Table of Contents
DAY 0: PROLOGUE
For a lot of good reasons (mainly connected to health issues), I’ve not been back to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) since March 2022. That trip was somewhat sorrowful, as it involved the repercussions of the unexpected sudden passing of my dear friend Heather Isobel Gordon. So this year, having got my health issues reasonably under control, I promised myself that I would visit on the anniversary of her death, 3rd March.
I would not normally go to TRNC in March – May and/or September being much more pleasant months all round. But then……
The other somewhat surreal thing was having to make all my own travel and accommodation arrangements, etc. Previously all I had to do was to get the flight sorted out and Heather met me at the airport. I then stayed at her house ( “Heather’s Hotel” – there were always people in and out, mainly from the UK….)
It’s here that I have to say a special “thank you” to both Anne Robinson and Linda Crowe for giving me sound local information on hotels, car hire, etc. Ladies, I would’ve been struggling a bit without your valuable inputs.
Pegasus Airlines (my favourite way to fly to TRNC) now go from Bristol Airport, three times a week, which I was pleased to see, as getting to Stansted is a 4 hour draaaaaaaaag by car for me from the Forest of Dean – even trickier by train, etc.
Unfortunately, the flight days didn’t quite work out, so I ended up on Jet 2 to Antalya Airport with a connecting flight to Ercan International Airport with Turkish Airlines. Booked with Pegasus for the flight back though….
Without delving into the politics of the current situation, you cannot go directly to TRNC, due to it not having international recognition and the subsequent repercussions. Therefore it’s an international flight to Turkey, then a local “domestic” flight into TRNC.
PS: There’s quite a few Turkish place names used below, so if you want the following to make a bit more sense it might be handy to have a map of TRNC, or at least all of the island of Cyprus……
DAY 1: 27 February 2026 – Plane number one
So bright and early (at the intensely silly early hour of 0400) it’s a drive to Bristol Airport and then a booked space in the Silver Zone car park – the first of a few firsts on this trip ! It all worked very well, especially since it was so early. I unashamedly used my “old man – first time here” status at the car park Reception. Help was instantly available. Then a few minutes in the bus to the terminal.
Since my last time in Bristol Airport (see my post “To France – by bus”, September 2024), they’ve opened up a transport hub, much better than the somewhat undignified scramble in front of the terminal building. However….. it’s not joined directly to the terminal building under cover, so still a chance to get wet if raining – strange that.
I’ve never flown with Jet 2, but check in was very efficient, with plenty of people floating around to assist – needed at that time of the morning !
I was guided to one desk with a slightly older person in charge, who was surrounded by a bevvy of young girls, who were obviously under training and “shadowing” her every move – bit of fun in the early morning to be part of a tutorial !!! How did they ever manage to get up that early ?????? I wished them well.
Naturally, I was WAY, WAY too early, so had time to read some of Mr Osman’s “Thursday Murder Club” novel. It’s always tricky about journey’s to airports. One false move on the motorway and your “puncture time” disappears immediately- better be early that late……
More fun in going through Fast Track security. I had expected to be asked to remove my new walking boots, due to the support metal, but I was also subjected to a full body scan and search.
Much to my amusement (?) I was also asked to dig out my Tesco shampoo from my carry-on luggage, as the new (obviously very sensitive) scanning system showed an anomaly. The young lady in charge took a sample and plugged it into some sophisticated spectrograph machinery. Obviously a nul result. Apparently (I found out later), you can get cocaine in semi-liquid form which sort of resembles shampoo – every day a school day……..
I guess they were not very busy that morning or I’ve suddenly started to look like a drug smuggler. Alternatively, I probably looked so innocent that I MUST INDEED BE a drug smuggler !!!!
Flight left on time but was looooooooooong, 4 ½ hours to Antalya – dozed a bit, read a bit. As ever, I was grateful for the extra leg room by the emergency exits – always worth paying the extra. A quiet couple next to me, but the guy across the aisle was chatty. He was in some form of maintenance function on heavy machinery – small world !
Plane arrived on time at Antalya at Terminal 2 (another first, never been to this airport before). The terminal was eerily empty – bet it’s busting busy in the summer …..
