Crete and Cyprus Holiday

The last two weeks in Crete and Cyprus were great.  The first stop was Heraklion, Crete.

What's left of the operations station

The last time I was in Crete was during my last assignment in the U.S. Air Force back in 1993.  Iraklion Air Station closed closed in 1994 so it was surreal seeing the remains.  Walking around what was left of the base felt like a scene from home zombie apocalypse movie.

This was the very end of the tourist season so it wasn't too crowded and it felt like we had the island to ourselves.  The weather was still nice which made for some well needed beach time.



When I lived in Greece before, I was able to get by with basic survival Greek.  A couple of times my Czech messed with me here.  In Czech, ne means "no" but in Greek nαί means "yes".  So a few times I told a local "yes" when I wanted to say "no".

After a relaxing time in Crete it was off to Cyprus.  My 55th country in just over 6 years.  Again, a nice relaxing time.  The biggest challenge was striking a balance between sightseeing and just laying out at the beach.  First world problems.

We enjoyed our time in Larnaca and visiting Nicosia, Pafos, Famagusta and the Kykkos Monastery.

The last divided capital in Europe

It was quite interesting visiting Northern Cyprus as well.  It seemed odd crossing between Turkish North Nicosia and the Greek southern side.




Things are so divided by ethnic lines but it seems to me that Greece and Turkey just keep fanning the flames.

At a North Cyprus police station

One thing that bothered me was the display of flags.  I mean it makes perfect sense in Cyprus, in the south, to fly the Cypriot flag.  And it makes sense in the north to fly the northern flag.  But no where on the island did I ever see a flag flown on its own.  In the south, the Cypriot flag is always flown next to a Greek flag.  And in the north, the flag is always flown next to a Turkish flag.

Larnaca Town Hall

For example, the Larnaca town hall displayed the Cypriot and EU flags but also the Greek flag.  What sense does it make for a town hall in one country to fly the flag of another country?  Continual divide along ethnic lines isn't going to bring about a united Cyprus any time soon.

Overall a great two-week holiday.  I wasn't ready to leave the sun and beach but it was time to get back to Czechland.  After visiting Cyprus I've now been to every country in Europe except for Belarus.  Hmmm...perhaps next year.

Famagusta & Salamis Tour, Northern Cyprus

On Wednesday we had a bus tour to visit Salamis and Famagusta in Northern Cyprus.

Salamis is an ancient city that was founded after the Trojan War.  This was the first stop that St. Paul made on his first missionary journey.





It had been the capital of Cyprus back around 1100 BC.  Over time it had been ruled by the Persians, Egyptians, Assyrians and Romans.  It was partially destroyed by earthquakes and tidal waves.

It was completely lost during an Arab invasion in around 674 AD.  Salamis was looted over the next 600 years as basically a quarry.  Looting pretty much continued until 1952 when it became a proper archeological site.

Many of the pagan and Roman statues were defaced in 400 AD during the Christian period.

The ancient theatre has a seating capacity of 15,000.

Church of St. Barnabas

When Salamis was lost most of the residents moved 9 km (~5 miles) south to Famagusta.

On the way to Famagusta is the Church of Saint Barnabas which until 1976 was a working monastery.

The church is now an icon museum and there is also a small archaeological museum.

Saint Barnabas founded the Cypriot Orthodox Church and the country's patron saint.  He was martyred in 52 AD.  There is a small mausoleum built on the site where his remains were discovered. The tomb was renovated in 1953.

Famagusta was founded in 274 BC and has a population of about 41,000.  It was founded around 274 BC and I think it's the 4th largest city on Cyprus.  In Turkish it is called Gazimaǧusa and in Greek it is Αμμόχωστος (pronounced Ammochostos).

St. Francis Church

Legend has it that the city used to have one church for every day of the year which is why the old town is nicknamed "the city of 365 churches."

St. George's Church

However today most of them have fallen in to disrepair.

Sinan Pasha Mosque

The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul dates back to 1359.  In 1571 it was converted to the Sinan Pasha Mosque.

After Cyprus gained independence the Famagusta's Varosha suburb became one of the best known jet set vacation destinations.   

Varosha, (Βαρώσια in Greek and Maraş in Turkish), was an economic center and had more than 50% of the island's hotels until the 1974 Turkish invasion.

During the invasion Greek Cypriots evacuated.  Most probably believed that they would be able to return in a few days.

The Turks fenced off the quarter and entry is still forbidden to the public.  It's basically a ghost town now.  Photography is prohibited which is odd considering it sits on a beautiful beach.

Nicosia, Northern Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot side of the Ledra Street crossing

The northern part of Nicosia is the largest city and capital of Northern Cyprus.

There are almost 83,000 people in the metro area.

The Turkish part of Lefkoşa is a bit more weathered than the Greek Cypriot side.  And for sure less expensive, with lots of discount shopping.  The northern side also seems to have more of a historical feel.

Büyük Han, the Great Inn, was built by the Ottomans in 1572.  It's the largest caravanserai on Cyprus with 68 rooms and a small courtyard mosque in the centre.  It was renovated in the 1990s and is now home to galleries, souvenir stands, and cafes.

Kumarcilar Han, the Gambler's Inn, was a caravanserai believed to have been built in the 17th century.  The inn contained 56 rooms but is currently closed.  The building is in a sad state of disrepair as there has been a shortage of funds for reconstruction.

