Xenos

Overview:-

It took quite a bit of soul-searching before we finally decided to visit Northern Cyprus. As regular visitors to Greee, the current political situation made us feel as though it would somehow be disloyal to our Greek friends to go there. However, we finally decided to put aside our prejudices and principles and go there before over-development turns it into a carbon copy of the southern part of the island. I think we only just made it in time!

Getting there is a trial in itself since neither the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, nor its main airport at Ercan are officially recognised under international law. This means that direct flights are only possible from Turkey and our plane had to land in Antalya for an hour or so, before taking off again for the remaining 40 minute “domestic” flight. For some reason (possibly prevailing winds) the flight home takes about an hour longer than the outbound flight and this made for a total return journey time of around 10 hours from Kyrenia to our home near Manchester Airport, so it’s not exactly a short hop!

We spent a week in Kyrenia (or Girne in Turkish), from 24 December 2005. It is a fairly large town and with masses of villa developments springing up everywhere it can only get bigger. The harbour is very picturesque, with plenty of bars and restaurants and a walk around the castle is an interesting way to spend a morning. There didn't seem to be any decent beaches at all in the area, unless they were all situated in the grounds of the big hotel complexes on the outskirts of town, which we didn't visit.

Shopping seems to consist of either general souvenire-type shops or ones selling designer knock-offs. The prices of these seemed fairly reasonable for things like jeans and tops, but very inflated for watches (£25+) and handbags (£40+) compared to what you see in Asia, although the quality may have been slightly better.

On the whole, I'd say that Kyrenia is a good place to visit off-season as an alternative to a city break and it makes a good base for exploring the rest of Northern Cyprus. But the lack of beaches and proliferation of "holiday village" developments mean that I personally wouldn't go there for a summer holiday since I like to relax on a quiet beach during the day and enjoy local bars and restaurants in the evenings and I think that it would be necessary to have a car and do a fair bit of driving around for the whole holiday in order to do both, so not exactly a "vegging out" holiday. I enjoyed our week there and am glad we went, but having "been there, done that", I wouldn't be in any hurry to return. I’d certainly recommend it for a one-off visit, but go there soon before the developers completely take over.

Xenos

The Dome Hotel:-

We stayed at the Dome Hotel and our sea-view room was on the first floor and had a decent sized terrace which would probably be quite pleasant for sitting out on in warmer weather. But the rooms on the floor above us had smaller terraces which, being north-facing, would get very little sun even in summer and many were directly above the hotel bar and restaurant, which meant that you looked down onto the green-felted roofs, complete with aircon units, so not exactly a marvellous vista.

The room itself was fairly small and the facilities pretty basic for what is described as a 4-star hotel. I'd personally put it at around 2-3 stars. There was a TV and a small minibar, but no tea and coffee tray (which I suspect is common to most hotels in N Cyprus) and the complimentary toiletries were limited to shampoo and soap - not even a box of tissues in the bathroom. It was clean enough, but somehow looked tired, especially the bathroom with its 80's style yellowy-peach suite and discoloured grouting between the wall tiles. One of the light fittings wasn't working on our arrival and we pointed this out to the porter, but nothing was done about it. We tried swapping the bulbs around and found it was just a dead bulb and so left it out on the dressing table for 2 days. The first day the maid just put it back again and the second day she removed it from the room, but didn't bother bringing a new one!

Hotel staff were friendly, but the service was somewhat haphazard. They were keen to re-fill your wine glasses at dinner, but not so keen to serve tea and coffee at breakfast and we mostly had to get our own from the urns provided. We also spent a good 10 minutes in the hotel bar one afternoon without getting served - despite the fact that there were only two other people in there - and we eventually got up and went to a bar across the road.

Breakfast is the usual hotel buffet style and there was a good choice with a few hot dishes plus plenty of cold cuts, fruit, cereal and breads. We had paid for B & B, but our tour operator, Green Island Holidays threw in free half board during the winter months, so we ate in the hotel restaurant on a few evenings. Again the food was served buffet-style and was plentiful, but it was pretty bland and uninspiring and I certainly wouldn't pay extra for half board if I stayed there in summer - there are far better reasonably-priced choices at the local restaurants. Our favourite was Niazi’s, just over the road from the hotel, where the house speciality, The Full Kebab, is an experience not to be missed.

The Dome Hotel is Cyprus's longest established hotel and I have to say that in some respects it looks like it. It is situated on the seafront a minute or two's walk from the harbour and only slightly further from the main shopping area, so overall I'd say the Dome is a good base for exploring Kyrenia and N Cyprus, but just don't expect it to live up to its rating.