I had been warned by Anne/Linda that the onward flight to TRNC might go from Terminal 1 (the domestic terminal), which is a taxi ride away on the other side of the airport. Luckily my Turkish Airlines flight went from T2 – a bonus, no taxi required- but maybe they treat connecting flights like that as sort of still international ? Apparently different in the summer.
Then it was on to one of Turkish Airlines old Boeing 737’s to endure an hour of “cattle class” to TRNC – 100 % crammed full…
Before that, however, I’d gone through two (or was it 3 ?) lots of security equipment, each pulling up a different thing, eg walking boots, watch, etc.
It’s always wise to allow a minimum of 2 hours between flights (on a “just in case of incoming flight delay” basis), on this journey, so a bit more waiting around again…. There’s also a time anomaly, in that mainland Turkey does not recognise a change in the clocks in summer, whereas TRNC does ! So three changes of time zone in one day…….
The new airport building at Ercan in TRNC is HUGE, not been through it before. I mean HUGE and empty….. My taxi driver was waiting. His name is Ozcan and turned out to be the father-in-law of the guy who sorted out my car hire (Tahir) from Karapasha and Sons. Nice clean Ford mini-coach.
I had originally elected to pick up the car at the airport, but changed my mind, as a strange car at night after a long messy flight, on not very familiar roads would have been a bit foolhardy.
The new connecting road to the new airport building was OK, but turning north onto the road to Kyrenia proved that things had not really changed in the intervening years. Same old, same old bumpy road (mainly caused by the wear and tear of laden lorries from the quarry pounding the tarmac, especially in the summer, when it melts in the high temperatures) into the mountain pass and on to the other side.
Ozcan’s English was OK, just as well as my Turkish is nil ! I found out that the work to upgrade the road down into Kyrenia was not really progressing, as the available money was being spent elsewhere – as I was to find out later in the week.
Eventually we arrived at my hotel (Shayna Beach Club), at the same time as the hire car, which was convenient…
The Finnish reception lady (she’d lived in TRNC for 9 years) was very helpful, as I was on my knees – 15 hours door to door….. I had paid extra for a big sea view room with a balcony. On first impression it was very luxurious with a HUGE bed, walk in shower etc. As big as my lounge/diner at home !
From the balcony I could see that the sea was boiling – it was very windy but beautiful. Never seen the sea like that in my previous trips to TRNC… It was still a bit the same in the morning.
The hotel is relatively new, having recently been completely rebuilt. The restaurant had been there before, so they just shoved a hotel on top of it. I had been there with Heather and others on previous trips, so it did look familiar.
My first port of call was the bar – for a very welcome and very large Turkish EFES beer. Wonderful.
Off to bed, lots to sort out tomorrow…..
DAY 2: 28 February 2026 – Re-charge day
Late-ish start to the day.
The sea had settled down a bit but was still rough. Sun was shining though…….
Obviously not knowing the system for breakfast, I was presented with a card which had only Turkish or full English as the options. Had to go with the Turkish…. Wow, the size of that breakfast (see pic below). That would keep me going all day – and chips !
First thing required was a “re-charge” walk after all that aircraft inactivity. So I decided to walk to the local cemetery to check on Heather’s grave, so I could report back to her sister Ursula, who lives in France. All seemed in order.
Back to the hotel for a snooze, then coffee, then out in the car to find petrol, then a decent florist. After a few false starts, I found Kameyla – the Vintage Florist, on the way into town. (Turns out it’s the florist that Anne uses….). Very helpful girl gave me prices, etc, for my meeting with Anne/Linda tomorrow, me returning on the Monday to sort things out.
Eating in the hotel tonight. It’s very nice but a mite expensive. The restaurant has a good reputation for seafood apparently. Judging by the number of high-end cars stuffed in the car park it must be good. Very busy with families as well, which apparently is the “thing” in TRNC at the weekend.
Car from Karapasha seems OK, it’s an automatic Matiz of some kind. A few scratches, but hey this is TRNC…… Photo’s taken, as per standard practice.
Driving is fun here. I’d forgotten the technique of barging in when joining a stream of traffic from a side road, but soon got back into the swing of things. Number plates for hire cars are red here, so locals know who the visitors are. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad, ie are they a bit more tolerant or do they take advantage – the jury is out on that one !
DAY 3: 1 March 2026 – Rainy day in paradise ?
