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North Cyprus is a quiet and beautiful country with friendly helpful people.
Cyprus has had a turbulent history as a strategic military location from Roman times onwards. Cyprus was the first country to be declared a Christian country. St Paul visited the island and the Roman governor was converted to Christianity by his followers. St Mamas (after whom one of our villas is named) was a Christian hermit who went to see the Roman governor to plead for hermits to be exempt from the poll tax that had been declared. The governor was so impressed by the hermit's bravery in stopping a lion attacking a lamb that he granted hermits exemption from poll tax. This led to St Mamas being celebrated as the patron saint of legal tax avoidance. He is also regarded in the Orthodox tradition as the healer of earache.
Those who go snorkelling or diving in their holidays report that the fish around the North Cyprus coast are amongst the biggest in the Mediterranean, as the seas of North Cyprus lack the pollution that elsewhere is so prevalent.
Twenty minutes drive from the villa, the old harbour of Kyrenia (Girne) is described in guidebooks as "the jewel of Cyprus", indeed the jewel of the Mediterranean. The Old Harbour, which bustles with small yachts, is a small bay enclosed by a breakwater, with a medieval castle guarding the entrance. In the evening, you have the choice of eating at a table next to the yachts or on a roof top restaurant, Chennis, with a view across the lively scene. Next to the castle is the Anglican church of St Andrew, built in 1913 on the mound created when the castle mount was dug. In 1976 the East end of the church collapsed. On St Andrew's Day, 30 November 2003 the reconstructed church was reopened with an additional room dug into the mound below. The church is a centre for the British community and there are rarely less than 100 attending the Sunday service, an impressive number when expressed as a percentage of the 627 Brits registered with the High Commission as permanent residents of North Cyprus.
A short drive up hill from Girne is the Abbey of Bellapais, perched on the mountain side with superb views across the coastal plain. It was in Bellapais that Laurence Durrall wrote his book "Bitter Lemons".
In the capital, Lefkosa (Nicosia), visit the old walled city, the medieval market of Büyük Han and the Church of St Sophia (founded in 1209), converted to Selimiye Mosque in 1570, retaining the tombs of Christian crusaders.
If you are looking for remote, unspoilt shorelines, the beaches on which turtle breed to the east of Girne are wild and beautiful. In the Karpas peninsula is a three mile sand beach that, when we visited, was populated by only two people and a dog.
The strategic importance of Cyprus is demonstrated by the impressive remains of the Roman city of Salamis and the strategic importance has continued into modern times. Until 1976, Alsancak was the site of a large US intelligence gathering station employing 50 linguists to listen to radio traffic in the USSR and Eastern Europe. At Vouni, a one hour drive west from the villa, you stand in the middle of a large palace, dating from the fifth century BC, dramatically perched on a cliff. Our favourite archaeological site in Cyprus is the small Roman villa of Ayios Trias at Sipahi, where you walk around rooms with beautifully preserved mosaic floors, inhabited now just by lizards sunning themselves.
If your taste is ruined castles, there are few more dramatically sited than the medieval castles of St Hilarion and Buffavento. Both control the route through the mountain from Girne to Lefkosa. St Hilarion was a strategic position occupied by Turkish Cypriot fighters and the site of a battle on 25 April 1964, when Greek Cypriots tried to storm the castle, eventually halted by UN action. Again, in July 1974, Turkish Cypriot fighters guarded the fortress of St Hilarion until the Turkish troops joined up with them. The first landing of 6,000 Turkish troops on 20 July 1974 was on the beach a mile east of Alsancak.
Greeks have inhabited Cyprus since 500 BC, or earlier. Turks have inhabited Cyprus since it became part of the Ottoman empire in 1571. From 1931 onwards Greek Cypriots called for uniting Cyprus with Greece and a relationship with the Turkish minority became difficult, often violent. In that year, the British Government Villa was burnt down by Greek agitators. Independence was given by Britain to Cyprus in 1960, under a constitution that gave Cyprus a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice-president; the vice-president later stated that in the following 14 years he only met the president once. The relationship between the two communities deteriorated until on 15 July 1974 there was a Greek coup which ousted the president; on 20 July 1974 Turkish troops landed in Cyprus to support the Turkish Cypriots. The Northern part of the island (34% of the land area) was, in 1983, declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
In November 2002, the UN published a proposal for a settlement between the Turkish community and the Greek community. In April 2003 the border between Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus was opened. The general election on 14 December 2003 resulted in a parliament split equally between those for and those against the the UN plan for the creation of a confederation of North and South Cyprus. On 24 April 2004, separate referenda in North and in South Cyprus on this "Annan Plan" resulted in 64.9% of the North Cyprus electorate voting in favour of the plan, but 75.8% of the South Cyprus electorate rejecting the plan. On 1 May 2004, South Cyprus joined the European Union alone. Events in the rest of 2004 are awaited with interest.