Xenos

Getting around:

We hired a car from Sun RentaCar and were very impressed, since it was a virtually new Fiat Panda with only about 11,000km on the clock. The driving is reasonably easy, with most of the roads well signposted and tarmacced, but it can get a little hairy up in the mountains with the hairpin bends and the odd development work where the road seems to be being widened and the tarmac suddenly disappears. We managed to get lost a couple of times - once near the village of Degirmenlik where we missed a right turn and ended up at the gates of a military establishment, with two armed soldiers guarding the entrance. They seemed quite friendly though and directed us back to the correct road! The other time was when what appeared to be a road on the map suddenly turned into what seemed to be an army tank track and concerns for the underside of our car and its tyres persuaded us to turn around and try another way. Maybe if we'd hired a 4x4 we may have been a bit more adventurous!

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Kyrenia (Girne) Castle:

The castle dominates the eastern end of Kyrenia harbour and possibly dates back to the 7th century BC, although no definitive date has yet been determined for its original construction. It was captured by Richard the Lionheart during the Crusades and has been enlarged and extended several times throughout history and details of these changes are well illustrated within the Castle's introductory room. The structure is well-preserved and it offers wonderful views of Kyrenia harbour and the surrounding district from the upper walls. If you visit the Castle, do look out for the lovely beige one-eyed cat, which seems to befriend each new visitor as they enter the castle grounds. It took a distinct liking to my husband’s jacket when he put it down on the wall and quite a bit of gentle persuasion was needed to stop it using it as a bed!

Inside the castle is the Shipwreck Museum which contains the remains of the oldest shipwreck ever discovered, dating back to 300 BC. There are several other displays within the castle, including the rather gruesome torture chamber and a model of a Bronze Age tomb discovered near to Kyrenia, along with artefacts which were recovered from inside it (following a raid on a local tomb-raider's home!) There is also an exhibition hall containing pictures donated by William Dreghorn, but unfortunately this was closed during our visit.

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Bellapais Abbey and Village

A short drive southeast of Kyrenia, the Abbey dates back to around 1200 AD and was given to the Greek Orthodox church following the Ottoman conquest. It contains one of the few Orthodox churches which has been preserved in Northern Cyprus since 1974 and the icons, architecture and furniture are well worth seeing.

The original village of Bellapais, immediately surrounding the monastery is still very pretty and the Tree of Idleness Restaurant makes a pleasant stop for a coffee following a visit to the abbey. In front of the restaurant is an old tree which, it is claimed, is the "tree of idleness" referred to by Lawrence Durrell in his book Bitter Lemons of Cyprus. The village, however, has been much extended since Durrell's time and away from the Abbey it has the same sprawling modern villas as can be seen in much of the Kyrenia district. We were totally gobsmacked as we sat in the idyllic, peaceful setting of the village centre when some tourists approached the restaurant and the lead male was heard to say to his wife in a very loud middle-class British accent “Have you asked how much the coffee is here? I’m certainly not paying more than a pound for a cup of coffee”. Just goes to prove the old saying that some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing!

St Hilarion Castle

Another short drive from Kyrenia in a southwesterly direction took us to St Hilarion Castle. This is the main castle of Northern Cyprus and its fairytale appearance is said to be the inspiration behind Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle. It is situated on one of the highest peaks of the Kyrenia mountain range and can be seen for miles around. This means that the drive up to it is quite scarey - partly because of the steep winding road and partly because the majority of the road is controlled by the Turkish military - so there's no stopping and no photography allowed until you get to the Castle car park. The mountainside appears to be an army training camp and is guarded by gun-toting soldiers as you pull off the main road to start the climb.

Once you've braved the hairpin bends and the armed guards, the Castle itself is on 3 levels and involves a lot of steep climbing to see all of them, so it's not for anyone with walking difficulties and I should imagine it's quite strenuous in the mid-summer heat. However, if you can manage it, both the Castle itself and the breath-taking views over Kyrenia and the surrounding coast are well worth it.

Xenos

East of Kyrenia:

As you leave the main town area, the road is some distance from the shore and for several miles all you see is villa developments, the majority of which were either unfinished or uninhabited at the time we visited. It gives the impression that virtually every patch of spare land is being built on and it seems a shame that the developers appear to be determined to transform the main reason for most people visiting Northern Cyprus (i.e. its rugged, unspoilt beauty) into just another Mediterranean sprawl.

