Within its tiny boundaries, Cyprus offers a microcosm of history. Just as Constantinople was always a bridge, so Cyprus was always a stepping stone, where culture after culture left its footprints. Scarcely 224km long and 96km wide, he island has an unrivalled mix and concentration of landscape, history and culture, and with 768km of coastline, the sea and a beach are always close by. Turkey is its nearest neighbour, just 65km away, followed by Syria approximately 100km distant. It is roughly 400km to Egypt and 480km to the nearest Greek island.
North Cyprus Map ( 900 Kb) | Kyrenia Map
In die current division, the Turkish sector is undoubtedly the more beautiful. The fact that, pre-1974, 80% of Cyprus's hotels were in the Girne (Kyrenia) and Gazimagusa (Famagusta) areas, shows only too clearly where the tourist potential of the island always lay. The Greek Cypriots energetically set about rebuilding the south, and with the help of foreign aid and investment have now succeeded in developing Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca to be their new resort centres.
Dominating much of the northern part of the island, and rising dramatically from the coast to heights in excess of 1,000m, the Kyrenia Mountains (also known as Besparmak Range) lend North Cyprus much of the striking scenery that forms the background to any number of postcards and holiday snaps. With such spectacular scenery, and a cooling breeze blowing off the Mediterranean, it's no surprise to find most of the holiday options clustered along this northern shore.
On the southern side of the Kyrenia Mountains, and comprising the majority of North Cyprus, the central Mesaoria Plain is notable more for its contribution to the country's economy than its attraction for visitors. From Guzelyurt in the west, the most fertile region and thronged with citrus groves, all the way to Gazimagusa in the east, the terrain is flat and uninspiring, with a mean altitude of just 70m above sea level. It is perhaps fitting that Lefkosa (Nicosia), despite its enviable collection of Crusader Gothic and Turkish Ottoman monuments, should be found here.
Moving east, Gazimagusa continues to draw its fair share of tourists away from Girne. North Cyprus has 396km of the island's total coastline, and some of the finest beaches are to be found here along Gazimagusa Bay, sweeping north from the town towards Salamis and Bogaz.
North Cyprus's final region, and surely its most treasured, is the Karpas Peninsula, a rugged finger tapering away from Iskele and out towards the Iskenderun Bay of Turkey. With development rampant seemingly everywhere else, the Karpas is the place where you can still find small, traditional villages and the old way of life. Unspoiled golden sands, turtle beaches and wild flowers continue to draw those in search of nature. You might only be a hundred kilometres or so from major civilisation but, under the stars on a clear summer's night, it could well be thousands.
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