CYPRUS

Location - Eastern Mediterranean; Capital - Nicosia (Lefkosia); Population - 780,000; Currency - Euro MORE CYPRUS

I crossed back into the Republic of Cyprus at Nicosia - April 2009.

In 2008 Cyprus adopted the Euro

Crossing the Green Line at the Ledra Palace checkpoint between Northern Cyprus and Republic of Cyprus - Nicosia

In no-man's-land - a building in the buffer zone, Nicosia

A rather worn poster greets visitors to the Republic of Cyprus - Nicosia

'Still Occupied Still Divided' - poster at the Ledra Palace checkpoint, Nicosia

The Ledra Street checkpoint is a pedestrian-only crossing through the centre of Nicosia. The sign on the right says 'Nicosia - The Last Divided Capital'

It's a busy crossing but formalites take less than 5 minutes for EU passport holders - Nicosia

Ledra Street is a lively shopping centre - Nicosia

The Municipal Gardens are a short walk outside the city walls - Nicosia

Nicosia is known as Lefkosia in Cyprus (and Lefkoşa in Northern Cyprus)

A religious march starts from Phaneromenis Church on (Orthodox) Easter Sunday - Nicosia

The 19th century Phaneromenis Church, Nicosia

St John's Cathedral is surrounded by several museums - Nicosia

An attractive residential street close to Omeriye Mosque - Nicosia

The Chrysaliniotissa Church bell, Nicosia

The eastern part of Nicosia's old city

Just off Ledra Street is the tourist zone known as Laiki Geitonia, Nicosia

Laiki Geitonia is full of tavernas, souvenir shops and galleries - Nicosia

Go to the Ledra Observatory for a bird's eye view of both sides of Nicosia. To the bottom left is Ledra Street, running in to Northern Cyprus. The minarets in the centre-right belong to Selemiye Mosque, north Nicosia.

The Selemiye Mosque, as seen from Ledra Observatory, is in north Nicosia

Most of the foreground in this photo, looking north-west of the Ledra Observatory, is south Nicosia.
To the right of the wooded area is the Ledra Palace Hotel.

The Ledra Palace Hotel was caught in the Green Line no-man's-land between north and south Nicosia. It's currently used by the UN.

A huge Northern Cyprus flag is etched into the Pentadaktylos (Turkish = Besparmak) mountains above north Nicosia. The walls of Buyuk Han, also in the north, can be seen in the bottom right - Nicosia

This must irk the Republic - the flag of Northern Cyprus can clearly be seen from the Shacolas Tower's 6th floor cafe, Nicosia

I spent several hours at the nondescript junction town of Kofinou, hitching to Larnaka on Easter Saturday when there was virtually no public transport

The new definition of 'Push' - a hotel on the outskirts of Larnaka

Larnaka's beach front and harbour

The Laiki Geitonia area of Larnaka, just off the seafront, has several bars

Agios Lazaros church, Larnaka

Larnaka's salt lake is close to the airport

On the shores of the salt lake is the Muslim shrine Hala Sultan Tekke - Larnaka

Hala Sultan Tekke, Larnaka

Boats at Larnaka marina

Larnaka's beach is not particularly sandy but there's plenty of sunbeds.
In the background is Larnaka Castle.

Easter eggs aplenty at Agia Napa square

Agia Napa harbour

Agia Napa's beach

The Sling Shot is like a vertical catapult - Agia Napa

As part of Easter celebrations there was an evening of traditional music and dance in Agia Napa

The rooftops of Agia Napa monastery

Agia Napa is known for it's nightlife - the Bedrock Inn is one of a huge number of bars and clubs

About 2 kilometres from Agia Napa centre is the party beach of Nissi Bay

The crystal clear waters at Nissi Bay, Agia Napa

Nissi Bay, Agia Napa

Paralimni is a sizeable town north of Agia Napa

From Paralimni I hoped to visit Annita's Viewpoint in Deryneia with views of the Green Line and Famagusta.
The lookout was closed so this is the only sight I got - an abandoned hotel in the Varosha district of Famagusta, right in the UN buffer zone.

Photos of Varosha here

Protaras is a beach resort on the south-east coast close to Agia Napa

The Mediterranean shore at Protaras

Website and content Copyright © 2008-2011 Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved.

LINKS

www.visitcyprus.com - Cyprus tourist board

www.cyprus.com

http://kypros.org/Cyprus

I am not responsible for the content of external websites.