leaning forward. However, they were only briefly upright for the picture, as their job entailed breaking rocks to make them usable for road work.

This farmer may have found the best seat in town, seated on his sledge as the oxen move forward. The children serve as makeweights.

While none of these jobs seem to be pleasurable in any way, the next one offers gluteny fruits of one’s labors. The “itinerant Cypriote bakery” must delight all those who encounter it–despite the dust, flies, and stray dark hairs of the baker who made it. If nothing else, he clearly has the best work uniform among the bunch.

Tomorrow, we’ll peruse yet more want-ads of the Cyprus papers, and perhaps you can find your niche!

8 thoughts on “Cyprus Classifieds”

  2. It used to be when the Alpha Japanese Female and I would travel to Japan we’d see many old ladies who were literally and permanently bent 90 degrees at the waist because their lives had been spent in the rice paddies. They were a tough and sprightly bunch and a symbol of the enormous physical sacrifices made over a lifetime to sustain their families. Nowadays we see far, far fewer as mechanization has taken over in rice planting and harvesting. These photos brought back those memories. We really do have it pretty easy these days.

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    1. Physical sacrifices, I’ll say! I can’t imagine if that were my grandmother or great-grandmother toiling at 90 degrees. Progress can be good. Now we just bend to look at our phones.

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  3. HA! I enjoyed this! 🙂 Especially seeing the baker’s snazzy-jazzy uniform! 😀

    Oh, just looking at some of those photos makes my back hurt! 😉
    Seriously…what hardworking women doing back-breaking work!

    I’ll pass on all of those jobs and wait to see what you share next!
    HUGS!!! 🙂

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