Woke up to the sound of rain – proper British rain – absolutely pissing down !
Somewhere yesterday I seem to have given my ankle a twiddle , bit of a stumble rather than a fall. Anyway, full chemicals and Deep Heat treatment…..
Met up with the “girls” (Anne and Linda) at Sah Supermarket café for coffee and cakes, mainly to discuss what we might do for Tuesday 3rd, floral tributes, etc. Great to meet them again. We just dropped into conversation as if the 4 years gap had not occurred. Lots of reminiscing, centred on Heather, not unnaturally.
After having sorted out our “action plan”, I decided to go to Bellapais, up in the hills. Unfortunately, they’re doing major roadworks on the main road into town and I either missed the turning or they’d taken the sign down – oh well. Still had a good run through the villages away from the coast.
DAY 4: 2 March 2026 – Florist and Karapasha coffee
Feeling a bit cold this morning, so must be going “native” already…..
First stop was the florist to sort out flowers, wreaths, etc for tomorrow.
Then on the car hire office ( Karapasha and Sons) for a coffee – Turkish of course. Nice to meet Tahir in person, after all our electronic exchanges. Very nice fella, whose English puts me to shame about my lack of Turkish. Talked about all sorts of things, including the new situation in Iran – Cyprus is not that far away from the action…..
Having got correct directions from Tahir, I actually got to Bellapais. It’s one of my favourite villages in TRNC, although a bit of a tourist trap in summer. It’s famous for its stunning, surprisingly well-preserved 13th-century Gothic abbey, panoramic Mediterranean views, and its association with British author Lawrence Durrell, who chronicled his life there in the 1950s book, “Bitter Lemons”.
It is considered “a picturesque village, renowned for its peaceful atmosphere, medieval charm, and the legendary Tree of Idleness”. I agree, although the Tree was looking a bit sad, having had its major winter prune.
Having spent a while walking around, I adjourned to a restaurant called Kybele, which has fantastic views across to the coast. For some reason, I’ve never been here before (another first then to add to the list….) so settled into the corner table to have lunch. A beautiful Spring-like day today, a bit breezy but warm enough to be very pleasant. Aaaaah…… very relaxing and obviously not very busy at this time of the year. Bliss….
In the afternoon, I drove along the coast road eastwards towards Esentepe, just to see what was going on. As Anne had warned me, there’s been a tremendous amount of new concrete been poured into new “resorts”, blocks of apartments, etc. every few miles, but the road was as “wavey” and winding as ever. Shame really, as the scenery is dramatic and should not be overwhelmed by development. But hey, money talks…..
Note to self: I’m eating much too much, especially at breakfast, must try and cut back a bit.
DAY 5: 3 March 2026 – HIG Remembrance Day
Anniversary of Heather’s passing.
Having collected the flowers, we all met up at the cemetery. Unfortunately, Linda is somewhat immobile, having had several hip operations, so Anne and I did the honours, sorted out the water pots, etc. with help from the groundsman.
All looked very nice. Stayed to have a bit of a chat. Heather was one of those people who went much, much too early. We all miss her dreadfully, she had a great influence on all of us. She was the guiding influence of the “Golden Girls” group of local UK ex-pat ladies, which included Anne and Linda, amongst others.
After that, we all adjourned to the Red Ribbon Restaurant (one of Heather’s favourites) for an early lunch. Joined by Anne’s husband Trevor. Naturally, I had “todays special” which turned out to be the biggest piece of macaroni pie I’ve ever seen in my life – I mean ENORMOUS !!!!
We spent a very amicable lunch reminiscing and also talking about all of our various medical matters – typical “oldie” conversations !
Trevor is still surprised that I remember how he helped me out in 2022 regarding an additional week’s parking at Stansted Airport Parking. What he doesn’t realise is that he got me out of a very, very deep hole and was able to pay for the extra week on my behalf. I’d been unable to contact the company from TRNC, mainly because their listed phone number turned out to be incorrect. He just happened to be in the UK, so was able (somehow) to pay for that extra time.
Somewhere in the conversation, Trevor and I have agreed to have a boy’s day out later in the week and visit Varosha (or Maras in Turkish), which is a deserted “ghost town” in the southern quarter of Famagusta. Another first !
