North Cyprus

Diana Darke first became interested in the Near East when she read Arabic at Oxford. For the last 29 years she has lived, worked and travelled extensively in Turkey and the Arab world, initially with the Foreign Office, then as an Arabic consultant. Work and pleasure have taken her to both sides of Cyprus on many occasions. This edition has been updated by Murray Stewart, who lived in North Cyprus in 2010-11 while working on the 7th edition and has returned for this 8th edition.

Introduction vi
PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION 1
Chapter 1 Background Information 3
Geography 3, Climate 5, Natural history and
conservation 5, Historical summary 12, Government and
politics 17, Economy 19, People 20, Language 21, Religion
21, Education 21, Culture 22
Chapter 2 Practical Information 23
When to visit 23, Highlights 23, Suggested itineraries
24, Tour operators 24, Tourist information 26, Red
tape 26, Getting there and away 27, Health 32, Safety
33, Women travellers 34, Travellers with a disability 35,
Ethnic minority travellers 35, Gay and lesbian travellers
35, Travelling with children 36, What to take 36, Money
36, Getting around 38, Accommodation 41, Eating and
drinking 43, Public holidays and festivals 44, Shopping
and entertainment 46, Sports and other activities 48,
Weights and measures 53, Time 53, Photography 53,
Media and communications 54, Property development 55,
Travelling responsibly 57
PART TWO THE GUIDE 59
Chapter 3 Girne (Kyrenia) 61
History 62, Getting there and around 63, Where to
stay 63, Where to eat and drink 66, Nightlife 68, Other
practicalities 70, Shopping 70, Places of worship 71, What
to see and do 71, South from Girne 77, West from Girne
89, East from Girne 110
Chapter 4 Lefkosa (Nicosia) 125
Getting there and around 126, Where to stay 127, Where
to eat and drink 128, What to see and do 129, Across the
Mesaoria Plain 144
Chapter 5 Gazimagusa (Famagusta) 147
Getting there and around 147, Where to stay 147, Where
to eat and drink 148, Beaches 149, What to see and do
149, Salamis 159, Th e Royal Tombs and Necropolis of
Salamis 165, St Barnabas Monastery 167, Enkomi: Bronze
Age capital of Cyprus 168, Churches on the Mesaoria
Plain 169
Chapter 6 The Karpas Peninsula 171
Where to stay and eat 173, Beaches 176, Touring the Karpas Peninsula 177
Appendix 1 Language 185
Appendix 2 Place Names 191
Appendix 3 Further Information 192
Index 196
Index of advertisers 200