However, carry on a little further and about 30km from Kyrenia, around the village of Esentepe, the building sites have disappeared (for now) and there are some spectacular views of the coast and the surrounding mountains. There is a small natural harbour here which, although totally undeveloped, is used as a mooring by the local fishermen and goats wander freely across the cliffs and down to the beach.

The road from here on is pretty much undeveloped, apart from a few small hamlets and the odd restaurant which were all closed when we visited in December, until you reach the small village of Kaplica. At the moment this village is still a pretty little, mostly undeveloped, harbour with the unspoilt main village of Kaplica a kilometre or so up the hill. I understand that there are plans for its further development which are supposed to retain the original character of the village and I hope that this will be the case. From here we carried on up the hill towards the village of Kantara and its castle.

Kantara Castle is situated about 55km east of Kyrenia. It dates back to the 10th century, but the majority of the remaining parts belong to the reign of James 1 of Cyprus who re-fortified the castle during his reign from 1382-1398. Much of the castle is now in ruins, but the outer walls still stand and, as it's 600m above sea level, a visit there is worthwhile for the spectacular views of the northern coast.

West of Kyrenia:

Once again, the drive out of Kyrenia heading west offers many more villa developments and I'm really not sure how they expect to sell all of these. Northern Cyprus currently only receives around half a million visitors a year, the majority of whom come from Turkey and it seems unlikely that Turkish people would want to buy holiday homes so close to their own homes.

Anyway, the development mostly runs out by the time you reach the villages of Alsancak and Lapta and more wonderful coastline views can be seen. The road starts to get a little rougher from Kayaler onwards and, rather than continue on to the cape at Korucam we turned off at Sadrazamkoy and followed the road south east along the other side of the Kyrenia mountains. The contrast on this side of the mountains is amazing, with rugged mountain views turning to lush green plains and at times we found it difficult to remember that we were still in a Mediterranean country - the landscapes were more reminiscent of the British countryside, until we caught sight of a small olive grove or citrus fruit orchard, which reminded us where we were!

Xenos

South to Salamis and Gazimagusa (Famagusta):

10km north of Gazimagusa, the ancient city of Salamis is said to have been founded by the Greek hero Teucer, following the Trojan war. The Romans and Byzantines extended it further and many of its remains can be seen with archeological work still ongoing to discover further remains. Don't be fooled by the marble columns in the Gymnasium, which were actually erected during restoration work in the 1950's!

A short drive south from Salamis takes you to the walled city of Gazimagusa. Unfortunately, due to limited daylight hours in December, we were only able to spend a short time here, but I think it certainly warrants a longer visit and the ancient churches and city walls were very impressive - particularly the quirky Lala Mustafa Pasa mosque, which was originally a Latin cathedral, but which was coverted to a mosque by the addition of a single minaret some 400-odd years ago.

Photos:

Some of our holiday snaps can be seen in an album at http://tinyurl.com/83tk7

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BeniciaChris

Xenos-My husband & I are going to Cyprus for a week in Sept-Southern. Can you let me know of anything not to miss.WE have a time share in Agia Napa-thank you Christine Storz
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Xenos

I'm sorry Christine, I've never been to southern Cyprus. But if you can manage a daytrip to the north, I'd say that Kyrenia Castle, St Hilarion and Bellapais would probably be the 3 main sights to concentrate on and as they are fairly close together, you should manage all 3 in a day. Alternatively, a day in Famagusta might be interesting.

nukesafe

Xenos,

I cannot thank you enough for your wonderful trip report of your visit to Northern Cyprus. I cringe to read your description of all of the holiday cottages being built over the orange and olive groves that used to border Kyrenia.

The pictures of the Harbor shows that it has not changed much at all from when we wintered there on our boat just before the Turkish invasion. We tied stern to at the quai just in front of a restauant. I can recall the fuss it caused when one of my kids clogged one of the heads (toilet) with a Leggo, and I had to remove the whole thing from the boat and disassemble the nasty contraption on the guai right by the tables tha restaurant had set up. They lost a bit of business that day.

The Castle still looks just the same, too. I volunteered to help in the ship restoration in the castle, and spent many happy days soaking ancient timbers in preservative solution and helping the archaeologists assemble the pieces. This is the first I had heard about it since the 1970's. I had feared that it had been destroyed by the military.

I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip, but I think I could not bring myself to revisit that charming city; under Turkish rule, and now getting swamped by the tourist blight.