I must say I was a bit sceptical, but I was assured I would find it interesting, especially as it had only relatively recently been opened up for tourists. We shall see.
DAY 6: 4 March 2026 – Ankle and ice
After all of yesterday’s emotionally charged goings on, I decided to have a quiet day in my room, especially as the left ankle was playing up. Lovely lady in reception sorted some ice out for me and also checked that planes were still taking off as scheduled from Ercan (in the light of Mr Trump’s and Mr Netanyahu’s “operation” against Iran).
In the afternoon I went for a drive up to the Besparmak Mountains, where I have often done the circular walk around the Five Fingers Mountain – but not today unfortunately !
Adjacent is the Buffavento Restaurant, where I have often eaten after the walk. Panoramic views as well. You go past it when you come from the airport on the road into Kyrenia. Ozcan had said it was shut permanently.
As I parked up, two more cars appeared with the occupants going into the restaurant, which was definitely NOT shut ! Heating stove was on, TV news blaring and definitely someone in attendance. I didn’t stop, as I wanted to drive up to Buffavento Castle. That didn’t work for me as the road had got very bad over the winter and I chickened out as I was not feeling 100 % well and/or confident with a strange car.
Back on the coast, I popped into a pharmacy to get more pain killers and arnica (very expensive !!!!) for the ankle. More ice supplied by reception…..
Mid afternoon, ankle seemed not to be responding, so asked Anne/Linda’s advice from regarding A + E , etc, just in case. I was pointed towards using Voltaren (which turned out to be re-named Voltarol, another first – never used it in the UK), which apparently has a pain killer included. So I scuttled off to another pharmacy, got the gel and slathered that on the offending limb.
Ate in the hotel. I had forgotten the TRNC habit of bringing out the appetisers and the main course almost simultaneously… The fish was beautiful and the hummus more “lemon-y“ than the one I make at home. Still very tasty though.
More ankle treatment tonight. I doubt that the Five Fingers walking circuit will see me this trip…… Shame, as it had become a sort of ritual, every time I come to TRNC.
DAY 7: 5 March 2026 – Driving around
Thankfully, I awake to find the ankle swelling has subsided a lot, so the combination of ice, Voltaren, etc has really worked – good !
Today is a trip west, with the target being the lighthouse at Akrotirio Kormakitis, followed by a visit to another of my favourite place at Kozan,“home” of the Kozan Experience – see below.
The area west of Kyrenia (including towns like Lapta and Alsancak) was the first area developed for modern tourism, although it has a long history as a key settlement and was one of the earliest areas developed for coastal tourism, in the 1970s. Following the 1974 division, Lapta was identified as an important tourism region for Turkish Cypriots. While it was not the first place overall (Famagusta and Kyrenia were dominant), it has developed into a major centre for coastal tourism, known for beaches, restaurants, and hotels.
It’s all definitely well developed, a bit too much in my opinion….. I’m sure the dual carriageway has got longer since my last visit and the TRNC Transport Department seems to have discovered roundabouts – a lot more that I remember from before !
Anyway, after a village called Karsiyake (around 20 miles west of Kyrenia) it was onto the rough old coastal road going west, partly tarmac, but mostly just compacted stone – and dusty ! The road itself has been extensively widened and re-engineered, so I guess this is the next area for development. Shame, as it’s stunningly beautiful. Sorry about lack of pictures but lots of concentration required, as there were no guard rails on the majority of the road and pretty steep descents into the sea if it all went wrong……
I didn’t get all the way to the lighthouse, as the car seemed to develop a bit of a rough rotating noise, which wasn’t to my liking. Could be a wheel bearing or a tyre or something… I’d not noticed it before as I had the windows open, but I’d closed them for the dust. In view of the trip tomorrow, I decided to get back to Karapasha and change cars, just in case. Would be a bit embarrassing to break down on the way !
Tahir at Karapasha was OK about it, no issue, probably a tyre. I would have been happy with another of the same type, but he decided to upgrade me to a Toyota Auris automatic – “ better for you as you are a tall guy”. No complaints from me… Also, he delivered it to the hotel as well – what a nice chap.
