In February 2005, Henny and Nelly went on a two-week 870 km bike ride through the island of Cyprus. You can now simply cycle from north to south and vice versa without any problems. This was different before, but you still don't see the difference between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. You can clearly see who the immigrants are: Poles, Russians, Philippines, Indians, Pakistanis, but also Anatolian Turks in the north.
Mountains and busy coasts
Despite the fact that Cyprus is a fairly large island, it is only a small country to cycle through. Moreover, it is also divided into two, which is no longer such a problem. They hadn't envisioned good weather, but it wasn't that bad except for a five-hour torrential downpour in the mountains. The coasts are busy, there are few alternatives so you have to take the busy roads. You will see a lot of expanding cities with apartments, hotels and housing projects for wealthier foreigners. It is also messy, old car wrecks, empty cartridge cases from hunters and rubbish are everywhere. In the small center of the towns there were some nice streets, the villages were mostly dilapidated, but the forests of the Troodos Mountains made up for it!
Arrival in Cyprus
The Cyprus runway is very close to the coast, it looks like the plane is landing in the sea! Cyprus is only one third of the Netherlands and consists largely of mountains, so where else should they place those four airports. Henny and Nelly leave the hustle and bustle of Pafos behind and drive towards the Troodos Mountains. The top of Mount Olympus, the highest peak in Cyprus with its 1900 meters, is still snowy.
Ruins and Romans
They have two weeks to explore the small country. Unfortunately, a big storm tries to slow their pace, but doesn't hinder them. The roads wind down and up again, past steep cliffs. The foam hits against the rocks, here Aphrodite is said to have been born (the bay of Petrá tou Rominou). About 10 kilometers back they saw the temple in Paleá Páfos where women used to practice their fertility rituals. They rest under an olive tree and look back at Pessoeira, a town that seems spectacularly glued to a mountain.
They go back in Roman times to the city of Kourio, which at that time was the largest city in Cyprus. The dimensions of the many ruins clearly show this. Huge roofs have been built over the ruins to protect them. You can view them via footbridges. They then arrive in Limassol at the old castle. Here they eat their first meze, which consists of 20 dishes.
After two days of cycling they reach Larnaka. This is on the other side of Cyprus. The busy roads have been exchanged for roads through the hills. The hills are unfortunately bare and stony and not really green for this time of year. They leave Larnaka via a cycle path, along the endless streets with hotels. Hardly anyone cycles on the bicycle paths, except for an English Indian.
Salt Lake LarnakaSalt Lake Larnaka
The Turkish part and the bare green border
After having eaten a tasty cheesecake, they reach the border between Greek and Turkish Cyprus: the 'green line'. It is not green, they cycle for miles along the barbed wire. Most of the villages around this area, like Akhna, are deserted. It's a bit dreary cycling like that. Several times they ask passers-by where exactly the border crossing is, only a car from customs provides an answer. It would be another 10 minutes by bike, but they take 1 hour. A Turkish customs officer gives them a visa and a little later they drive into Famagusta. Here they recognize the ruins of the great basilica, because they have already been here 33 years ago, when Cyprus was still undivided.
Northern Cyprus
They turn as quickly as possible into a smaller road, where it is less dusty. They want to see the excavations of Salamis. The houses in the villages they pass through are often uninhabited and shabby. The people who live there wear wide harem pants. It is striking that there are many more children in the Turkish part. The people are also very friendly and greet you with a smile, in contrast to the sometimes indifferent reactions of the Greeks. It's an easy ride. There are several roads they can take to cross the mountains of Troodos and Besparmark. They drive through a beautiful growing pine forest, in which a beautiful Byzantine church is hidden, over a stony and bumpy road. Once at the top they see the sea, but unfortunately there is little time to get a good look at it, because they want to be in Girne before dark.
The road winds through the beautiful forest for a long time. In Girne you have a nice round harbor with a gigantic fortress. The city center is also nice, but the next day they are already driving over the busy roads to see the Belladona monastery. Once they are over the ridge they see several empty
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