Büyük Hamam is the local Turkish bath.  The building used to be the Church of St. George which opened in 1309.  In 1590 it became a Turkish bath.  It was renovated in 2007-2008.



At Atatürk Square is the Venetian Column.  The Venetians, who were here prior to the Ottomans taking over, brought it here from Salamis in 1550.

Haydarpaşa Mosque is in a Gothic building built in the 14th century.  It used to be St. Catherine's Church before being converted into a mosque following Ottoman rule.

The Selimiye Mosque was originally the St. Sophia Cathedral.  The Gothic building was constructed from 1209 - 1228.  In 1571 it became the largest mosque on the island.  Although I'm not sure if it is still the largest or not.

The Mausoleum of İttik Dede is the tomb of a nameless man who was martyred in 1570 when the Ottomans took over Nicosia.

Nicosia, Cyprus

Nicosia is the largest city on Cyprus with a population over 300,000 people.  The U.N. peace line runs through the city dividing it in two.  The southern side is called Λευκωσία, in Greek, and it is the capital of the Republic of Cyprus.  The northern side is called Lefkoşa,  in Turkish, and it is the capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The area has been continuously inhabited since the Bronze Age in 2500 BC.  Nicosia has been the island's main city since the 10th century.

The Panagia Phaneromeni church was built in 1792.  It is the largest Orthodox Church inside of the old town.  The church was built on the site of a former nunnery.

The Agios Savvas parish church was built in 1850 - 1851.

The Archbishop's Palace is one of the city's biggest attractions.  It was completed in 1961, a year after Cyprus gained independence.  There's a statue of Archbishop Makarios III who was the first president of Cyprus.

The Liberty Monument honours the island's struggle for independence.  It was built in 1973.

The Omeriye Mosque used to be an Augustinian church and monastery.  It was converted in to a mosque in 1571.

The Ledra Street crossing was opened in April 2008.  Today this is the border crossing between Cyprus and Northern Cyprus.  I just had to show my passport on each side.  Fortunately no one stamped my passport because I'm running very low on blank pages.  

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

In 1974, in response to a coup wanting to unite Cyprus with Greece, Turkey invaded the north under the guise of protecting Turkish Cypriots.  After several years of failed attempts to form a federation with the south, the north declared itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983.

Turkey is the only country to recognise it as an independent state.  The rest of the world recognises the Republic of Cyprus and sees the north as an illegally occupied area by Turkey.

Northern Cyprus takes up about 37% of the island.  Official estimates of the population are 300,000 however some people think it is much higher as there are no reliable records of how many settlers have moved in from Turkey.



There are seven border crossings between the two sides.  Nicosia is divided and it is the capital of both sides.  While both Greek and Turkish are the official languages in the south, Turkish is the only official language in the north.

Turkish Lira

All imports and exports have to go through Turkey as all of the northern air and sea ports are closed to international traffic by the south.  This and lack of international recognition makes it very dependent on Turkey.  Turkish Lira is the official currency.


Talks on reunification resumed earlier this year.  The Cyprus issue is a major blocker to Turkey's desire to join the European Union.  


There is no way that Cyprus or Greece will let Turkey join the EU while there are still Turkish troops in Northern Cyprus.

Republic of Cyprus

Cyprus is an island nation in the Eastern Mediterranean.  The entire island is home to about 1.16 million people with 860,000 in the southern Greek side and 300,000 in the northern Turkish side.

Whilst Turkey recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus it is the only country to do so.  The rest of the world, including the United Nations only recognises the Republic of Cyprus.  So here's a bit about Κύπρος.

In 1974 Greek Cypriots, backed by the Greek military junta, attempted to make Cyprus a part of Greece.  Five days later Turkey invaded the island and has never left. 

According to international law, the Republic of Cyprus has sovereignty of the island and its surrounding waters.  Since Turkey controls part of the island all international air and sea ports are only in the south.  Air and sea ports in the north only operate between the north and Turkey.  Until recently the border between the two sides was closed so foreigners arriving in the north (by way of Turkey) had problems crossing between the two sides.  It reminds of the challenges with crossing between Kosovo and Serbia.  Fortunately this is no longer an issue.  But since the south isn't in full control of its border it has been unable to join Schengen.

The country is a presidential republic.  Nicosia is the capital and largest city.  The UN peacekeeping line runs through the capital so part of the capital is in the north where it is the capital of Northern Cyprus.

Greek and Turkish are both official languages.  

Cyprus became a member of the British Commonwealth in 1961 after it gained independence as a UK colony.  In 2004 it joined the European Union and in 2008 it adopted the Euro.

Things were going pretty well for Cyprus until 2009 when it entered recession from the global financial crisis.  The two biggest banks were among the largest holders of Greek bonds so the country was hit hard by the Greek financial crisis.  The country secured a bailout from the Troika (the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund).  

Russia has had a lot of money in Cyprus.  Something like 1/3 or more of all deposits originated Russia.  When deposits were taken under the bailout Russia lost lots of money.  Still Russia has loaned another €2,5 billion with favourable terms to Cyprus.  What's interesting is that Cyprus has now agreed to let the Russian navy use Cypriot ports.  There are already two sovereign British bases on Cyprus so now there will be British, Turkish and Russian troops all on the same island.

In May 2015 the north and south relaunched talks about reunification.

Cyprus will be the 55th country I've visited in just over six years.