Which Location?...
Kyrenia (Girne) is the most famous and popular town in North Cyprus, it’s also where all visitors to the island are naturally drawn. The town is built around the pretty horseshoe shaped harbour along which you’ll find many bars and restaurants and dominating which is the immense Byzantine castle.
The town sprawls out from the harbour and is home to a number of interesting museums and galleries, as well as being a hub for local tradesmen. The old town is located behind the harbour and if you wander along the rambling narrow streets you’ll come to small secret shops, cafes and restaurants some with tiny courtyards all tucked away in the shade of the buildings.
Take time out to explore the back streets from the harbour to the mosque and then if you fancy some shopping the main shops are all fairly centrally located with a few more springing up on the main Lapta road in recent years.
You’ll find banks, money exchange offices, souvenir shops, pharmacies, clothes shops, taxis, estate agencies, the odd pub, bar, cafe and restaurant all located in the centre of the town, and if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for just ask one of the many friendly shop keepers for directions.
Kyrenia’s harbour area is a natural draw, it’s so picturesque and viewing it and strolling around it for the first time is an unforgettable experience. The harbour side cafes and bars are great places for whiling away sunny hours and the visitor is afforded a great view of the small fishing vessels, tourist boats and occasional yachts that vie for position on the overcrowded quays.
At night, especially in the summer, the harbour is the place to be and to be seen! Expect great people watching possibilities, enjoy a leisurely dinner with family or a lively drink with friends.
Kyrenia castle is lit up beautifully in the night time and adds a stunning focal point to the whole harbour area. It dates back to the late 12th century and is believed to have been built on a former Roman fort. Today it’s an exciting visitor attraction and museum with its lofty heights free and unrestricted by guard rails for people to climb around...parents watch out because a lot of those edges really are unprotected!
Inside the castle is the famous shipwreck museum which houses one of the oldest ships ever recovered from the sea. It was raised just off the shore of Kyrenia, North Cyprus and has been beautifully preserved and offers an interesting attraction for visitors to the castle.
If you climb up on to the walls of the castle you can see the whole of the town beneath you and your back drop will be the stunning gothic-like Kyrenia mountain range. In front of the castle across the Mediterranean lies Turkey. The mainland is only 90km away and on a clear day you can see the coast and the mountains. You can sail across to Turkey from Kyrenia’s new harbour. The new harbour is situated just 2km east of the old harbour and receives many commercial vessels as well as passenger ships daily.
The town is small enough for visitors to easily walk around and it is perfectly located just 30 minutes drive from Nicosia (Lefkosia). It provides a great starting point for visitors to North Cyprus, in fact, once you arrive you might not want to leave. Many British have already made their home in and around Kyrenia and so if you do decide to stay you’ll be afforded a very friendly and familiar welcome.
Esentepe is just one of the many charming Mediterranean villages of Northern Cyprus. It has grown over the past few years to become a village of some note because many visitors to the area have sought to establish their own homes in Esentepe. This does not detract from the idyllic coastal retreat that nestles at the foot of the Kyrenia mountain range; rather the development that has come to Esentepe has raised its profile and desirability instead of taking away its rural charm. Literally translated Esentepe means windy hill! But the town is not so much windy as cooled by the breeze that rises from the Mediterranean that is spread out before it. This breeze comes as the heat of the summer sun intensifies and ensures the residents of the village are protected from the searing heat naturally. The village has a primary and secondary school, a doctor’s surgery and police station and it is also home to a small selection of shops selling all the essential items...but apart from these amenities the village is mainly home to an eclectic mix of friendly and welcoming Turkish Cypriots and European settlers who have realised their dream of the perfect place in the sun by setting up home in Esentepe.
As you drive up the winding road into the village you will be struck by the stunning views the residents enjoy. Before them is the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea, fringed by the lovely sandy Esentepe beach, and behind them are the pine covered foothills of the Kyrenia mountain range.
With Esentepe as your base you can play golf, visit the Port Cyprium Marina which is currently under construction in the area, swim in the sea, laze on the beach, enjoy lunch at one of the village restaurants before wandering up the meandering paths into the forests and up the hills behind the village. Alternatively you could head a little further along the road to the famous medieval domed Antiphonitis Church. The church dates back to the 12th century and is famous for its shape and style, the architecture and also the ancient frescoes that adorn the pillars, walls and dome. The church is a very rare structure and well worth a visit.
If you’re looking to leave the hustle and bustle of Kyrenia behind and you want to venture out further into the real North Cyprus then head east along the coastal road and you’ll come to pretty Esentepe, your gateway to the Karpas region, the coast and the foothills of the Kyrenia range.
Situated just 3 miles East of Kyrenia, Ozankoy is one of the prettiest villages in Northern Cyprus and is home to a small but truly multi national population! The residents of the village, which was previously called Kazaphani, have been drawn by the attraction of the peace and tranquillity of Ozankoy’s setting, the beautiful and preserved natural environment around the village and the friendly welcoming nature of the local Turkish Cypriot people.
The village itself is interwoven with olive, carob and lemon trees for which the area around Ozankoy is famous, and any new development in and around the village is required to respect the natural surroundings and build not only sympathetically but also carefully so as not to disturb the ancient trees and the natural habitat of the many flora and fauna species. In the springtime the village is alive with pretty blossoms, in the winter it is aglow with citrus fruits and in the summer it basks in the beautiful Mediterranean sunshine. The village is located on the edge of the Kyrenia mountain range foothills and its houses wind up and around Fehim Bey Hill to join the low lying residential areas of Bellapais.
