After more than a year I set foot in the European Union again. Since we were planning to visit our families in Poland and Germany, Cyprus was a geographically and economically logical stop in between. Traveling in the EU is just so easy and convenient, with no need for any immigration, EU data roaming and the Euro as the currency. It took us under 10 minutes from landing at the airport in Paphos to sitting on the bus outside the airport to the city center. In India or Bangladesh for example the entire process takes more than 3 hours.
When we made plans for what to do in Cyprus we decided to spend one week in the Republic of Cyprus (the Southern part) and one week in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The latter one is only recognized by Turkey and indeed felt just exactly like Turkey.
After extremely eventful months in the Middle East with a packed program nearly every day, we used the first week mostly for relaxing, enjoying Greek cuisine, having walks along the Southern coast and sipping cup after cup of coffee. We barely did any sightseeing at all, since the exploring new places batteries were completely empty. Every long-term traveler will know this feeling and it is really important to have long rests within such a long trip. Cyprus was really the perfect place to do so, also the weather was relatively mild in February and March. Paphos, Limassol, Larnaka and partly Nikosa (the divided capital) were the cities we slept at in the South. Traveling around in Cyprus is extremely easy and the distances are tiny. Prices are much higher compared to what I am used to normally but thanks to fantastic hosts (Asimina in Limassol, Michael in Nikosia and Dani in Larnaka) we managed on a budget.
My highlight of Cyprus was clearly Nicosia where we spent 4 days. The walled Old Town of the city, with all it's churches, mosques, museums and cafes is a super interesting and pleasant place to explore. The mix of Greek and Turkish influences are super unique and the Green Line, the boundary that divides North from South Cyprus just within the Old Town is a really historical place. Whenever you cross the line and vice versa, you need to present your passport at Ledra Street Crossing. We stayed in the northern half of Nicosia and had a super interesting time with our British-Polish host Michael, who is studying the Byzantine Empire in Cyprus.
Turkish Cypriot culture is heavily influenced by Turkey and Turkish Cypriots make up around one-fifth of the population. We were in Northern Cyprus just after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and also encountered some very light aftershocks there.
I really missed Turkish culture and food a lot: Sipping çay in tea houses with backgammon playing uncles, eating delicious Pide in local bakeries, finding the best lentil soup in town, getting banger haircuts & shaves and the warm way people treat each other. I fell in love with Turkish culture during my time in 2020 already and it was nice to come back to that. The small picturesque port town of Girne and the hilly way from Nicosia were really beautiful!
