In 2025

This was a completely different visit, unlike the winter edition of 2018 – that you can see scrolling below. This was rather summer vacation with a bit of culture and history. I will start chronologically. 🙂

Landing was a bit late, so our morning start was a bit late as well. We were in Protaras – the eastern side of Cyprus. I was afraid of the heat wave, but for the entire week and a half we were spared. Some 34 – 36°C. Still bearable.

Protaras

As the day started lazily, a long lunch was guaranteed. I couldn’t stop admiring the place, staring at the blue and thinking how different from winter this place is.

Then the food arrived. Nothing heavy, just as much as I needed for my afternoon swim and snorkel. This time, I even managed to have the taste of local Cypriot wine – unlike last time in Cyprus, begging them to go local with me.

My days were filled with long days at the beach, reading, sunbathing, swimming and repeating.

Protaras

Protaras is a predominantly tourist resort, full of British tourists. During the day, at the beachside, you participate in the Love Island-type of discussions. In the evening, you go to Protaras’ main street and admire how wild this could be. I wasn’t amazed with English pubs, beers, Mexican restaurants, sushi places etc., but I guess the globalisation took its peak. Or at least I hope so. I mean, why Egyptian bar here? With British pints? I hope you see my point.

I was trying to find my Cypriot story here. Summer edition. 🙂 You don’t have to dig too dip though, that’s a good sign. The very same night street is full of Cypriot taverns where they indulge you in the local habits. For the very first night we had a mix grill with tzatziki.

The night finished with bouzouki – a Cypriot style of guitar. What an ode to the past times!

Protaras is famous for Greek mythology: the abduction of Heracles’ wife Deianira by the Centaur Nessus as they were trying to cross river nearby. Centaur Nessus offered to carry Deinaira and then attempted to abduct her. Heracles, seeing what’s happening, killed him from a distance with an arrow.

Before dying, Nessus, seeking revenge, told Deianira that his blood is a love potion she cau use in the future if Heracles will be unfaithful. Later, she used the potion, soaking it into tunics, which ultimately caused Heracles’ death.

The story of Deianira is told in Sophoclo’s tragedy Women of Trachiniae.

Before I move along with the story, here is the fish mezze with the local wine. The entire set of food costs 29 EUR. I have to say, eating was a blessing for a foodie like myself.

The temperature never goes below 30°C even during the night, but somehow, with the night wind comes the refreshment. One of the night walks we had, I noticed the huge electrical ventilators that local restaurants use to cool us off; otherwise, I do not believe this would be sustainable.

Protaras has clear sky-blue waters and sandy beaches, the most well-known of which is Fig Tree Bay. This was mostly our area of sunbathing and swimming. The entire bay has a wide range of local food, sometimes fusion experimentation. I was enjoying much the seafood that the rich Mediterranean offers.

To be fair to say, Cyprus’ food is actually a fusion of Greek food, Ottoman and Middle Eastern. We often had tarama, hummus, and minced meat on our tables. These dishes were always garnished with mint leaves. This gives a good indication of the cuisine here.

One evening, in one of the tavernas, we had an interesting wine, called Oroman. It is actually a grape variety. The name “Óroman” means vision or dream in the Cypriot dialect. It went well with my musaka and souvlaki. Not to forget halloumi – local cheese.

I have to mention the local Cypriot beer that has been here in production since 3800 years ago from the fig’s yeast. I am not a fan of fruity beers, but it was worth trying.

Another taste was a cider called Kopparberg.

Cypriot ravioli is a delicious legacy of the Genoese and Venetian presence on the island, when pasta was first introduced to Cyprus. Over time, this Italian classic blended with local flavors, being filled with halloumi and other goat- and sheep-milk cheeses, and finished with a Cypriot version of parmesan.

From the sweet moments, we had

Paralimni

There are many tourist guides and newsletters around the city, in which the mayor invites you to come to Paralimni. It is a city and a municipality that existed a long time before Protaras was just a bush nearby the sea. I am actually quoting here our taxi driver who was taking us to Paralimni.

The word Paralimni is Greek and means by the lake. So in Paralimni, there is a lake full of flamingos that we were not able to see as they were hiding from the heat.

