We went to Northern Cyprus today. The border crossing was easy to negotiate, although not too easy to find. I expected my passport to be stamped here, but nothing. So I still haven't got anything at all to show I've been to Cyprus. We went to Kyrenia, a large sprawling port, much bigger than I expected. It is very nice with the old carob warehouses lining the harbour front, but I can't say it was so much better than other Greek ports we have visited, for example Chania, in Crete. It was very busy, in the summer it must be impossibly crowded. The traffic was terrible, gridlocked on many occasions and this is the down season. We spent some time going round the Castle which was impressive. I particularly enjoyed the small Museums within the Castle complex. I found The Shipwreck Museum to be the most interesting and informative. The labelling and the explanations were very good, better and more precise than those in the Cyprus Museum.
Our next stop was at St Hilarion Castle, in the Kyrenia Mountains and this was even more impressive. Literally carved out of the mountain side, going up and up. It is impossible to describe the first impressions as you approach it from below, up a long winding road. It was a beautiful day, clear blue sky, and it loomed and floated above us, segments of the walls and towers spread out over a vast area at the sides and top of the mountain. All that remains now is mostly walls, ramparts and staircases, but it was possible to see how large and encompassing the Castle must have been. We climbed up and up, until at last I was defeated, just a few metres from the top, by narrow stone steps cut out of the rock. I was OK going up but concerned about how I would get down.
Our final stop was at Bellapais Abbey. We has spent longer than we had anticipated at both of the two previous sites so we decided we would not have time to travel across the island to Famagusta, who knows, maybe another time. Bellapais is a pretty village where Lawrence Durrell once lived. We arrived at the Abbey at the same time as a large tour bus. They went through the entry gate slightly ahead of us and all went into the Church, so we thought we would explore the cloisters and outer buildings first. The refectory is intact and sometimes used for musical performances, a grand piano was on a raised dais at one end. We climbed to an upper level, with a view out over Kyrenia Harbour, and loitered a while in the pleasant cloisters. We then proceeded back to the church, thinking that we had given the tour group sufficient time to clear, to find the gates we had come through were locked. We decided to take the exit gate and then re-enter, showing our tickets, so that we could get into the Abbey church. However every where was completely locked up, the ticket office closed and chains on the gates. It was only 15.30 and it is supposed to be open until 17.00.
We drove back into South Nicosia,leaving the car and walking into the town for a meal. We went to the Greek taverna where we had been on our first night and had a very 'greek' Greek meal. My gigantes were particularly good.
Our next stop was at St Hilarion Castle, in the Kyrenia Mountains and this was even more impressive. Literally carved out of the mountain side, going up and up. It is impossible to describe the first impressions as you approach it from below, up a long winding road. It was a beautiful day, clear blue sky, and it loomed and floated above us, segments of the walls and towers spread out over a vast area at the sides and top of the mountain. All that remains now is mostly walls, ramparts and staircases, but it was possible to see how large and encompassing the Castle must have been. We climbed up and up, until at last I was defeated, just a few metres from the top, by narrow stone steps cut out of the rock. I was OK going up but concerned about how I would get down.
Our final stop was at Bellapais Abbey. We has spent longer than we had anticipated at both of the two previous sites so we decided we would not have time to travel across the island to Famagusta, who knows, maybe another time. Bellapais is a pretty village where Lawrence Durrell once lived. We arrived at the Abbey at the same time as a large tour bus. They went through the entry gate slightly ahead of us and all went into the Church, so we thought we would explore the cloisters and outer buildings first. The refectory is intact and sometimes used for musical performances, a grand piano was on a raised dais at one end. We climbed to an upper level, with a view out over Kyrenia Harbour, and loitered a while in the pleasant cloisters. We then proceeded back to the church, thinking that we had given the tour group sufficient time to clear, to find the gates we had come through were locked. We decided to take the exit gate and then re-enter, showing our tickets, so that we could get into the Abbey church. However every where was completely locked up, the ticket office closed and chains on the gates. It was only 15.30 and it is supposed to be open until 17.00.
We drove back into South Nicosia,leaving the car and walking into the town for a meal. We went to the Greek taverna where we had been on our first night and had a very 'greek' Greek meal. My gigantes were particularly good.
Impressions of North Cyprus:
We had heard that going to North Cyprus was like stepping back 50 years in time. That is not at all our impression, based on the small area we have visited, which has been mostly urban. The road system was good, there were smart shops, new cars,clean and tidy housing. We didn't see any fast food chains such as KFC or MacDonalds, but I can't see that's exactly deprivation. There were loads of Kebab and Souvla outlets selling what looked like Gyros, not that different to a MacDonalds Burger and a lot healthier. We saw some women wearing headscarves, but I didn't see a single burka or veil. Most young girls were fashionably torn and faded jeans or skimpy skirts. We went to visit a mosque and John was wearing shorts so he stood outside, but a man by the door ushered him in, saying it didn't matter.
We had heard that going to North Cyprus was like stepping back 50 years in time. That is not at all our impression, based on the small area we have visited, which has been mostly urban. The road system was good, there were smart shops, new cars,clean and tidy housing. We didn't see any fast food chains such as KFC or MacDonalds, but I can't see that's exactly deprivation. There were loads of Kebab and Souvla outlets selling what looked like Gyros, not that different to a MacDonalds Burger and a lot healthier. We saw some women wearing headscarves, but I didn't see a single burka or veil. Most young girls were fashionably torn and faded jeans or skimpy skirts. We went to visit a mosque and John was wearing shorts so he stood outside, but a man by the door ushered him in, saying it didn't matter.
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