Nature and Countryside of Northern Cyprus

Touched By Heaven

Wandering along the narrow roads of old Nicosia, buying an enormous bunch of grapes, drinking Raki in the shade of a fig -tree, or else when the night falls, nibbling at mezes, contemplating swinging yachts in the small venetian port of Kyrenia, visiting Salamis Ruins on the traces of king Evagoras before diving in the warm waters of the sea nearby, or climbing the five finger mountains under forests of pine trees up to the most beautiful frank fortress of the middle east. You can find all this pleasure, within arms reach, in Northern Cyprus throughout the year. A generous nature and a past with secrets to reveal. "If you intend to try and work, do not sit under the tree of idleness... its shadow incapacitates one for serious work. By tradition the inhabitants of Bellapais are regarded as the laziest in the island. They are all landed men, coffee-drinkers and card players. That is why they live to such ages." By Lawrence DURELL "Bitter lemons" .

The Nature in All Its Glory

Home for millions of birds every year, Cyprus is a benediction for all nature lovers, and anybody who appreciates colour and fragrance. The island, birthplace of Aphrodite, has succeeded in preserving an unpolluted coastline and landscape in the heart of the Mediterranean region. Nobody can be indifferent towards the beauty of Northern Cyprus. The landscape changes enchantingly within short distances from pinnacled mountains to fertile plains. In Northern Cyprus three main types of landscape follow one another in long horizontal bands.

Sumptuous Countryside of Northern Cyprus

The Mesaoria is the central plain which lies between Famagusta and Nicosia. Fields of cereal spread out interminably in this fertile region, shades of green transforming into gold as seasons go by. It disappears in the west of Nicosia, between the foothills of Trodos (South Cyprus) and those of the Finger Mountains, reappearing around Güzelyurt (Morphou) the kingdom of citrus fruits in the west of the island.

The Five Finger Mountains, with scattered vegetation on the northern side, stretch out from the cape Korucam to the cape Zafer (Andreas), the very end of the Karpas peninsula. Magnificent forests of conifer, cedar and pine groves, especially around Kantara, offer some unforgettable excursions.

The coastal plain is the part which perfectly deserves to be called the "Garden Cyprus". Olive, carob and almond groves dominate the countryside up to the foothills of the mountain leaving their place to lemon and orange trees around Bellapais and Lapta. Pink and red bunches of bougainvillea, hibiscus and oleander flowers characterise most villages....