travel to Cyprus

Travel to Cyprus

Cyprus Tourism culture and History tour

If it could be to sneak across the Green Line established by the UN and supervised by local security guards and patrols, you may find two countries at the price of one.
Unfortunately, its territory was divided from the island was split in two after the occupation of Turkey in 1974 as a response to the coup d'état during the dictatorship of the Greek colonels, visitors have had to choose between the North and the Turkish experience Greek South. Most prefer the South and as a result, this part of the country has risen exponentially, the infrastructure to accommodate this mass, reducing the quality and reducing the local cuisine and landscape. But with a little effort it is possible to escape the hordes of tourists, and immerse themselves in a drinking culture of Europe, the Middle East and nine thousand years of constant invasion. The castles of the Crusaders stand alongside centenary vineyards, citrus crops surrounding monasteries adorned with frescoes and toes toasty in the sun tour decorated with Roman mosaics.

Cyprus best time to travel

April, May, September and October are the most pleasant months to visit Cyprus. The summer can be very hot and winter, mild, although sometimes it is wet.

Cyprus Holidays and festival

In the South are still basically the Greek festivities. Easter in the Greek Orthodox church is more important that Christmas is the celebration event of the year, and is marked by processions, candles, fireworks and parties. It takes place fifty days after the first Sunday of Lent, the opportunity to enjoy the Carnival. Day laIndependencia of Cyprus is celebrated October 1.
In the North follows the Muslim calendar. The most important of these is Ramadan, a month in which the fast rising and setting of the sun, thus respecting the fourth pillar of Islam. Ramadan ends with a great feast, Id al-Fitr. Proclamation dela Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is celebrated on November 15

Cyprus atrraction and places to travel

Nicosia

Located in the center of the island, Nicosia is the only capital of the world that since the fall of Berlin Wall remains divided in two by the green line. A visit to the city can help to understand the problems faced by the island and offers a vision closer to reality in the country that would be obtained on the coast. The old Nicosia, limited by their sixteenth-century Venetian walls, is perhaps the most important enclave of the city, the urban center and the municipal gardens just outside the walls, to the Southwest.
In southern Nicosia Leventis Municipal Museum traces the city's development from prehistory and offers a good overview and is an attractive option and instructive to begin a visit to the population. This is in the museum of culture Hadjigeorgakis Dragoman. While not noted for its exhibits, the building that houses it, a fifteenth-century mansion, is splendid. In contrast, the Byzantine Museum, located in the palace of the Archbishop, has an excellent collection of religious icons and mosaics. In the basement of the museum of the Cathedral of San Juan can be paintings of the eighteenth century, recently restored. At the Western Wall is the port of Famagusta, which in turn was the entrance of the town is beautifully preserved and is now used as a cultural center.
In the Turkish-Cypriot Atatürk stressed the square from where you are the main street that runs north to the well-preserved door Girne. In its vicinity is the Turkish Museum, located in a XVII century monastery and offered a sample of items belonging to the dancers dervishes. The Selimiye Mosque, built in the thirteenth century, is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in the country. In the Greek-Cypriot is the Buyuk Hamam, the largest Turkish baths in the city, famous the world over.
Most of the accommodation of the Republic, from the cheapest to the most luxurious line the south wall, there is also a youth hostel a little further south. In the same area clusters restaurants near the hostel and has enabled a specialist in natural foods. In the North, most accommodations are located around the Selimiye Mosque, which is also the best place to eat. If it stays in the South but would like to visit the northern third, you can usually get a daily pass. In the opposite direction is not possible to visit one day.

Pafos

In a country full of large department summer tour and too chaotic, Paphos, on the west coast, has retained its identity while at the same time has managed to attract the tourist industry. While the lower part of the city has lost interest in its urban transformation, it has many charms. Among the souvenir shops are located Saranta Kolona, a fortress which was destroyed by an earthquake in the thirteenth century. Are numerous public and private buildings of the Hellenistic era. Tombs of the Kings, 2 km north of the lower part of the city, characterized by their large size and were excavated in the soft rock of the cliff.
The most famous attraction are the mosaics of Paphos, designed as the third century Roman nobility of the land. The first was discovered in 1962 and subsequent excavations have revealed a complex of buildings covering an area of about 300 m². Most of mosaics, considered the most beautiful in this area of the world, are dedicated to Dionysus. Many visitors come on package holidays to Paphos, the city is quite uncomfortable for the independent traveler, which has limited accommodation. In the north of the city can find a more decent accommodation.

