Travel Review Northern Cyprus Day 2: The last divided capital of Europe - Nicosia!

in #travel6 years ago (edited)

cufee0dwdn.jpg

Hello dear blog readers and Steemians,

On my first morning in Cyprus there was a cool surprise ... The day started with a great sunrise and nice weather!

eyqns52tf8.jpg

pj80hzzwzg.jpg

At first I went in a good mood to the restaurant of the Kaya Artemis hotel with a very rich buffet. There was everything your heart desires, from salads, breakfast eggs, fried eggs, omelette, a variety of bread and roll varieties, fried sucuk sausage, to desserts. Actually, I'm not a breakfast person and normally I do not eat much in the morning, but with this large selection, I also ate a lot. : D

After breakfast, I visited the beach of the Kaya Artemis Hotel Resort by day and then we started to the first excursion destination a bit later.

The first stop was a miniature museum with a small garden, where many of the most important sights of Northern Cyprus were exhibited in miniature format.

Here some examples:

hcw9nuefox.jpg

40u5l86fcu.jpg

1znbom3ovu.jpg

uf2p8rzwva.jpg

tedv19pbol.jpg

nqpvpoqsxz.jpg

We also had the opportunity to drink an original Turkish mocha coffee and of course other drinks, such as Turkish tea (çay). I enjoyed a delicious Turkish mocha.

w69xeczsmu.jpg

The weather was a bit cloudy at the time, but compared to Germany, it was still quite warm with up to 15 degrees without sun.

cz3frm0z85.jpg

Then we went to the city of Nicosia (Lefkoşa), the last divided capital of Europe. On the way there we could see the great landscape of northern Cyprus, take look at interesting buildings and we could already see the so-called Green Line, which is the border of North and South Cyprus. This closed area can be described as a biotope, since everything is untouched here and thereby vegetate numerous different plants.

z681qxtdvr.jpg

p1mxom8av7.jpg

ry4mxcd834.jpg

x7wdjveqim.jpg

qln454heoc.jpg

Arrived in the city, we went with our tour guide Nurkan Tolunay to the Selimiye Mosque and have received many interesting historical information about this cathedral. At that time, this mosque was called St. Sophia Cathedral, it was opened in 1209 and is the former Christian cathedral of the city of Nicosia.

6grqijho88.jpg

ucbp8t3b34.jpg

920d7apwk1.jpg

k77ozhu36l.jpg

r24aocwaub.jpg

cdsk31zjn0.jpg

4nb8ttb14y.jpg

u1s1ze7fvz.jpg

The next spot was the magnificent Ottoman caravansary "Büyük Han" with a great oriental flair. Here many travelers and merchants came together to seek refuge for the night, and to shelter against robbers behind the thick walls. The Caravansary in Nicosia was built in 1572, shortly after the conquest of the island by the Ottomans, and is thus generally regarded as the oldest Turkish building on the island.

In the lower part of the animals were housed then. In the upper area were the sleeping quarters of the travelers and the large courtyard served as a trading post for numerous goods from near and far. Even today, there are a few small shops with souvenirs for tourists and craftsmanship, as well as a very popular restaurant right at the entrance.

581285h88m.jpg

a3kum6o68k.jpg

liawcqp28l.jpg

After visiting the Ottoman caravansary we had a few hours of free time in Nicosia and were able to explore the beautiful city on its own with a labyrinth of tranquil streets. There were many shops with various goods, great restaurants, tea rooms and a very famous coffee roaster. If you wanted, you could also cross the border into the south of Cyprus and look at the southern part of Nicosia.

3th1p1zvz3.jpg

l7lgajnda0.jpg

9vpmrc50cp.jpg

ryhy4zeh6x.jpg

3e129kq3u6.jpg

xwcpne8pga.jpg

rocb8ihfxj.jpg

dqgrn8h3v7.jpg

fj9i52u91k.jpg

1rym910lpe.jpg

Interesting info at this point: Turkish citizens living in Northern Cyprus can not just go over to the south! In order to travel to southern Cyprus, they would first have to fly to Turkey, enter there properly with a visa (so not just just intermediate landing, as we have done) and from there they can then enter only with another visa to southern Cyprus...

** Here is a photo of the border crossing from Northern Cyprus to southern Cyprus in Nicosia: **

ax3mc65fkb.jpg

In the afternoon we went back to Kaya Artemis Hotel Resort with the modern coach. In the evening we could again enjoy the rich evening buffet and treat yourself to a drink or two at the bar. There was also a free SPA area with sauna, steam room and an indoor pool, which unfortunately I discovered only the next day. But better late than never! xD

euwumcxrjk.jpg

0jbaqs3pbr.jpg

noo2asiq3x.jpg

dedevde7f3.jpg

9x2lcos346.jpg

Stay tuned for my next detailed travel report from day 3 in Cyprus and best regards!

Jonas - @ future24

jkh79g5jn1.jpg


PS: This article was published with the Esteem Surfer Software by @good-karma and the @esteemapp team.

Sort:  

Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=future24
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=travel-review-northern-cyprus-day-2-the-last-divided-capital-of-europe-nicosia-30ee43b2af8a6est


Want to have your post on the map too?

  • Go to Steemitworldmap
  • Click the code slider at the bottom
  • Click on the map where your post should be (zoom in if needed)
  • Copy and paste the generated code in your post
  • Congrats, your post is now on the map!