But we did see the main square with the local sculpture of the hero defending from the Turkish occupation.

Nearby are the three different Greek Orthodox churches, from three different periods. I tried to understand the reason and background, but unfortunately, the internet is not giving many sources.

The first one is the Saint George church built in the 19th century featuring Byzantine architectural style.

In the middle is the Gothic church, which remains anonymous to me. And it was locked. I stood up my feet and glazed the look through the closed window. All I could see was the reflection of the beautiful chandelier.

Last in the row was early medieval Saint Anna. Also locked and not open to people. But at least one can find it on Google maps. 🙂

Mayor said we need to go for meat mezze in the city center where you eat with your own bear hands, no plates. Well, that was an experience. Having in mind, the meal for two costed 22 EUR. I will miss those prices!

Protaras means the first sun (in the European Union). I decided to wake up to see that sunrise and use the opportunity of that summer having the alignment of 6 celestial bodies. I managed to see three: Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. It was 30°C even at that hour.

Famagusta

In the following days, we hopped on a boat and explored the eastern coast of Cyprus. Fun thing here is that locals have a grill attached to the boat and roast you lamb, chicken, rabbit (also a local delicacy)… It tastes super good after a full day of swimming and exploration.

We went up the coast, to the UN buffer zone Our first stop was exploration of the ghost-town of Famagusta. In the 60s and 70’s, this city was a Hollywood place, until the occupation of the Turkiye.

Since then, UN has freezed the conflict, and the city has been deserted, leaving empty hotels. Funny enough, Turkish took all the doors and windows from hotels and houses to prevent Greeks’ squatting.

Not sure how much freezing of the conflict will do in the future, but here are the photos of the UN buffer zone:

Locals say that Turkish Cypriot recently got their permissions to cross the border and bath on the Greek side, as the beaches there are much better arranged. After seeing the Turkish side, I don’t doubt.

Time to explore more. As we were only 80 nautical miles away from the coast of Syria and Israel, the captain of the boat gave us binoculars to have a view. Nothing much, I have to say. Except for interesting container ships.

Sailing away to The Blue Lagoon and Turtle Bay, trying to find turtles. The wind in my hair and the sun bathing my head. Next stop is Cape Greco.

Everything was so epic, I had to jump off the boat. Emerge into that deep, deep blue! Perhaps it was the Lovers bridge that made me feel this way 🙂

Refreshment of the day came as a small-sized aperitif ahead of the dinner. Since we spent the day around the Blue Lagoon, the cocktail of the same name was the logical choice.

This came as an invitation to the dinner. Yet another variety of Cypriot wine served cold and with a sea view. That’s all I needed. Dinner was some grilled fish, a local version that we managed to catch. 🙂 Dentex.

Nicosia

I won’t be writing too much here about the history of the city as much has been mentioned below. But I do have to say that coming here during the summer is painful.

We took the taxi, very early in the morning to avoid the heat. However, the air here is different. More heavy. There is no breeze that comes from the sea, as the city is in the middle of the island. It was 40°C by noon.

We found a shelter in some cute cozy place, having our first morning Cypriot (rather Turkish) coffee.

We continued our walk down the famous Lefkada street within the old city walls, built by the Venetians. I remember saying that I want to collect the map from tourist office/ shop. I like simplified views of the city where I can mark myself what I need to visit, what is my planned route and later I use it for writing a blog.

We entered the souvenir shop and I asked the shopkeeper, “Do you have a tourist map?” He looked at me with the happiest expression and said, “No, no… we don’t have a map. Cyprus doesn’t use tourist maps anymore. Everything is on Google Maps now.”

I was a bit surprised. I said, “But if you go to Paris, or almost any other city, you can still find a map.” I laughed and continued, “Well, you must be very technologically advanced then.” He shook his head and said, “No, no… we are not technologically advanced. We are just poor. Cyprus is a very poor country.”

Then he asked me where I was from. I explained that in Croatia, we give tourists a small package of internet, water, local spices, maps…. He was surprised and said Croatia must be a very rich country.

Oh well, that was one way to see my country. 🙂 That’s why I adore travelling. Perception can be very geopolitical. It took me some time to get over that conversation.

