<< Back to Antalya >> Next to Istanbul
Nine Days in Cyprus, 50 Years after the Turkish Intervention
Sunday, 21st July 2024 - Tuesday, 30th July 2024
Summary:
What
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Sunday, 21st July.)
The first site of Cyrpus is spectacular when flying from the north: The Girne Mountains or Kirynia Range, depending on whether you use Turkish or Greek to describe them. And, as we would see this would be a recurring theme on our time on the island.
It was odd landing at Ercan airport, the new Nicosia airport in the north (the original one in the UN controlled zone has been closed for 5 decades).
After that awkward incident we had another long walk in the heat to the old town and the Lokmaci crossing point into Cyprus itself.
After going through passport control we had another 15 minute walk to the bus station where we waited to board a bus to Paphos.
When we planned this trip we had no idea of the historical significance of the days we'd be in Cyprus... exactly 50 years after Turkey invaded and claimed 37% of the Northern part as The Turkish Cypriot Republic.
The bus ride was fine once we'd picked up all the passengers who got on at various points in Greek-speaking Nicosia.
Then it was plain sailing along the motorways (apart from one big traffic jam) flying past Larnaca into a glorious sunset before we finally arrived in Paphos.
Then, it was another long walk. Stupidly I got the name of the place wrong before we finally ended up here at our 60th accommodation. When we arrived there was no-one at reception but the manager soon turned up and let us into our room.
In case you were, like me, wondering... that's 2.25 nights per place.
Time for a quick dip in the pool to cool down and a couple of snifters of the delicious Marzipan Vana Tallin Leb picked up at the airport duty free.
So... eight days of doing next to nothing.
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Monday, 22st July.)
Day 136 ~ Relaxing in Paphos.
Woke up realising Cyprus is my 66th country visited so I'm 2 above par on the "Jodie Curve" (bucket list thing to have been to more countries than your age). After a good night's sleep we skipped down the road to the Tombs of the Kings World Heritage Site (passing, I can't resist mentioning Paphos FC's club center advertising a big match this Thursday - more on this later.) We went down a couple of tombs and it is a very impressive and large site which stretched down to the sea. Unfortunately that part was fenced off so we couldn't dip our toes in the water. I met a family of Forest fans and we exchanged positive vibes about the forthcoming season before we realised that we were being Red Dogs and Englishmen out in the mid day sun. Another scorcher. So it was off to the local air conditioned Lidl to do some shopping before bringing back the goods and eating some of them for brekkie.
In the afternoon we went down to the pool for a very slobby afternoon reading and bathing.
Then after getting changed we walked uphill to the old town center for a lovely meal (souvlaki and Greek salad) before a wander through the old town where we tried some of the excellent local wine.
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Tuesday, 23rd July.)
Day 137 ~ Bus trip to Coral Bay (not the one in WA!).
After checking about Thursday's Pathos FC game - who could have predicted they'd by playing in Vilnius against Žalgiris? We caught the very regular, reliable and cheap bus service to Coral Bay for a day lounging on the beach, reading and snorkelling. I did three snorkels.
After than it was a nice fish dinner and a big beer before catching a packed bus back to Paphos.
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Wednesday, 24th July.)
Day 138 ~ Most "chill" day so far. Nothing to report except a short walk to a nice restaurant for a very good value three course dinner. Slobbing by the pool or snoozing the rest of the day
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Thursday, 25th July.)
Day 139 ~ Good old English breakfast at O'Neill's Irish pub. Then, coastal broadwalk to the harbour. Disappointment the the Robin Hood Pub was closed. Bit of shopping in the cool mall. Back for a dip in the pool and a snooze. Back out for a Europa Conference feast of football. Žalgiris Vilnius 2 Paphos FC 1 (at the LFF stadium where bizarrely Leb and I were sat three weeks ago watching the centenary dance festival) and Omonoia Nicosia (coached by a Lithuanian Vladas Dambrauskas) 3 Torpedo Kutaisi 1. KFC on the way back
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Friday, 26th July.)
Day 140 ~ Another slobby lazy day. Fish & Chips and a Wee Brekkie at the local British (Scottish more likely) cafe. Then beach, pool and finished by watching the very glam opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics over a couple of glasses of red wine.
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Saturday, 27th July.)
Day 141 ~ Walk to the old town center markets. Very disappointing but remember Paphos has a population of only about 26,000. After a lounge by the pool Leb allowed a boozy night out. First stop The Old Fishing Shack Ale and Cider house (or something close!) The beet and cider there were nice but the guy 'waiter' was not. Some kind of Polish fascist totally unsympathetic to his Ukrainian neighbours. His Russian wife apparently excused 200k war crimes.
Then we went to the Robin Hood Pub which was even more disappointing. The guy behind the bar denied any connection with Nottingham which broke my heart.
Anyway, then onto a three course Cypriot dinner which was OK but not great
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Sunday, 28th July.)
Day 142 ~ Last night in Paphos and an appropriately Greek Cypriot theme to end on. We're 2/3rd of the way through our planned itinerary now.
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Monday, 29th July.)
Day 143 ~ From West to East, South to North, Greek to Turkish... but still in Cyprus. Another hot and sweaty (uphill) walk to the bus station to catch the noon intercity service from Paphos to Nicosia/Lefkoşa. Once there, we crossed the passport controls again and in 39C heat found our 61st accomodation and the loveliest host, Selay. After unpacking and getting changed it was back out into the searing heat to explore Lefkoşa. Most of it seemed sad and shabby. Many Cypriots have left this part of the city (Turkish as well as Greek) in the last 50 years and many areas definitely look neglected. We had a kebab and lots of long overdue Ayran. The waitress, a psychology student from Pakistan told us about her business plan to run a home made snack delivery service.
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Tuesday, 30th July.)
Day 144, Flight 16, Accomodation 62 ~ From Cyprus to Istanbul (population 16,047,000).
Selay very kindly organised a taxi to take us from her sweet hotel (Gül Hanim House, named after her grandmother, who used to own the property). The pick up had to be at 7:30 am for our 10:35 am flight, so she even organised the breakfast to be especially early just for us at 7:00am. So kind.
Ercan airport is about 45 minutes away even without traffic and we sailed through security and passport control even though I couldn't find my Turkish visa on my phone. Oops!
The flight spectacularly passed over the Troodos mountain range and then over the northern coast and the Cilician Sea towards Turkey. The flight to Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen International Airport took less time than the trains and walk time to our hotel... the city is so huge. Not that the metro was slow, there were 25 stops. We bought two week-long passes and had to change once to go under the Bosphorus. Then it was a twenty minute walk up past the Hagi Sofia and back down to our next stop over. After a shower and change of clothes we started to explore our corner of the city. We had a nice meal (I had pide, Leb a salad) and then we walked down to a very choppy channel where the Golden Horn meets the Bosphorus. We strolled through the wonderful spice bazaar and were only persuaded only once to buy some Turkish delight. (Asked thirty times!) Then, with feet aching like mad, it was time to head back for an early night.
No comments:
Post a Comment