English is widely understood. Many Turkish Cypriots have lived and worked in England. English currency is widely used, as an acceptable alternative for the official currency, which is the Turkish Lira.
There is a range of guidebooks and other books on Cyprus in the bookcase in the lounge of each of the villas.
REGIONS
Gazi Magosa:
Founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt in the 3rd Century BC. Originally a fishing village Famagusta was grown by the influx of refugees first from Salamis in 648 then by the Christian Refugees after the invasion of the Holy Lands.(1291 AD.) It soon became one of the most important and wealthy cities in the region. At one time (early 14th Century) about 350 churches and many trading posts were built within the area later fortified with impressive defensive walls by the Venetians. In 1372 The Genoese invaded the island and the City sacking most of its wealth. In 1571 under the long siege by the Ottoman Turks many buildings were damaged by the cannon balls. The British used the stones to build the Suez Canal and the Quays of Port Said. In 1974 the City was again under siege by Greek Cypriots, with 11,000 Turkish Cypriots defending the City until it was ended by the arrival of the Turkish Troops. The important Historical monuments worth visiting are: The Walls and Bastions, Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (St. Nicholas Cathedral) Othello Tower, Remains of Countless Mediaeval Churches. Salamis, Kings Tombs, St. Barnabas Monastery, The Ruins of Enkomi. The visitor will enjoy many fine beaches stretching miles along the coast of ancient Salamis.
Girne:
Kyrenia is founded in the 10th Century BC. , by Achaean settlers and was for many Centuries one of the 10 Kingdoms of Cyprus. In the 7th Century it was fortified by Byzantine who built the original Castle later expanded first by the Lusignans and then by the Venetians. Under Ottomans the town had remained a minor port. The British built a harbour and a Quay. Under British Empire the Town was an en-route resting place for officers, captains and their families for its picturesque situation, its beautiful harbour and leisurely and romantic atmosphere. The Town still retains its character with many restaurants and bars by the Harbour and small hotels spreading east and west of the town, along the coastline which raises to form an impressive backdrop with the mountains behind. The region now an attractive holiday resort boasts many historic sites worth visiting. Among these the Harbour Castle and the Shipwreck Museum, The St. Hilarion Castle, The Bellapais Abbey, the Folk Art and the Icon Museums are the most important.
Guzelyurt:
Situated in the Northwest of Cyprus, Guzelyurt is one of the richest agricultural areas in Cyprus, famous particulary for the Citrus (Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit) and strawberries from the area which thrive in its fertile red soil. Guzelyurt is an ideal picnic spot for those who want to escape from the noise and rush of the city life and spend the day in the peace and quiet of natural surroundings. In spring the light breezes scatter the white orange blossoms from which you can smell the fragrance around the town, while in other seasons the golden oranges and lemons shine on the trees. A large proportion of the citrus fruits are exported, and the remaining are made into fruit juice and canned for local consumption and export. Visit the former Monastery of St. Mamas, originally Byzantine with Gothic establishments. Some of the carvings date from c. 1500. The Ruins of Soli (600 BC) and the Palace of Vouni, from the 5th century BC, are a must for archeologists or those interested in antiquities.
Iskele:
On the return from Karpaz to Famagusta you pass the village Yeni Iskele. The Greek name of the village is Trikomo. The name Yeni Iskele is a reminder of the relocation of Turkcypriots from the Turkish district Iskele in the city of Larnaca on the island's south coast. The Turkcypriots who lived there before had to go away after the war. They moved in 1975 to Trikomo, which was renamed to Yeni (new) Iskele. At the center of the village there's the 15th century church of St. Jacob (Avios Iakovos). There's an odd coincidence in the fact that the village was the birthplace of the EOKA-colonel George Grivas. He was a leading spokesman of Cyprus reunion with Greece. Grivas died six months before the war in 1974.
Lefkosa:
The foundation of the city dates back around 2250 years and it is now the capital of the island with a population of around 110000 and was developed mainly during the Lusignan period. The city is divided into Turkish and Greek sectors by a boundary known as the green line which runs in an east - west direction. The ramparts, which were built by the Venetians in 1570 to protect the city from the Turks, are thick and high. They encircle the city and are 4.5km in length with 11 towers. Inside the city walls are numerous remains of the Middle Ages and later periods. Outside the walls are no remains whatsoever of the Middle Ages since materials from building outside of the walls have been used in the restoration of the ramparts at various times. Inside the city walls are beautiful examples of Gothic and Ottoman architectural forms, among which are the Selimiye Mosque (St.Sophia Cathedral), Bedesten (covered bazaar - St. George Cathedral), a Lapidary Museum set in an old Venetian house and an obelisk, while belonging to the Ottoman period are the Arabahmet Mosque, the Buyuk Han (Grand Inn), the Kumarcilar Han (Gamblers' Inn), the Sultan Mahmut II Library, and countless other monuments. Like the other towns of Cyprus which remained under Ottoman rule for more than 300 years, Lefkosa too is typically Turkish in character.
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