It was less than one hour in this city, and I already had my first lesson. I found another shade, ordered another coffee and decided to organise myself via Google maps, as the old man advised me.

I decided to cross the UN border shortly after that. No point to wait. The noon sun was about to kick.

Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capital of Cyprus since the 10th century. It is the last divided capital in Europe; three years after Cyprus gained independence from British rule in 1960, the Bloody Christmas conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

It wasn’t much of a problem to cross and enter Turkiye. Except I lost internet, and they do not use EURO. But I have to say, that ‘other side’ is much more interesting per se.

The Turkish side of the city is called Lefkosia. And it is one big bazaar. However, there were nice parts of the city that witnessed history, like this Büyük Han (Great Inn). It was built by the Ottomans in 16th century, he year after they had seized Cyprus from the Venetians.

I continued the exploration outside of the touristy streets. It was a disaster. And not fun at all. The streets were dirty, people were less pleasant, staring and dragging off the heat.

Then somehow, somewhere, I found this book bar with many interesting books in many languages, mostly in English, from the British colonialist times – I would say.

City can surprise. I mean, from something so ugly outside, you step into something so interesting and cozy. Although you can see what is happening in people’s living rooms from your table, where you are having a coffee.

In continuation, a Turkish propaganda: you can see the billboard of Atatürk just at the square where the Venetians erected the column and the British had the headquarters. The other red flag is the flag of the occupational Cyprus.

Time for Turkish tea. And no, it didn’t help the heat. I was sitting in a public garden, hoping for refreshment and some draft, but no luck. I started to collapse here onwards.

The Samanbahçe quarter built in the late 19th century reflects a mix of Ottoman and local Cypriot architectural traditions. Cute. But I am starting to panic now.

I dragged myself somehow to the place to eat and drink water. And get that strong electrical ventilator blowing into my veins. Last minute.

We ate typical Turkish food and had a coffee served in Turkish version of Cyprus cups. They were so cute I had to buy myself the set. 🙂 I am not a supporter of the occupation, pinky swear!

Especially because I got upset seeing the a former Christian cathedral converted into a mosque. Internet refers to it as a Gothic-style mosque in Northern Cyprus, but to me this can not be a bigger oksimoron. Islam never built Gothic style, never knew about it. The peak of the situation was when a Chinese lady asked us if it was a church or a mosque. I wished to invite her for a coffee and start the explanation since the Third Crusade when the French (the masters of building Gothic cathedrals lost the island).

I didn’t enter knowing there wouldn’t be much to admire. Islam doesn’t support the iconography. And to a certain extent, I agree. Also, every time I want to enter the mosque that was a church, I get upset. Then the Mosque attendant gets upset as well, and the world quickly goes into despair. (Patrick, I am only kidding here!)

Instead, I treated myself with an Efes from Istanbul. PS note the observation camera!

To the very end, Bandabulya. Built between 1930 and 1932, during the British occupation, it was the main covered municipal market in Northern Nicosia.

At that point, I was having enough of the sun and Turkish momentum. I called a taxi and waited in a local Greek taverna. It was epic. Fat Cypriots with even fatter golden chains and crosses around their necks, while they are licking their fingers dipped in lamb fat. 😛

---

In 2018

So much mixed feeling s about this island/ country/ land… I didn’t get the best of its beaches because it was winter time – although 22 degrees everyday, I didn’t get the best of the Cypriot food because the locals were so hard to introduce always greek food and greek wine, I didn’t feel safe all the time since the immigrant wave is at its peak (let’s pray for that) but I got some of the history, sunshine in winter and picturesque landscapes.

So let us start!

As you can see on the map, it is very left of Europe, on the East – so close to conflict zones of Middle East but still part of European Union. And let it be like this.

Surrounded with Mediterranean sea and divided between Cypriot Turks and Cypriot Greeks but still offering beautiful beaches. Let me explain!

Larnaca

Landing to Larnaca was like this:

I have never seen such a crystal clean sea. Not even in my lovely Croatia – and we do have clear clear sea.

Anyhow, my friend was supposed to land from Athens to the very same airport but in the evening. So I decided to explore Larnaka while waiting.