I struggled a bit with the keyless start (another first !) initially, but was soon back on the road, this time going west towards Guzelyurt on the excellent dual carriageway (built for easy troop movements ????), with a view to going north towards Camlibel and the Gecitloy Dam/Panagra Dam (very pretty surroundings with plenty of picnic places) and eventually to Kozan. The dam (completed in 2014) acts as the primary reservoir for water transferred from Turkey via underwater pipes, primarily serving the Kyrenia District for irrigation and water supply.
I missed the turning to Kozan somehow, so back to the hotel. It was getting dark and I have to say that the car lights were pretty terrible, but I got back in one piece
Salami roll from the supermarket for dinner…….
DAY 8: 6 March 2026 – Varosha/Maras with Trevor
Boy’s day out !
We set off on the main road to Famagusta, with Trevor educating me about the TRNC speed cameras. They are very sneaky and not very obvious, being just a small camera perched on top of a non-descript grey painted pole – not like the big boxes we have in the UK !
To be honest there’s plenty of signs warning of a camera coming up, so no excuses really. I wonder if I transgressed at all or was Trevor’s prompting 100 % accurate ? I didn’t spot them at first, but soon learnt what to look for. Something else that’s been introduced since last time I was here in 2022…… Apparently, they check visitors for outstanding speeding fines as they leave the country – I didn’t get stopped……
With Trevor’s excellent guidance, we got to the designated car park by the entrance for Varosha/Maras, having partly circumnavigated the well preserved Venetian-era city walls, that surround the Old Town of Famagusta.
Entrance is free, but “no drones” as there is still a Turkish Military presence within the opened up town.
Well, all I can say is that it was a very weird experience walking through this empty town. Anne and Trevor have been here several times before. It’s apparently a lot tidier than when first opened. The local council seemed to have taken the initiative and organised all sorts of transport for visitors, eg bikes, beach buggy type things (pedal powered), electric scooters, etc. There are also circulating min-busses as well – we walked…..
It’s hard to imagine that it was once a trendy sort of a place in the 60’s/70’s, on a par with places like Monaco.
It turned into “ghost town” after its Greek Cypriot population fled during the 1974 Turkish intervention. Formerly a premier Mediterranean luxury resort, it remained fenced off and derelict under Turkish military control for decades before partially opening to tourists as a restricted, “dark tourism” site in 2020.
It was seen as the “Monaco of the Mediterranean” in the 1960s and early 1970s, and was a glamorous tourist destination favoured by celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Brigitte Bardot.
During the Turkish intervention in Cyprus, 40,000 residents fled in panic, anticipating a swift return. The town was fenced off by the Turkish military, leading to decades of decay, with buildings slowly collapsing and nature reclaiming the area.
In 2020 and 2021, the government of Northern Cyprus opened parts of the city, allowing visitors to walk or cycle along main roads and visit the beach. While some areas have been cleaned, many structures remain damaged, bullet-ridden, or derelict.
Visitors can see abandoned hotels, shops, and houses. The area is still largely managed under the control of Turkish armed forces and is considered a “military restricted zone” in some areas. The UN has previously decreed that Varosha should be resettled only by its original inhabitants, but it remains a point of high tension between the Republic of Cyprus and TRNC.
It’s partly gone back to its original seaside purpose, as changing rooms, and showers have been built for families, etc to enjoy the beach in the summer season – all in all a good family day out.
Below is what that same beach looked like in the 70’s, apparently…. Looking at the right hand photo above, you can just see the same hotel on the extreme right in the distance.
There’s lots of well-known name signs (eg Toyota, Barclays Bank, BEA – Trevor says there used to be more but it seems senseless vandalism exists here too) and some of the buildings (especially the concrete ones) have survived remarkably well and could be perhaps refurbished and opened again.
Some of the older ones are in such a state that demolition and a rebuild would be the only answer. IF (an enormous if) the town is eventually resurrected, I hope they will retain the architecture of the older buildings and get rid of some of the concrete monstrosities. A big problem will be re-establishment of the water, sewage and electricity systems. Can you imagine what they must be like now after so long ????
There’s also a lot of notice boards around indicating the issues regarding ownership of land, etc. I guess that such matters will not be readily solved in the current political situation.
