Northern Cyprus - Nordzypern

The Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany has a special one about this country Travel and safety advice released (Web link). The Republic of cyprus is a full EU member, but remains in fact divided into two parts. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus exercises actual control only in the southern part of the island, but not in the northern part, which is separated from the southern part by a demarcation line (Green Line). Only Turkey recognizes the northern part it occupies as an independent state ("Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus"). UN units control the buffer zone between the north and the south, which is a restricted military area and is also partially mined. Caution is advised when approaching the buffer zone and cautioned against crossing the sea-side extension of the demarcation line by swimming or by boat. Not necessarily designated as such military facilities on the whole island and the applicable photography ban should be strictly respected, signs are not always clearly visible. Due to the factual division, the German embassy in Nicosia can only provide consular protection in the northern part of the island to a limited extent. (Web link) Date of the last notification: 11/26/2019.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is in the north of the island Cyprus.

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All states as well as the UN see them - except Turkey - under international law as part of the (all of Cyprus) Republic of cyprus at. The state within the "borders" of Northern Cyprus is only recognized internationally by Turkey. Regardless of any political opinion, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is in practice a separate state for travelers, which is why a separate presentation is also useful for this travel guide .

Many excavation sites show the status of the excavations from 1974. The reasons for this are as follows: After the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus in 1974, no further excavations were carried out due to pressure from the southern Cypriot authorities. Foreign archaeological institutes were threatened with losing all excavation licenses on the island and in Greece if they continued their investigations in the occupied territories in Northern Cyprus. Only the results could be processed further. In 2005 the government of the Republic of Cyprus maintained this stance.^[1]

background

After the coup of the Greek National Guard in 1974 and the landing of mainland Turkish troops in the north of the island, first an autonomous Turkish administration was established and then in 1983 the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus". After the border between north and south - the so-called Green Line - was only open to foreigners for years, since 2004 it can also be crossed by Turkish and Greek Cypriots. On April 24, 2004, 76 percent of Greek Cypriots voted against reunification on the basis of a UN proposal, while 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted in favor. Since the beginning of February 2018, attempts have been made to find a solution to the conflict at a conference on the reunification of Cyprus in Geneva.

Regions and main towns

North Cyprus is divided into these geographical regions with regions and cities of tourist interest:

• The town Nicosia (North) (Turkish: Lefkoşa). The northern half of the city forms the capital of Northern Cyprus.
• The fertile one MesaoriaPlain as alluvial land
• The coastal strip at Girne / Kyrenia north of the Pentadactylos/ Beşparmak Mountains
• The bay of Morphou (tr .: Omorfo / Güzelyurt)
• The bay of Famagusta (Gazimağusa)
• The Karpas-Peninsula

language

The official language is Turkish. Many residents also speak English, some of them can also speak Greek. German and Russian are increasingly understood and spoken by the staff in tourist hotels.

getting there

From Turkey

The commercial airport of Northern Cyprus is the 35.15964733.488372Ercan airport(IATA: ECN), about 20 km east of Nicosia. To get here by plane, you usually have to change trains in Turkey. There are also some flights from Great Britain that only stop briefly without having to change trains.

The main airlines are Turkish Airlines and Atlasjet. Other providers are Pegasus and SunExpress. Mainly Istanbul is served, but there are also flights to Adana, Ankara, Antalya and Izmir.

Another way to get here is by ferry from Turkey Taşucu (see there; 90 km from Mersin. In summer there are also connections from Alanya to Kyrenia (Girne)

A visa is not required for EU citizens. Upon entry, you will receive an entry stamp (in your passport or, if you have entered the country with an identity card, on a white piece of paper which will be stamped again when you leave the country), which allows a stay of up to 90 days.