I strolled down the city and discovered many old buildings and lazy afternoon since most of the shops and bars were closed.
The home of the Stoic philosopher Zeno – so I acted like this – stoically. 🙂

Finally I found a bar and ordered local beer called Keo. A bit of relax and decision where to go now. (I have to say, after wedding in Serbia just few weeks ago, and Athens just before that – I wasn’t fully prepared for this trip like I usually am).

The first step was the Church of St Lazarus. The church was built in 9th century in homage to Jew Eleazar that converted to Christianity naming himself Lazarus. Apparently, after being dead for four days in the tomb, he was raised by Jesus. Later, Lazarus found his refugee place here in Larnaka.

The church is considered as an indispensable supplement to the pilgrimage of the Holy Land. 

The relics of the Saint Lazarus were first discovered in the end of 9th century close to this churc in a marble sarcophagus on which were inscribed the following: ”Lazarus, the four-day dead and friend of Christ”.  Apparently, the Lazarus and Christ were good friends as Christ visited him at his home many times and enjoyed the dinner with him. The then emperor of Byzantium, Leo VI the Wise, according to the prevailing custom, carried the holy relics to Constantinople, the capital of the empire, and in exchange, he sent money and technicians to build the church we see today.

Larnaca castle was constructed to defend the southern coast of Cyprus and the harbour town of Larnaca and was later used as an artillery station, prison, and a museum.

As you can see on the photo below, the castle has been built by the Byzantines in 12th century.

Next stop was Hala Sultan Tekke or the Mosque of Umm Haram. She was one of the companions of Muhammad.
Most accounts establish a connection between the site and the death of Umm Haram during the first Arab raids on Cyprus in 7th century. According to these accounts, Umm Haram, being of very old age, had fallen from her mule and had died during a siege of Larnaca.

When I just arrived, I noticed so many cats around, even inside the mosque where the praying is occurring.

Walking around the mosque you can enjoy peaceful flamingos ending their day in the salt lakes around. Not even the nearby airport can disturb their presence.

Mt friend finally arrived at 20:00. I walked back to the airport to welcome him as our hotel was in Nicosia. Of course, I left my bag at the airport while waiting for the shuttle bus but luckily, the local police was nice and reactive.

Nicosia

Nicosia is the capital. Divided between Cyprus Turks and Greeks. A bit dirty, lazy, odd, chaotic but with very positive spirit of people.

The first stop was good local breakfast: mpougatsa filled with cheese, minced meat or spinach.

Then we started to wander the streets… it was still calm as it was saturday morning… By the way, they drive on the left side (they are still part of Commonwealth).

We noticed the culture of orthodox saints (iconas) being hanged on the walls in almost every bar or restaurant that we went.

Talking about the city being divided: Barriers have separated the Greek and Turkish sectors of Nicosia, since 1974. The Green Line makes the division across the country and forms a UN-patrolled buffer zone.

Divided territories usually create their own ugly landmarks!

A bit of the history again!
The Cyprus Museum is the oldest and largest archaeological museum in Cyprus. The museum houses artefacts discovered during numerous excavations on the island. The museum is home to the most extensive collection of Cypriot antiquities.

Nicosia has been in continuous habitation since the beginning of the Bronze Age 2500 years BC.

However, the Greeks inhabiting the land made it glorious. Did you know that Aphrodite was born here?

After the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire the Venetians arrived and built the wall. Venetian Walls are a series of defensive walls which surround the capital city. The first city walls were built in the Middle Ages, but they were completely rebuilt in the mid-16th century by the Republic of Venice. The walls are still largely intact, and are among the best preserved Renaissance fortifications in the Eastern Mediterranean. They are a major tourist attraction.

The presence of the Venetians is seen in other architecture buildings like houses with the balconies (typical for the Venetian Republic of its time).

On his way to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade in 12th century, Richard I of England‘s fleet was plagued by storms. He himself stopped first at Crete. Three ships continued on, one of which was carrying Joan of England, Queen of Sicily and Berengaria of Navarre, Richard’s bride-to-be. Two of the ships were wrecked off Cyprus, but the ship bearing Joan and Berengaria made it safely to Limassol – another city in Cyprus. Joan refused to come ashore, fearing she would be captured and held hostage by Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, who hated all Franks. Her ship sat at anchor for a full week before Richard finally arrived a few weeks later. Outraged at the treatment of his sister and his future bride, Richard invaded the island and became ruler of the island, but sold it to the Knights Templar.