Macizo Troodos

The mountains of the Troodos region in the south, are unforgettable. And, unlike the rest of Cyprus is a place where the traveler does not feel besieged by hordes of tourists arrive on package holidays. Popular among skiers, hikers and those that do not bear the heat, Troodos is full of monasteries of the fifteenth century ornamented with frescoes, wine villages and pleasant walking paths. Kikko Monastery in the western part of the massif, is the best known but also the most visited. Built in the twelfth century, has been completely restored and houses a museum of sacred images. Asinou is probably the most beautiful monastery in the area, but access requires a good hike (one must walk south from Nikitari).
Platres, a popular ski resort located in the South, is the main tourist center of the region. One advantage of this site are the many places you have to stay. Pedoulas in the western Troodos, is well known and is home to the church of the Archangel Mihail. It is also one of the best bases for visiting Kykkos. Solea district in the north, is dotted with picturesque villages and monasteries and is ideal for cycling.

Famagusta

The city that once was the richest in the world and Stage Shakespeare's Othello, has lost all its romanticism. The decrepit old city is surrounded by Venetian walls, while the modern area expands beyond. Famagusta, the city's largest Turkish-Cypriot area, sits at the foot of the dark and desolate Karpas peninsula. Very rich during the thirteenth century, ravaged by the Ottoman Empire in the XVI, the old town is now known by the few churches that remained standing. The Cathedral of St. Nicholas, now Lala Mustafa Pasa is a beautiful gothic and a reminder of the magnificent splendor of the city. Despite the fact that successive regimes have been devoted to alter or destroy it, is still an elegant building. Note that the minaret, incongruities, stands in one of the destroyed towers.
Another gem is the tower of Famagusta Othello. According to legend, this is where Cristoforo Moro, governor of Cyprus between 1506 and 1508, killed his wife Desdemona. Another alternative narrative context in the same monument that tells of Francesco Sessa, a soldier of dark complexion, he committed an offense that ended with her unnamable exile. One legend holds that all the riches of the Venetian merchants of Famagusta, abandoned during the Ottoman bombardment, are buried at the foot of the tower. Although none of these stories is true, the castle is worth a visit if only for its magnificent views of the harbor.
Famagusta only offers gastronomic possibilities and hotels (the majority of tourist establishments were in Greek, now deserted) and a large portion of their visitors come on day trips from the coastal areas of the North.

Kyrenia

Located on the north coast, Kyrenia, despite recent development projects have been conducted on their land, can be considered one of the most enjoyable tour of the coastline. The old neighborhood is one of the most beautiful places to visit, but most hotels are in the modern area. If you want something more than a Mediterranean atmosphere and outdoor cafes, you can visit the castle of Kyrenia. Built in Roman times, now you can discover your ultimate Venetian style. The fortress includes a chapel and a museum of Byzantine naval remains where you can contemplate the world's oldest shipwreck and its cargo

Polis and the Akamas Peninsula

On the east coast, the Akamas Peninsula is one of the last areas of untouched natural coastline Cypriot. Its landscape is composed of a mosaic of bare rock and lush vegetation, with a great variety of flora and fauna including some rare species. Poses a great destination for hikers, because Akama has a network of trails that cross. This area includes baths of Aphrodite. According to legend, this is where Aphrodite pretended to be a madona, disguised as a virgin after a night on the town.
Polis is almost the only spot in South Beach that attracts independent travelers. Among the citrus crop and surrounded by spectacular scenery, the city turns into a lovely and relaxed starting point for exploring the surrounding area. It is also a good place to rent a mountain bike, a motorcycle or a car and enjoy the beautiful coastal landscape and relaxed evening.

Kolossi

In the vicinity of Limassol, on the southern tip of the island is Kolossi castle that rises on a landscape of vineyards. It was built by the Knights Hospitallers, who were granted land in 1210, and became his center of operations for years. The British restored the castle in 1933. Near it is a sugar factory, also built by the Hospitallers, in fact, until the British sent slaves to the Caribbean, Cyprus was a major producer of sugar in the world. This area abounds cultivation of citrus fruits, and oranges are among the most juicy part of the country. The best way to reach Kolossi is taking a bus from Limassol.
Salamis

A 9 km north of Famagusta is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country, Salamis, the most important pre-Cypriot city. The Roman amphitheater, fully restored, had a capacity of more than fifteen thousand spectators, and among his remains, it also highlights the gymnasium with marble baths and mosaics. Most are Byzantine and Roman ruins, and are scattered along 8 km. Adjacent to the site is an attractive beach, so it is advisable to take the bathing suit. South of the site are several campsites, and the North, a few luxury hotels