One or two of the hotels on the seafront still bear the scars of heavy machine gun hits, where the two armies battled for supremacy. I had to be a bit discreet taking the pic below, as we were still quite near to the army camp. That’s why it looks a bit wobbly…
Altogether amazing, just amazing. I was just blown away by it all. However, such a shame that it all came to this derelict situation, as it must’ve been a pretty amazing place in its heyday.
Thank you Trevor for being an extra-good informative guide.
For lunch, we went to a place called Petek Pastahanesi, upstairs, in the sun. What Trevor didn’t tell me was that it was attached to the most incredible patisserie I’ve ever seen…. Really just incredible sweets and cakes, enough for at least a dozen heart attacks….
It did solve one problem for me in that I could buy Turkish Delight for my neighbour Sally, who keeps an eye on my house while I’m away. I didn’t take any pictures (overwhelmed with the stuff on offer in the showcases) but you can see what I mean by looking at their website (click on the link above). Incredible.
Got Trevor back in one piece OK. Early night, as I’d decided to
go up to the Karpaz for the day. This is the “wild” bit, which forms the handle of the pan-shape that is the island of Cyprus.
DAY 9: 7 March 2026 – The Karpaz
Another fine day, sunny with a bit of breeze – ideal for travelling. Normally, I would’ve gone along the old coast road, but I was told that the time needed to get to Dipkarpaz had been dramatically cut “using the new road”.
What new road ? I soon found it, after having taken an incorrect turning at Kaplica. All very new, wide and very fast, lots of money been spent, presumably to make it better for all travellers to the Karpaz, both local and tourist. It runs from just north east of Kaplica all the way to beyond Yeni Erencoy – thankfully bypassing the latter town, which is a bit twisty and narrow for decent sized buses and lorries.
Most of this day was planned to be a bit nostalgic and to go places previously visited that had some sort of meaning or were just great places to go to !
First on the list was a hotel that used to be called Club Malibu Beach, located on the coast just past Yeni Erenkoy. Now changed its ownership and its name, now Club di Mare. I’ve stayed there a couple of times. It used to be a favourite haunt of Heather and her friends. I didn’t stop, as it looked completely shut down (too early in the season ?) and I wanted to get on, but happy memories……
Further up the road, just on the outskirts of Dipkarpaz/ Rizokarpaso I diverted down to the coast to a place called Agios Filon. Right on the seafront is a café/restaurant called Oasis at Ayfilon. It’s a rustic, family-run guesthouse and restaurant set on a low cliff above a small sandy cove.
You have to follow the well positioned green arrows, otherwise it would be very easy to take a wrong turning in the maze of back streets.
It offers “simple, rustic bedrooms (only 6–10 units) designed for a “no-frills” getaway. Rooms are equipped with air conditioning/fans, free WiFi, and balconies with sea views”.
The open air restaurant (not open air today due to the wind) serves fresh fish, Turkish mezes, and traditional local cuisine and is “particularly popular for its sunset views over the Mediterranean” . I’ve eaten there several times, but today it was just a coffee. Too early in the season for baklava as well…. I was the only customer/traveller around and frankly was surprised to find the place open…..
Onward…..
The road from Dipkarpaz to the Monastry is a revalation ! From the Blue Sea Hotel onwards, it was previously definitely rough, winding, not very wide and in very poor condition. In comparison to my last visit it’s a motorway now, with two cars able to pass sensibly, as it’s been considerably widened all along its length. I think the government was semi-shamed into doing something about it, as the road leads to two of the most famous tourist attractions in TRNC, the Apostolos Andreas Monastery and the seemingly endless and still unspoilt Golden Beach.
The monastery is situated just south of Cape Apostolos Andreas, the north-easternmost point of the island of Cyprus. It is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is an important site for the Cypriot Orthodox Church. Bus loads of pilgrims fill the vast car park, even in low season, like now. I’ve been in it previously and I have to say that the restoration is pretty awesome, even for a heathen like myself….
Golden Beach stretches for about four kilometres and is, along with other sand beaches in the Karpaz, an important nesting area for sea turtles.
One of the beach-side cafe’s I’ve been to is called Hasan’s, but it was all closed up this early in the season. The track down from the road is a bit rough and I think I did the car’s front spoiler a bit of a mischief over the bumps. It was either there or further along the road at the only public toilets available, dropping off the new tarmac onto the rough earth carpark. Oh dear…….