From the Republic of Cyprus (southern part)

If you are on holiday in Cyprus, you should definitely see both parts of the island, the north and the south. Crossing the Green Line and the surrounding UN buffer zone is only permitted at 7 border crossings, but without any problems. It is important to present a recognized travel document (passport or Turkish / EU identity card). The Green Line separates 30% of the island as an area occupied by the Turks and is not a border under international law. She is under surveillance by the UN and guarded on both sides by the Turkish, Greek and Greek Cypriot military. Cyprus as a whole was admitted to the EU in 2004, but de facto only the southern part joined. This means that the demarcation line is also the EU's external border. There are a total of seven border crossings, five of which can be passed by car, from west to east:

1. Limnitis (near Kato Pyrgos): cars, motorcycles, cyclists, pedestrians
2. Astromeritis / Zodia: passenger car
3. Agios Dometios (west of the city center): by car
4. Ledra Palace: only pedestrians
5. Ledra Street: pedestrians only
6. Pyla / Pergamos: car
7. Agios Nikolaos (near Famagusta): car

An identity card or children's ID is sufficient to enter the other part of the island. You are checked by the Turkish border guards. Those who, according to the computers at the border stations, have not left the country, which happens every now and then, will have difficulties the next time they enter the north. Although the EU border is formally exceeded, cars are never checked.

As a tourist you are usually not checked by the Greek officials. Nevertheless, it should be noted that when returning to the southern part, you may only bring goods with a value of max. 260 euros per person. Alcohol is limited to 1 liter, cigarettes are limited to 40 pieces. Furthermore, the import restrictions on brand counterfeiting must be observed (see example [http: www.zoll.de website des Zoll]).

As in Turkey, the change between summer and winter time has been abolished in Northern Cyprus since autumn 2016. Compared to the Eastern European (winter) time, the clocks are put forward one hour all year round. As a result, there is a time difference to southern Cyprus during the winter half-year (when it is 12 o'clock in the south, the clocks in the north already show 1 o'clock). During the summer half of the year, however, the same time applies across the island (Eastern European summer time, i.e. CEST 1 hour).

mobility

With the exception of some shared taxis (Dolmuş - pronounced "Dolmusch") between the big cities, you are mostly dependent on rental cars or taxis. The international rental car chains are not represented here, however. In the meantime, the standard can be compared with that in the south (vehicle age, vehicle type). To use the dolmuş, stand on the main road and wait a few minutes there. In the meantime there are also permanent bus stations with houses (identification: white 'D' on a blue background). If you want to go along, you wave to the driver. The prices are fixed and very moderate. The otherwise good and inexpensive Dolmuş system is only suitable to a limited extent for people with limited mobility. Taxis in Northern Cyprus do not have a taximeter, so you should be given or shown the price before you start your journey.

Left-hand traffic applies throughout Cyprus, so the main lane for road users is the one on the left in the direction of travel. For pedestrians crossing the lane: first look to the right before crossing!

The roads are mostly good, but there are still some fairly poor roads (single lane, with gravel side shoulder). However, an off-road vehicle is not required.

Costs are around 30 euros per day (as of May 2006) for a small vehicle. The fully comprehensive insurance must be taken out separately.

Fixed radars are widespread in Northern Cyprus. In general, the speed limits are signposted several times before passing the devices with a reference to the radar control. Due to the contract when renting in the north or the mandatory insurance when entering from the south, the information about the driver of a car is available to the authorities. A payment of any fines that may be due may then be welcomed the next time you enter the country. Tickets that are moderate, by the way, do not expire after two years. The gasoline prices are well below the German level (example May 2017: diesel per liter about 3.45 TL = 0.86 €; in Germany 1.13 €).

Tourist Attractions

Capital Lefkoşa

• 35.174733.36381 LefkoşaType is group designation (Turkish name for Nicosia) is the northern part of the city and capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and holds a multitude of sights. Please refer Main Products

Karpaz peninsula

The Karpaz peninsula, which juts out into the sea to the northeast, is the most sparsely populated and most unspoilt region of the island. Here you will find Northern Cyprus' only national park and the last living Greek-Turkish community, Dipkarpaz, and some ancient Christian sites.

