Since the war of 1974 Cyprus has been split into two, with two thirds of the island being the Republic of Cyprus and the northern third belonging to Turkey, although there are conflicting opinions depending on who you ask! The Republic of Cyprus, with its closer ties to Greece is where the majority of tourism exists. Our first port of call was to be the southern tourist town of Paphos, allowing us a week to make our way to what the Turks know as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), with the international community adding ‘Occupied’ to that definition. For us it was like visiting two independent countries with a dividing “green line” going right through the capital city of Nicosia.
Not sure what expectations we had for Cyprus in general but Paphos and its significant British expat community made for a decent enough place to waste away a few nights. Although the party scene was completely closed down until the summer season the waterfront and harbor were business as usual, lined with chilled out cafe bars and restaurants, minus the summertime touts. The midwinter tee-shirt weather was perfect for wandering the ancient ruins and lazing by the pool – actually can’t imagine being here in a stifling 40 degree daytime heat followed by drunken debauchery at Linekers and Beckhams Bar anymore! Ummm, maybe…
Still often called Nicosia by the locals the worlds last divided city is officially known as Lefkosia by the folk south of the green line and similarly Lefkosa if you’re from the Turkish north. Not that we realized beforehand, neither did we care where we ended up, but it was far more pleasant to stay in Lefkosia on the Cypriot side of the internationally disputed border. From cafe lined Ledra Street to the modern designer stores to the street lighting, everything felt very European with a definite Greek influence. At some point though we did have to make our way through one of the numerous checkpoints as our departure point was Ercan International airport in the north.
It was strange to be in a city with a disputed border running smack dab through the center of it, and although barely noticeable at first glance we did walk down the occasional road where a pile of green barrels and barbed wire had been chaotically strung up – other than these basic barricades buildings defined the north/ south divide. Then there was the main traffic-free walkway of Ledra Street, eventually leading to a well used pedestrian crossing and the respective Cypriot and Turkish checkpoints. We made the crossing a couple of times and on the first occasion we mentioned border crossing to the Cypriot officer, upon which we were reminded that this was not a border, merely a checkpoint – obviously from his perspective the Turks are still illegally occupying the land beyond his small wooden security hut!
After only a single night in Lefkosia it was time for our foray into the north, loaded down with backpacks, daypacks and a food bag we left the European Union and made the kilometer or so walk to the Cypriot Swallow Boutique Hotel. Within a hundred yards we were met with narrow and dingy streets, abandoned properties and a definite divide in wealth – maybe we should have stayed put and made the crossing on the day of our flight! Fortunately the friendly face that welcomed us at the accommodation instantly made us feel better. It was now time to discover the gritty side of the city…
It seemed like there were more places of interest on this side, including the Büyük Han, an ancient stopover building, Selimiye Mosque, and a couple of the still standing walled city gates. It also seemed like we were the only foreign tourists making us stand out like sore thumbs. I actually prefer to be away from mainstream tourists so for me this was a good thing. What wasn’t a good thing was the lack of decent looking cafes, nor the fact that we didn’t notice anywhere even close to being inviting for dinner – it’s a good thing that the two countries have now made it easy to go back and forth, giving us another option.
Heading back to the bustling, inviting, and illuminated side of the city for dinner was a done deal, whereas leaving in the dark to make the kilometer walk back to our hotel was an altogether different experience. The streets were dark, deserted, nothing was open, and barely any signs of life. How could this be? We were inside the old walled city a few hours earlier and it was a hive of activity, a stark contrast to after dark hours! We did decide to use the semi-illuminated main road instead of the backstreets to get home. Andrea since read the hotel reviews and most of them had comments regarding not being comfortable out after dark in the surrounding area.
Although we did miss out on the rugged interior, diving the famous Zenobia wreck, and partying like rock stars I think this was still to be our first and final visit to Cyprus. There are simply too many other places in the world waiting upon our arrival…
January 2nd – January 9th 2016