From Ozankoy you have one of the best views of Bellapais Abbey as it perches seemingly precariously high above the village on a natural plinth on the mountainside. At night time when the Abbey is all lit up it’s a favourite sight for visitors and residents of Ozankoy.
Ozankoy itself is not without its own unique sights, sounds and flavours. The village is home to a pretty and now well maintained medieval church which was once decorated expansively with frescoes and murals. Sadly many of the precious paintings have deteriorated over the years but luckily the Turkish Cypriot people were able to save the church from complete decay when they arrived in the village. Today the church is often used to house art and cultural exhibitions and events.
The church is dedicated to the virgin of the river and houses an intriguing unmarked tomb dating back to the medieval period. It is believed the tomb houses the church’s founder and possibly his daughters as well.
Ozankoy is also home to an 18th century church and of course a mosque. The mosque is an original structure dating back to the Ottoman period with the pretty domed fountain in the village also believed to date from this period. The mosque has been restored over the years but much of the structure is original. Outside there are tombs belonging to Altunzade Ismail and Mesut Efendi who were two of the founders of the mosque.
There’s an ancient crusader path that joins the villages of Ozankoy and Bellapais and though it is a little overgrown in places it makes an interesting and challenging climb! Alternatively you can wander up the narrow tarmac road to Bellapais and the higher you climb the more incredible the views of the gothic mountains of the Kyrenia range before you and the more breathtaking the views of the Mediterranean Sea, Kyrenia and its harbours behind you.
If you visit Ozankoy be sure to spend time wandering around the pretty, narrow and ancient streets of the village, take in the beautifully preserved old houses side by side with authentic ramshackle buildings. You’ll likely notice the well kept and burgeoning gardens all around as well as the fecund fruit and olive trees. Ozankoy is so close to nature that much of its charm lies therein, it’s what attracted its residents in the first place and its residents now add to nature with their own overflowing gardens. There are a number of small cafes, bars and restaurants in the village to restore you after a few hours wandering around and Erol’s restaurant possibly offers the best hot and cold mezes in the whole of Cyprus!
Lapta is located about 10 kilometres west of Kyrenia; it’s a local tourist hotspot and has some excellent hotel and general accommodation options for visitors to North Cyprus.
The main town is located behind the tourist strip along the beach and is popular for its beautiful views, a selection of good restaurants and its cool leafy ambience. It was saved from the forest fires that ravaged parts of the island back in the 1990s and so it remains not only physically intact, but its spirit and history have been untouched for generations.
Lapta manages to represent the best in coastal towns and mountain villages and it offers some of the best scenery on the island with stunning mountain views from the old town and beautiful and peaceful Mediterranean views from the coast.
Visiting the town of Lapta you’ll find it’s divided into two distinctive parts, each offering the visitor interesting alternatives for entertainment. Firstly, ‘Lapta strip’ as the main road through the town is known is home to a number of bars, restaurants, pubs, cafes and hotels. You have casinos, water sports, beach access, live music and a really good holiday feel along the strip. Tourists of all ages are very well catered for and Lapta in this respect offers a lot of entertainment options. During the main summer season the area triples its population such is the popularity of the resort.
The old town is a popular retreat for expatriates and has been for many years; initially they were attracted by among other things the town’s excellent and pure water supplies! It also enjoys a protected micro-climate and it’s where Greek and Turkish Cypriots lived peacefully and happily side by side for generations.
Lapta is historically one of the richest and most historically interesting areas of Cyprus. From the 8th century when Phoenicians settled in Cyprus, Lapta or Lapithos as the area was known then, became one of the city kingdoms in Cyprus, then later when Cyprus was under Roman rule Lapta was a regional capital.
During the Byzantine period Lapta, or Lambousa as the area around the town as we know it today was known, was so prosperous that it became renowned as ‘the city of treasure’ which unfortunately led to its invasion and partial destruction by Arab pirates.
The residents of Lambousa were forced to hand over much of their treasure to the pirates before they were allowed to flee, but they still managed to hide a lot of their remaining wealth. When the pirates finally finished ransacking and destroying Lambousa the surviving residents returned but found the city destroyed and were unable to unearth what they had hidden. The treasure of Lambousa became a legend was almost dismissed as such until archaeologists and amateur treasure hunters began unearthing some incredible, stunning and priceless treasure from the area early in the 1900s.
Lapta is also famous for its abundance of richly flavoured fruit and vegetable crops which are nourished by the mountain springs I mentioned earlier. It is a town as rich in resources as it is history, natural beauty, charm and appeal. If you visit, take time out to enjoy both the relaxed rural and historical charm of the old town and the fun and lively scene along the strip.
Other popular locations are: -
From Kyrenia heading East – Karakum, Ozankoy, Bellapais, Catalkoy, Esentepe, Bahceli, Tatlisu, the Karpas Region, Bogaz and Famagusta.
From Kyrenia heading West – Karaoglanoglu, Alsancak, Malatya, Ilgaz, Lapta, Karsiyaka and Kayalar.
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