Cyprus Activity's

Cyprus has many natural resources to enjoy water sports. If you want to do windsurfing or sailing, you should write to the peninsulas and capes, where the wind is stronger. There is also at least a diving center in each of the tourist sites. Throughout the island you can go mountain biking and walking with specially marked trails in the hills of the South, the Akamas Peninsula and in the Troodos. Cyprus has a ski resort on the northeast slope of Mount Olympus, but it is not known internationally. Also being built several golf courses, the best known is located in Paphos

Cyprus History

yprus has always been an important commercial link between the empires of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and throughout history has been desired for its strategic location. Mycenae, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Assyrians and Persians ruled this territory correspondingly. After the brief time of Alexander the Great on the island, in the year 294 BC, Ptolemy established a dynasty to last for about three years, at which Cyprus became a Roman province (58 BC) and remained in relative peace and security in the seventh century, when the Islamic empire began attacks that would last about three centuries. In 1191 Richard the Lionheart captured Cyprus in the third crusade and sold to the Templars. These, in turn, sold the island to Guido de Lusignan (1192), whose heirs kept it for three centuries, this time Christianity was introduced and the feudal system, to the detriment of local culture.

The island was ceded to Venice in 1489, but the expanding Ottoman Empire began its domination in 1570, which lasted three years before handing it to the British Empire. In 1925 he became a British Crown Colony, but then Cypriots and mobilized to defend their self. This agitation was the beginning of the current conflict between Turkey and Greece, many Greek Cypriots wanted union with Greece (Enosis), contrary to the wishes of the Turkish population. By 1950, the Cypriot Orthodox Church and 96 percent of Greek Cypriots claimed enosis. In response, the British drafted a new constitution, accepted by the Turkish population but opposed by the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA). But the civil war that took place this group did not result in the expected enosis, but that led to independence and the proclamation of the republic (1960).

The Cypriot state with a Greek president, Archbishop Makarios, and a Turkish vice president, Küçük. In 1964, Makarios while working to strengthen ties with Greece, the domestic violence was increasing. The UN international force sent to stabilize and pacify the situation, but the July 15, 1974 the National Guard carried out a coup, leading to the removal of Makarios. The military junta set up a government that protects enosis, but the July 20 Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island, forcing 180,000 Greek Cypriots to flee their homes. In 1983 Turkish Cypriots proclaimed a separate state, called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (RTNC) and that only Turkey has recognized.

Despite sporadic peace talks succeeded, Cyprus remains divided. The UN has been decreasing its forces on the island and has increased the presence of small border patrols. The South has acquired missiles capable of reaching the Turkish coast, which has caused relations between the two sides have deteriorated.

The acquisition by the Republic of missiles capable of reaching the Turkish coast has only worsen relations between the two sides. However, both the Republic and Turkey are taking steps to achieve full membership in the European Union, which may force both sides to find a political solution to the conflict. March 2003 was the deadline for both sides to reach an agreement and be reunited sponsored by the UN. When called for a referendum on the plan to both sides of the Green Line in April, the Turkish Cypriots supported it but not the Turkish Cypriots. The island joined the EU in May, but the laws of the Union force in Greek Cyprus

Culture of Cyprus

Cypriot cultural heritage extends over more than nine thousand years, but in its current picture shows the cultural significance of the events since 1974. The north of the island is taking the image of Turkey, the Turkish translating their names and adopt their way of life and culture. The South also seeks to shape their own identity, and many of its sites have also been renamed.

But despite this, the nation is full of ruins that reflect its history. Relics of all ages to extend their influence today's artists: archaeological sites, objects, Mycenae, Greek temples, Roman mosaics, Paleochristian churches, frescoes of the fifteenth century Gothic monuments, the Venetian fortresses, mosques, Turkish ... In many populations, combined these influences with their local tradition, development of artistic forms, such as ceramics, silver and copper, basketry, tapestry and embroidery of the famous Lefkara.

Religion is also divided by the green line, the northerners are mostly Sunni Muslims, and the southern, Greek Orthodox. The cuisine also reflects this division: in the North is mainly offered Turkish food in the southern, Greek. But in every corner of the island can be found kleftiko (baked lamb) and Mezzeh (vegetable pastas, salads and other snacks). Cyprus is also famous for its fruit, which protects the government restricting their importation. Among others, are grown strawberries, melons, pears, citrus and grape

Cyprus Map


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