One city, two countries, two currencies - the Turkish Lira and the Euro. Nicosia is bbizarrely the capital of both the North and the South of Cyprus (the North is still occupied by the Turks and officially a part of Turkey). On one side - the South - you've got a bustling metropolis with restaurants, paved roads, and shops the likes of Zara and Topshop. On the other side - the North - you'll find hardly anyone on the streets (and I only saw one woman while I was there; she was in a full burqua), dirt roads, abandoned buildings, men playing backgammon outside cafes and smoking cigars. You even have to show your passport to get from one side to the other. It's a lot hotter on the North side too and a relief to get back to the Republic of Cyprus. Perhaps the giant air conditioner that blasts you when cross through the stone gates helps!
2. Jewel Bar and Restaurant, Protaras.
An amazing restaurant on a corner in the heart of the Protaras strip, which you might mistake for just a lounge bar if you didn't take notice. The herb-crusted salmon, sesame pan-seared tuna, panko-chilli encrusted rack of lamb, Angus burger, marinated fillet steak and pork chops were all unbelievable dishes ranging from €6.50 to €11 - amazing prices! And with a range of scrumptious deserts, €3.50 cocktails, large flat screen TVs and the latest dance music, it's a great night out for any occasion.
 |
| Jewel Bar and Restaurant - we dined here about 5 out of 10 nights |
 |
| One of the mouth-watering homemade deserts. |
Known as the 'Ghost Town', Famugusta is an abandoned city that's been empty and cordoned off since the Turks invaded in 1974 and evacuated thousands of Cypriots, making them refugees in their own country. With prime beachfront location, plenty of buildings and houses (a crane can still be seen in the streets, signalling the city was continuing to grow), it's incomprehensible that the Turks didn't move in when they kicked everyone else out. You can't get there, but you can see the ghost town from the 'Famugusta View Point' in Paralimni for just €3 (also includes a beer or soft drink, binoculars, telescope and entry to the museum.
 |
| Famugusta in the 1970s |
 |
| Famugusta today |
 |
| A poem written by one of the displaced Cypriot refugees |
 |
| The perimetre of Famugusta is monitored by the Turkish army and surrounded in warning signs and barbed-wire fences |
Larnaca. The markets are slim pickings, the beach is bare dirt - no sand in sight, just raked dirt! - and they charge €2 to hire the crappy yellow pleather sunbeds. Although the place does have some pretty huge kebabs on offer.
 |
| Larnaca beach... if you could could it that! |
 |
| Biggest kebabs from here tol Poland |
No comments:
Post a Comment