Frankish rule of Cyprus started from 1192 and lasted until 1489. During this time, Nicosia was the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Cyprus, the seat of Lusignan kings, the Latin Church and the Frankish administration of the island. During the Frankish rule, the walls of the city were built along with many other palaces and buildings, including the gothic St. Sophia Cathedral. The tombs of the Lusignan kings can be found there.

I found the cathedral on the turkish side of Nicosia having the later added minaret (the muslim symbol in architecture) and being completely empty from the inside.

On 1 July 1570, the Ottomans invaded the island. Since then – the battle takes culturally, politically, including religion. However, they left something nice: turkish baths called hamam!

However, the dominated religion there is greek orthodox so we stumbled upon the Archbishop’s Palace. The statue of Makarios lll is in front as he
was a Greek Cypriot clergyman and politician, who served as the Archbishop and Primate of the Church of Cyprus (1950–1977) and as the first President of Cyprus (1960–1977). In his three terms as president he survived four assassination attempts and a coup d’état. He is widely regarded by Greek Cypriots as the Father of the Nation or “Ethnarch”.^[

St John’s Cathedral (Agios Ionnis), compared with the great cathedrals of Europe, is tiny. Its interior, however, is no less magnificent Dating from 16 th century, from the times of Lusignan (I will explain later!)

Nicosia came under the rule of the United Kingdom in 19th century.
The old Ottoman administrative headquarters (the Saray) was replaced in 1904 by a new building containing Law Courts, the Land Registry, and the Forestry, Customs, and Nicosia Commissioner’s Offices.
In 1955 an armed struggle against British rule began aiming to unite the island with Greece, Enosis. The struggle was led by EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist military resistance organisation and supported by the vast majority of Greek Cypriots. The unification with Greece failed and instead the independence of Cyprus was declared in 1960. During the period of the struggle, Nicosia was the scene of violent protests against British rule.

As we were hungry after all these walks and wanders, we tried to find the restaurant. My friend told me to lead by following the map. We went in different direction from the city center where the restaurants are, but this is what we captured:

Sometimes is really good to get lost! 🙂

The last day my friend left back home. I encouraged to go on the turkish side. I crossed the border being briefed about the safety and items I am allowed to purchase.

However, when I crossed this border which is the UN buffer zone – I realized I am in Istanbul.

I entered the Selimiye mosque historically known as Cathedral of Saint Sophia, converted into a mosque.

Next to it is the old market called the Turkish bazaar. However, the architecture is medieval catholic. Seen everywhere!

Paphos

The third day we took the bus to Paphos. W actually wanted to rent a car and make so much more of exploring through the island but the rental companies were rather asking the reservation at least 48 hours before the renting. Also, since it is the winter time, we discovered that the island is not so good connected and that the traffic circulates without the time table. Huh! That was a lot of improvisation. But we arrived!

Paphos is a city on the southwest coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Inhabited since Neolithic times, it has several sites relating to the cult of goddess Aphrodite, whose mythical birthplace was at Old Paphos. New Paphos is the modern city that incorporates the harbor, and the ancient ruins of tombs, fortresses, theaters and villas at Paphos Archaeological Park.

We visited the Tombs of the Kings.

This large necropolis – the underground tombs, many of which date back to the 4th century BCE are carved out of solid rock, and are thought to have been the burial sites of Paphitic aristocrats and high officials up to the 3rd century CE (the name comes from the magnificence of the tombs; no kings were in fact buried here).

Then we visited Paphos Archaeological Park which contains the major part of the important ancient Greek and Roman City.

The park, still under excavation surprised us in many ways. Like the sandy surface, marked with the robe mentioning it is the early christian house only it hasn’t been escavated yet but the certain is that there are some frescos under the sand which are representing the Biblical story of Jesus multiplying the fishes.

However, the dinner was lovely, Even though we tried couple of times to have wine from Cyprus and the waitress was returning twice each time bringing us the bottle from the Greece.