Anyway, one of the best viewpoints to see Golden Beach is from the Big Sand Beach Café, perched on a hill with a panoramic view of the beach.
Again, I was the only customer, although another car rolled up just as I left.
After a quick ham toastie and a can of Sprite, it was off further west towards the monastery, avoiding the feral donkeys as much as possible. They have a well-practiced ability to stop the traffic and demand to be fed before you can move on.
At the monastery, I inspected the car and decided not to continue on the 4 kilometres of well-rutted dirt road up to the furthest west point of the island. Wanted to get back to civilisation in one piece….. It will still be there next time.
Returning to Dipkarpaz, I topped up the petrol, then dropped down to the southern coast road via Yeni Erencoy and Bogaz to Isikele, then turned inland to Gecitkale, through the mountains, arriving back on the northern coast road near Tatlisu. Then a short drive back to my hotel.
In the evening, it was a jolly dinner with Anne, Trevor, Linda and Yvonne at the local Indian restaurant (Indian Garden), just a quick 10 minutes walk from my hotel. Nice curry too, with big portions, so plenty of doggy bags….. It was obvious that Anne/Trevor frequent the place quite often, as they seemed to have a good rapport with the owner/chef and the other staff. Must visit again…..
DAY 10: 8 March 2026 – St Hilarion castle and Kozan
One of my walking objectives was to “do” one of the several mountain top castles in TRNC, so I selected St Hilarion. Its location provided the castle with command of the pass road through the mountains from Kyrenia to Nicosia. It is the best preserved ruin of the three former strongholds in the Kyrenia mountains, the other two being Kantara and Buffavento.
Having paid my 150TL, I attempted to get to the top, (sticks and all) but only managed ¾ of the way up. Left ankle started to complain, so discretion came into play. I’ve been up to the top previously, so wasn’t going to miss too much.
There were a couple of coaches in the miniscule car park, full of what I ascertained later as German tourists. What was quite fun was that the TRNC tour guide was doing the commentary in English ! Internationalism, eh ?
I’d previously failed to find the road to Kozan (also confusingly called Kozankoy on some of the road direction signs) from the northern coast road, so went down the southbound route through Camlibel and turned north just after Ozhan. Thankfully, it all looked quite familiar from previous trips (including going past a big army camp – another one, they are all over TRNC….) and eventually I reached Kozan.
The village itself is set half way up a mountain and from the state of the block set road, there had been plenty of water down into the village over the winter. The very winding and precipitous single track road is worth the effort, as the view south from the village is pretty stupendous. See video below.
My main aim was to get to the Kozan Experience, a “popular scenic destination known for its stunning mountain ridge views to the north, a traditional Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant, and rustic charm. Located within a pine forest, it offers horse riding, hiking, camping, and a peaceful picnic area”.
I’d been there a couple of times before, once on a jeep safari and once by myself. Still a bit early in the season, so it was only “kleftiko Sunday” as far as available food was concerned. Normally there is an outside bbq oven on the go continuously. After a coffee, I followed the road back down to the northern coast, following a local guy who seemed to know where he was going, eventually ending up roughly where I had missed the turning previously !
This Toyota is full of tricks… Apart from the non-key start, it also had the ability to open the driver’s door (if you had the fob close) by just touching the door handle – all a bit weird for me…. Just to provide more amusement, the wing mirrors stopped retracting automatically when locking the car. Eventually, I discovered a very small button on the dash, which restored full function. I must’ve hit it with my knee/leg at some point – didn’t want to have to explain that as well to Tahir tomorrow.……
Plan to have a lazy day tomorrow, as it’s a VERY EARLY start (0130) Tuesday for the flight home.
DAY 11: 9 March 2026 – Quiet day
After my “adventures” with the car in the Karpaz, Trevor volunteered to come and have a quick look and assess the damage, based on his knowledge of “local conditions” relating to hire cars – hopefully !
He thought the damage was relatively superficial and that there won’t be an issue. He did add that in his experience vehicle maintenance for hire cars in TRNC was, at the best, a little slap-dash…….
With some trepidation I drove to the Karapasha office admit to my car damaging sins. Tahir was good about it – “we fix, no problem” was (thankfully) his response, also adding that car damage like this was seen as part of the car hire day-to-day scenario. He must’ve forgiven me as he then made me a coffee and we talked about the world again….. Wonder if he would have been so accommodating in high season ????? So thankfully no money had to change hands, much to my relief !