• 35.659334.57392 Apostolos Andreas MonasteryType is group designation
• 35.404933.78243 Panaghia Pergaminiotisa ChurchType is group designation, originally a large Byzantine (Eastern Roman) church with 3 naves and 3 apses. However, the church was destroyed by an earthquake or during the Arab invasion in the 7th century (perhaps around 647). The church that can be visited today was built in the 11th or 12th century. Its walls were covered with ornamental frescoes, which were lost (stolen?) After the Turkish invasion in 1974. Some of them turned up in Germany in 1997 in the possession of the thief Aydın Dikmen and were brought back again. In 2009 the church was restored. A "Miniature Cyprus Exhibition" is set up next to it, which shows some of the island's major monuments in miniature. A kiosk invites you to linger and freshen up.
• 35.535634.19054 Yeni ErenkoyType is group designation: A small mountain village on a 115 m high plain in the middle of the Karpas Mountains. According to the census, the town had 2,470 inhabitants before 1974, 2,800 in 1985, and an estimated 4,500 again in 2006. Tobacco and Kolokaz, a native tuber, as well as carob and olives once formed the backbone of the agricultural income from the broad, fertile coastal plain of the north bank of the mountains. Thanks to a good infrastructure and newly settled small businesses and flourishing agriculture, the place is now a regional economic center. On the municipal beach (tr. Halk Plajı) there are restaurants and all the necessary facilities, the 3 km away Malibou-Beach with an adjacent fishing port, in which there are many fishing boats, is professionally managed. In the years 1974 to 1976 the Cypriot Turkish residents had to leave the place Erenköy / Kokkina and settled in Yeni Erenköy ("New Erenköy").

Kyrenia coastline

• 35.342233.32015 KyreniaType is group designation (Kyrenia / Girne harbor and castle)
• 35.199432.99276 Güzelyurt / MorphouType is group designation

• 35.200432.99127 Agios Mamas MonasteryType is group designation. The monastery Agios Mamas with the tomb of Saint Mamas is located in the old town of Güzelyurt. His church was built in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) period. St. Mamas was probably a saint living in the region. The monastery complex is now a museum.
• 35.200732.99058 Archeology and Natural History MuseumType is group designation: That on the Ecevit Caddesi located museum is set up in a former bishop's palace and shows finds from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages as well as from the Middle Ages.

• 35.140532.81349 SoloiType is group designation, 18 km southwest of Morphou.
• 35.307233.355610 BellapaisType is group designation, Ruins of a Catholic monastery from the Gothic period (12th to 16th centuries), one of the most beautiful monastery ruins in the Mediterranean. The abbey is located 5 km southeast of the city of Kyrenia in the northern foothills of the Pentadaktylon Mountains. The location and architecture have always fascinated visitors from all over the world. The British writer was among them Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990), who wrote his novella "Bitter Lemons" here between 1955 and 1956, a picture of the mood of Bellapais and its surroundings.
• 35.32133.060711 Mavi KöşkType is group designation Little known insider tip, a house built by Byron Pavlides (Greek Cypriot) in 1957, which is said by the Turkish army to have been a smuggler, other sources call him a car dealer. Turn right between Tepebaşi and Koruçam in the northwest of the island. Note: you have to drive through a Turkish barracks area to the house.
• 35.328533.072412 Geçitköy damType is group designation. The dam has been fed almost exclusively by an underwater pipeline from the Alaköprü reservoir in Anatolia at Cap Anamur since 2015. The south coast of Anatolia is about 80 km away. The water is pumped through 500 m long double pipes.
• 35.159232.773213 Vouni palaceType is group designation, which was about 500 BC. The palace was built in BC and stood on a 250 m high ledge 9 km west of Gemikonagi. It served the residents of Soloi as a refuge and defense system. He was born in 380 BC. Chr. Destroyed by fire and not rebuilt. The Swedish Expedition to Cyprus under Einar Gjerstad excavated the palace from 1927 to 1931. The complex is located on a hill and is terraced towards the sea. Of the original 137 rooms on three sides of the courtyard, only the remains of walls and foundation walls are left today.
• 35.335933.386714 Hazreti-Ömer-TürbesiType is group designation. The Sufi center (see also Sufism at Wikipedia) dates from the time of the Arab raids between the 7th and 10th centuries. Today it is one of the most important Islamic sanctuaries in Cyprus. The Tekke is located about four km east of Kyrenia by the sea on a rock spike.

