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Nine Days in Cyprus, 50 Years after the Turkish Intervention
Sunday, 21st July 2024 - Tuesday, 30th July 2024
Summary:
We hadn't planned to go to Cyprus but our Schengen shenanigans made some kind of long stop in a nearby, but not EU connected, country inevitable. It was also only to be expected that we'd choose somewhere hot and close to the sea. Other options were Egypt and Tunisia but int he end we opted for a country where we'd get to experience at least a little Greek culture. Greece itself, in the EU and in Schengen, was out of the question.
Bizarrely, we could not have timed our first visit to Cyprus more critically - it was almost exactly 50 years to the day that Turkey invaded the island and grabbed more than 1/3 of the area and more than 1/4 of the population.
Flying from Turkiye (and then, upon leaving, flying back there) we had little choice but to arrive at the Turkish side of the country and its Ercan airport. This was quite exciting as it meant we had to cross the border in the center of Nicosia and then catch a bus to our destination of Paphos. We had a lovely relaxing week and a bit, lolling by the pool and doing little else but eat and drink. Coincidentally, Paphos FC played in Vilnius against Žalgris whilst we were there, so I was able to indulge ina bit of football and on the cultural side, we did get to experience some Greek food as well as song and dance.
Merhaba Lefkoşa, Γεια σου Πάφο. (Sunday, 21st July.)
Cyprus was 66th country visited and the first new one for me on this trip so far. This made me one "over par" on the Jodie Curve (the bucket list thing to visit more countries than your age).
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.
A Day by the Beach in Coral Bay (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.
We did three snorkels each.
After than it was a nice fish dinner and a big beer at the beach cafe before catching a packed bus back to Paphos.
After yesterday's headline events in the United States, it didn't take long for the Democratic Party leadership to get behind Kamala Harris as their new candidate for President.
Laziest Day So Far. (Wednesday, 24th July.)
Day 138 ~ Most "chill" day so far. I have 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
Coastal Broadwalk. (Thursday, 25th July.)
Day 139 ~ We started the day with a good old English breakfast at O'Neill's Irish pub. There are still many echoes in Cyprus of British rule and brekkie is definitely one of them.
We then set off to the coastal broadwalk along to the harbour.
We had a drink in a restuarant that had a pet pelican before it was Beer O'Clock.
I had a minor disappointment that the Robin Hood Pub was closed. Apparently it was established by a Forest fan but I would never get to verify that.
On the way back, after passing yet more ancient ruins, we did a bit of shopping in a cool (literally more than metaphorically) shoping mall.
Then it was back for a dip in the pool and a snooze.
Later I headed back out to the quite lively scene on the coastal road 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.
And then they scored another...
Later, I watched both games at the same time as Paphos pulled one back...
Final score - 2-1.
I couldn't resist but have KFC on the way back home to cap off another fantastic day.
Another Slobby Beach Day. (Friday, 26th July.)
Day 140 ~ This was another slobby lazy day.
We had a Wee Brekkie at the local British (Scottish more likely) cafe.
Then we headed for the nearest beach, spent the afternoon by the pool and finished by watching the very glam opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics over a couple of glasses of red wine.
Then it was back to the same cafe for Fish & Chips before heading back to the pool side for more slobbing.
Market Search. Boozy Eveneing. (Saturday, 27th July.)
Day 141 ~ Today, we walked to the old town to search for the center markets after a breakfast overlooking our coastal area. The market, when we found it, turned out to be very disappointing but we must remember that Paphos has a population of only about 26,000.
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| Dry stringy oranges were the highlight of the market |
After a nice cold drink at the Agora cafe, we popped in to the bus station to check the bus times to Nicosia.
After another lounge by the pool under a totally blue sky, 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. At least we got a view of some Greek dancing going on next door. Perhaps we'd come back for some of that.
Cultural Dinner at Demokritos. (Sunday, 28th July.)
Day 142 ~ This was our last night in Paphos and after another lazy day by the pool we wondered back into the old town for an appropriately Greek Cypriot theme to end on.
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| Final walk past Paphos FC on the way back to bed |
From West to East, South to North, Greek to Turkish...
but still in Cyprus. (Monday, 29th July.)
but still in Cyprus. (Monday, 29th July.)
Day 143 ~ After making the "Goodbye Video" we left Kings appartments and had another hot and sweaty (uphill) walk to the bus station to catch the noon inter-city service from Paphos to Nicosia/Lefkoşa.
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| Outside Paphos FC |
Once back in Nicosia, we walked back to the passport controls again, crossed into the Turkish half 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.
Then, it was back to bed for an early night for an early rise the next morning.
Güle güle, Lefkoşa (Bye Bye Nicosia). (Tuesday, 30th July.)
Day 144, Leaving Cyprus.
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.
Finansal Özet (Financial Summary)
Cyprus was at the cheaper end of the scale in terms of daily expenditure on the trip so far. Although we spend almost $1,000 on accomodation, one of the highest so far, it was spread over nine nights making it one of the cheapest overall. The food and wine was well priced too so this was a good choice from the point of view of our budget as well as avoiding Schengen shenenigans.
Ruh Hali Özeti (Mood Summary)
There were no bad moods in Cyprus apart from being really knackered after getting lost walking across Paphos to Kings Appartments, our place of stay for nine nights. I blame Google maps myself. Poor Leb was very stoic and we got there in the end. After that it was just one good day after another with no real highlights or fabulous days, just consistently happy and chill.
To give an indication, the Thursday walk along the coastal broadwalk, was probably the single-most enjoyable day of the trip for me but this only ranked #28 in the whole trip overall.
Alkollü İçecekler Özeti (Booze Summary)
After a few days "on the wagon" in Antalya, I was back on the booze in Cyprus, averaging 75.9 g /day making in twelve days on the trot now. This included two skinfulls (> 100g).
Tatil Güncellemesi (Holiday Update)
So, now with 15 countries (66 altogether) ticked off on this trip - and 143 days spent away, we finally reached the second half of the trip.
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