Bit lazy for the rest of the day, doing my packing and all sorts of related stuff.
Anne and Trevor came to dinner at the hotel. They obviously know the head waiter/manager Sammy (Sami ?) very well. It turns out he did some of his training in Tunbridge Wells – my home town, small world. He couldn’t remember where, claiming it was a long time ago, but I think that was a bit of a diplomatic response…..
An inspection of my room was then requested, as Anne had obviously never been in any of the hotel rooms, since they live very close by. I think she had been a little nervous about recommending Shayna “ sight unseen”, but was pretty impressed with the room.
Having said my goodbye’s I tried to get a few hours sleep, as I knew it would be a long day tomorrow…
DAY 12: 10 March 2026 – Travel back to UK
Travel back day….
Ozcan arrived spot on 0130 and the guy collecting my hire car arrived with him.
Obviously no delays on the road at that time in the morning, so arrived in plenty of time for my 0425 flight. Two lots of security – one on the way in to the terminal and the other after passport control – different things made the alarm go off, strange….
With time to spare, I had a browse round the shops and bought a Cyprus fridge magnet for one of the guys in my Monday walking group – special request. Not much open for breakfast at that time in the morning, so I was looking forward to my meal on the second flight. This time it was Pegasus Airlines all the way to Bristol, so no mucking about changing airlines, recovering baggage, checking in again, etc. Naturally, the flight departed from the furthest away gate you could think of…..anyway, needed the exercise….
The flight from Ercan (ECN) to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW in airport tag terms) on mainland Turkey was busting full, very “ cattle class” configuration ( again !), but thankfully only 1 hr 40 mins.
On arrival at SAW, I thought that the terminal was a lot busier than I expected at this time of the year, but I guess a lot of people were leaving the Middle East because of the Iran war. SAW is a big hub, so there were flights all over Europe and the Scandinavian countries. No panic though, but definitely VERY MUCH MORE BUSY….
The departure gate got changed at the last minute and moved all the way to the end of gates used to transport passengers out to aircraft further out on the apron by bus. Just to add more “hilarity”, I got stopped by the police and they did a quick drug wipe on my carry-on bags. See ? It must be me…… I was last onto the bus because of that, got a few dirty looks from the passengers already waiting – “ not my fault”…
It was noticeable that we travelled quite a way out to our plane, passing loads of now unused aircraft, parked up as many flights further east had obviously been stopped.
After what seemed like ages, we eventually got to “our” A320 plane, which turned out to be only 20/25 % full. I had 3 seats to myself ! Most welcome for a flight time of 4 ½ hours. The cabin crew must’ve been overjoyed with so few on board to look after.
My breakfast cold plate tray arrived. Usual struggle with aircraft food packaging in a restricted space, but we managed. Nice fresh coffee though.
All in all the flight was supremely uneventful. Seemingly long walk at Bristol to the terminal from the arrival gate, but sort of welcome after being cooped up for so long.
One advantage in coming from Turkey is that you do not have all this new photograph and fingerprinting malarkey to content with, as Turkey is not in the Schengen area. So straight to the e-gates, which, miraculously, worked faultlessly first time (yet another first for me – this is a journey that keeps giving !!!!), followed closely with rescuing my baggage almost instantly as well – one advantage of a part full plane, I guess.
My good luck continued, as the bus to the Silver Zone was ready and waiting. Just a quick 10 minute trip to the Reception, keys made available in super efficient quick time and I was away out the airport in less than 30 minutes after landing – astounding !
As expected, the car stank of jet fuel (parking is adjacent to the flight path), so windows open.. I was glad of that as I was beginning to flag a bit. No issues driving home either .
So it was straight in the front door, upstairs and a hour’s kip before anything else. All in all it had been 15 travel hours door to door. OK probably 3 hours of that time was waiting in terminals, but still a long day for an old fella like me……
DAY 13: 11 March 2026 – Recovery
Not a lot happening today, except for a bit of washing…….. All in all, an excellent trip, although I just wish access to TRNC was a bit less onerous/tedious, but I guess direct flights won’t happen in my lifetime…..Politics and all that.