Pentadaktylon Mountains

The Greek name of the mountain means "five-finger mountains", Turkish: Beşparmak. According to legend, there was a fatal battle between revalidating lovers of a girl. The winner threw his opponent into a swamp, but drowned himself in it because of his injuries. After his love, the drowning man stuck his fist out of the swamp. Those five fingers petrified and became the Five Finger Mountain that can be seen east of Kyrenia.

The Byzantines built three castles on the ridge of the mountains in order to be able to recognize possible attackers early on. These three castles were later expanded by the Lusignans, but later deliberately razed by the Venetians to make them unusable for the enemies. They renounced the defense of the castles and instead fortified the coastal and port cities.

Visiting the castles can be exhausting, especially the one in Buffavento - make sure you take enough drinking water with you! It is important to pay attention to the prohibition of photography because the area is used by the Turkish army as a training zone. However, there is no ban on photography in the castles themselves or inside.

• Ruins of the high medieval hilltop castles in the Pentadaktylos Mountains: St. Hilarion (10 km southwest of Kyrenia), Buffavento (22 km southeast of Kyrenia) and Kantara (40 km north of Famagusta).

• 35.311733.280715 St. HilarionType is group designation: One of the three fortresses of the Pentadactylos Mountains. A monastery that already bore the name of the hermit and saint from Jerusalem was integrated into the 9th century castle in the 11th century. The castle complex probably served as a template for Disney's cartoon "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs". Access is through a military area (without controls).
• 35.406733.922816 Kantara castle ruinsType is group designation: The easternmost of the three fortresses of the Pentadactylos Mountains, located at an altitude of 700 m. Allows a fantastic view over the north coast of Cyprus, the Mesaoria-Plane and the finger-shaped peninsula Karpas. Probably built in Eastern Roman times. Conquered by Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade in 1191.
• 35.285133.411217 BuffaventoType is group designation: the highest and central of the three fortresses. The name probably comes from the Italian buffa di vento ("Gust of wind"), which refers to the windy location of the castle. To the south there is a wonderful view of the Mesaoria plain and the city Nicosia. Its difficult to access location at 924 m above sea level made it very suitable as a prison and less as an active fortress. The ascent is via a narrow mountain road, which is sometimes closed by the army, and ends about 2 km before the castle. A fairly strenuous 30-40 minute climb through scree leads to a porter's house. Several steps now lead to the summit - all in all an excursion for cooler days.

East coast

• 35.18533.903418 SalamisType is group designation, Ruins of the capital of an Iron Age kingdom from the 11th to 4th centuries BC BC (10 km north of Famagusta). The oldest finds date from the 11th century BC. Between 1952 and 1974 the city was excavated. Today it is one of the main attractions of Cyprus. The forum, the baths and the ruins of the grammar school, which can still be seen today, date from Roman times.
• 35.124133.941819 FamagustaType is group designation (Old town)
• 35.17533.881320 Barnabas MonasteryType is group designation, Burial place and church of St. Barnabas. The monastery is now an icon museum, which consists of a church, a courtyard, monks cells and a chapel, which contains the burial place of St. Barnabas. Barnabas was a Salamis Jew who studied in Jerusalem and converted to Christianity during that time. After his return he became an important missionary in Cyprus along with St. Paul.

