I did not expect Cyprus to be this diverse or this much fun.
We rolled into Adelaide airport thinking Dubai would be our destination for two weeks but as it turns out, “Boss-man Bobby” the man we were staying with, and also my father in law, couldn’t get out of business as planned so off to Cyprus we went. Well established in Cyprus, the boss-man drove us around the island like a high-end tour guide that knew all the best beaches, best restaurants, and must-see attractions. Bobby, being a man who appreciates speed and efficiency above all else, I expected to see his hire car in the calibre of a Mercedes, Maserati, or BMW. So I chuckled when he walked us over to a Kia Sportage talking it up like it was a Tesla.
We stayed at the Crown Plaza in Limassol, and it was terrific. Limassol is a small city in the south hugging the coast, renowned for its atmosphere, hotels and resorts, and as a base it could not have been better. Limassol has a casual party vibe that I really enjoyed.
I knew very little about the island of Cyprus but I had a surface understanding of a rich history dating back to ancient Greece. Today, Cyprus is an island torn in half by a conflict many decades old, and much like Kosovo in the Balkans, Cyprus is partitioned with UN peacekeepers holding a border that literally cuts the capital city of Nicosia in two and runs the width of the island down ethnic lines. In a nutshell, Turkey has the north and an independent Cyprus, the south. A coup detat executed by Greece in the 1970’s for the full annexation of the majority Greek speaking island triggered a Turkish invasion of the north. The city of Famagusta is an example of the kind of division experienced after the war where the whole southern quarter of the city was evacuated and ultimately abandoned once it fell under Turkish rule. Once a vibrant tourist hub, that part of the city has been fenced off for decades and is now an eerie ghost town of rotting buildings.
First thing I noticed about Cyprus, apart from the little clean airport, was the beautiful white glow of the undulating landscape due to plentiful limestone deposits. The two storey Mediterranian houses and churches continue the gorgeous white and blue colour scheme from the turquoise water on the coast far into the interior of southern Cyprus.
The ease of getting around by car is striking, the familiarity of driving the same side of the road as Australia helped of course, but all the major cities are no more than an hour drive and the scenery never gets boring. Cyprus has a road network that is one of the best I’ve seen in such a small place and great care has been taken to make the verges and swooping highways as beautiful as possible with flowers and greenery, further, the roads are very user-friendly if you get lost.
Today, Cyprus is a hub of investment and tourism. After bankruptcy and austerity back in the late 2000’s, Cyprus is on the receiving end of some serious foreign money, namely from the Russian Federation. I heard that any foreign national can purchase land here and immediately receive citizenship, which would be a significant carrot if correct. Cyprus appears to have positioned itself well in the region as a stable EU member at the gates of the middle east while embracing a noticeable Russian influence and placating Turkey at the same time. There is talk now of some sort of unification between north and south but the Greek Cypriots aren’t holding their breath.
I underestimated the amount to see and do here, namely the beauty of the beaches, the ruins of fallen empires, the mountain villages, Aphrodite’s rock and sanctuary, the magnificent churches and the idyllic old towns in the cities. The conflict and history of Cyprus grabbed me the most. Crossing the border in the capital is an adventure in itself but the really interesting route is along the coastline by car through the British military base and along the narrow UN corridor (no man’s land) toward Famagusta. The peaceful villages in the interior are a lovely alternative if you want to get away from the party beaches of Ayia Napa or the pulsing glamour cars of Limassol.
It is hard to break the rhythm of the laid-back island life here once you taste it, and I can only assume the Greek islands feel very similar, and it must be why Bobby boss-man seems to enjoy it so much. Cyprus is a friendly, warm destination with a vibrant atmosphere that was a pleasure to have experienced.
Soon, I’ll follow up with what to see and do in Southern Cyprus. 👌
Signing off.
writersblocktravels 