Photo impressions

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  Salamis archaeological site

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  Bellapais monastery ruins

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  St. Hilarion Castle

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  Great Khan in North Nicosia

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  Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, Famagusta

activities

Golf courses

• 35.32937533.5144311  Korineum Golf & Country Club. Tel.: 90 392-600 15 00, Fax: 90 392-600 15 15. This is the first golf course in Northern Cyprus at the foot of the Beşparmak / Pentadaktylos Mountains ("Five Finger Mountains") in Esentepe. 18-hole golf course, par 72, 6,924 yards.last change: not specified

shop

The most common currency is the Turkish Lira ("TL"). Euros and British pounds are sometimes also accepted, but mostly at a worse rate - at least where there are many tourists. Price examples: 0.5 liter draft beer 2.5 - 3 €. The "common" exchange rate is 1 € = 4 TL, but it varies from shop to shop. A glass of tea in the small form typical of the country costs 1 TL (0.25 €) in the village pub, in the pedestrian zones of the big cities or at the stalls at the sights it costs 1 €; In addition, when ordering a "small glass" without specifying the quantity, a cup with twice the content is served without being asked.

Restaurant bills are usually paid with a tip of around 10%, which is not included in the price. You can trade in shops, but not in supermarkets. Tips are not given in shops.

kitchen

The cuisine is Cypriot and almost indistinguishable from that in the southern part of the island, i.e. it is based on the cuisine of the eastern countries Syria and Lebanon. There are surprisingly few restaurants serving Turkish cuisine.

The prices have risen significantly lately, so that in some restaurants frequented by tourists (especially on the coast near Kyrenia) the prices e.g. Sometimes it can be significantly higher than in the south. In any case, it is advisable to study the menu and memorize the prices (also for side dishes!) So that you do not experience any surprises.

See also: Cypriot cuisine at Koch-Wiki

nightlife

Outside the tourist miles of the big cities (Kyrenia, Nicosia, Famagusta) and the hotels, the nightlife mainly consists of casinos and night clubs, which are mainly designed for short visitors from the south and the Arab-Islamic states. The night clubs in particular are controlled by the local version of the mafia and are the only places on the island where violent crime occasionally occurs. Therefore, stay away from them if possible!

public holidays

Please refer: Holiday table in Wikipedia

security

• Emergency numbers:

Police: 90 392 2283 311

Police emergency number: 155

Ambulance: 112

Hospital: 90 392 2285 441

Fire department: 199

Forest fire: 177

Distress call: 158

Weather service: 166

• Northern Cyprus is a very safe travel region. Apart from casinos and brothels (night clubs), violent crime hardly occurs.
• Outside of Nicosia is that Green Line not always well signposted. If you are unfamiliar with the area, you should not get too close to it, as there is a risk of mines if you accidentally cross. In addition, firearms are sometimes used by the military. As a rule, however, a normal tourist will not come near the Green Line, as it is usually far away from the main roads.

climate

The climate is similar to that in the south (see Article Cyprus). The humidity is slightly higher north of the Pentadakytlos / Beşparmak Mountains, which means that the north side of these mountains is much more densely overgrown than most of the island.

Post and Telecommunications

Two Turkish mobile operators are active in Northern Cyprus, Türkcell and Telsim, the same high roaming prices apply as in Turkey. There are also comparatively inexpensive monthly packages on offer, with a significantly larger data volume than is usual in Germany.^[2]

Internet cafés are more common in the Turkish part of the country (from 0.50 TL per half hour) than in the south.

Post addressed to the Turkish part of the country has the line “Mersin, 10; Turkey ”to wear. The operation there worried KKTC Posta Dairesi. Delivery times to Europe are at least one week, but the postage rates are significantly lower than in the Greek part.

Tourist information

Here are the telephone numbers of the diplomatic missions abroad:

• Berlin: 49 162 405 392 0
• Antalya: 90 242 243 39 56/57
• Izmir: 90 232 446 85 28
• Istanbul: 90 212 296 37 44
• London: 44 207 631 19 30
• Website: (engl.)

Individual proof

Web links

• Official Tourism Portal of Northern Cyprus