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Published: March 11th 2022
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Büyük Han, in Turkish North Nicosia (Lefkoşa)
A 16th century Ottoman caravanserai with cafes and craft workshops. I’ll admit that Cyprus had never been that high on my list of places to visit. I associated the island with package holidays and imagined lots of pink Brits wandering around “tavernas” looking for a full English at 8am with a pint of Carling. Turns out, parts of the island are like that, but a lot of it isn’t.
I didn’t go for long, under a week, mostly to complete the nitrox diving course somewhere that would still have good weather in late October, not too far from home (currently the Netherlands), easy to visit covid-restrictions-wise, and would be somewhere new after so long of very restricted travelling. Cyprus ticked all the boxes. It had also become recently more appealing after I read Victoria Hislop’s novel, The Sunrise, set in Famagusta during the Cypriot coup and subsequent Turkish invasion in 1974. The book inspired me to read more about the island and I liked the sound of it. There seemed to be more interesting things to see and do there than I had previously thought.
I got a cheap flight to Larnaca and strolled around the fairly run down town amongst mostly Russian tourists; Cyprus
The Tombs of the Kings, Paphos
One of Cyprus's three UNESCO World Heritage sites. being one of the few European countries that recognised the Sputnik vaccine. There isn’t a huge amount to see, a nice church, mosque and fort, but there is plentiful great food; though portions often tended to be enough for a whole family and I generally took part of it home for breakfast.
Early next morning I was at the dive shop. I had done the theory parts of the nitrox course online before arrival so now it was some practical instruction and two dives. Nitrox is an air mixture with a higher percentage of oxygen, usually 32 or 36% oxygen rather than the usual 21% in normal air. Therefore, you breathe less nitrogen when you dive, absorbing less dissolved nitrogen into your blood. This enables dives to be longer and the interval between dives to be shorter. However, it is a common misconception that nitrox enables you to dive deeper – this isn’t true because oxygen becomes toxic the deeper you go so you can actually dive deeper on regular air.
The practical aspects of the course involved correctly assessing oxygen content of the cylinders, calculating maximum safe dive depths, and properly setting the dive computer. Other than
The Green Line in South Nicosia
Hastily built barrier across the street that previously connected both sides of Nicosia. that, the dive equipment and the diving itself are no different.
The reason for choosing Larnaca for the nitrox course was The Zenobia. This ship was built in Sweden but didn’t survive its maiden voyage to Syria in 1980. It was a RO-RO ferry loaded with 104 articulated lorries. The Zenobia began listing while passing Greece; it turned out that a computer error was pumping water into ballast tanks on one side increasing the list. The Zenobia capsized and sank just outside Larnaca harbour and now lies on its side in about 40 m of water. At 170 m long and fully penetrable through its multiple car decks, it is one of the best wreck dives in the world.
The dive shop were impressive in their safety procedures. The first dive they take you around the outside of the wreck and you only get to penetrate and explore when they know you know what you are doing. I did four dives on the Zenobia over two days, each time getting further within the passages and car decks. Because it didn’t sink that long ago, the inside is still in decent condition with carpets on the floor,
Church of Saint Lazarus, Larnaca
Apparently, this is where Lazarus was buried (the second and final time). paintings on the wall, and a lot of trucks now stacked up on their sides. Visibility was great – about 20 m – and the ship appears huge when you first glimpse it as you descend. But squeezing through the passages and imagining how it once was, particularly as it went down, is always my highlight of wreck dives.
From Larnaca I headed to Nicosia. “The world’s last divided capital” is how the tourist literature likes to describe it. I got off the bus and headed straight through the shopping streets of the walled city to the Turkish side. Passing the checkpoint was quick, I just had to show my passport. The other side was quite different to the “Greek” side. You immediately enter a bustling market that is more Eastern than European. I recommend finding your way to Büyük Han, an ancient Ottoman caravanserai now home to little craft stores and nice restaurants where I wiled away an hour or so eating delicious – and cheap – Turkish Cypriot food watching people come and go through the lovely courtyard and colonnades. I then just wandered, through the bazaars, around mosques, past old Ottoman mansions, occasionally ending
Kamares Aqueduct or Bekir Pasha Aqueduct, Larnaca
Built in 1750 by the Ottomans to bring water to Larnaca. up at barricaded dead ends where streets hit the ‘Green Line’ that separates both sides of the city.
Crossing back to the Cypriot side I walked along the Green Line for a while. Among normal street scenes it’s interesting to see the hastily thrown up barriers, made of concreted tyres or whatever was at hand, still in place after 40+ years. The town walls are also nice for a stroll.
Paphos was next, mostly for the cheap flight home but also to visit some of the UNESCO-recognised archaeological sites. Fortunately, I had randomly selected an apartment to stay in that was inland up near the old town. The area was a lovely collection of old mansions, palm tree lined squares and great views down to the coast.
I took an early morning walk to the Tombs of the Kings, early enough to avoid the heat – it was much hotter here than elsewhere I went in Cyprus, even in October – and early enough to avoid almost any other tourists. That’s with the exception of a TV crew filming “Homes in the Sun”; one of many British TV shows about moving abroad, TV shows which
I assume must be dying out since Brexit.
The tombs are great. They were carved out of the rock between 400BC and 300AD and sit adjacent to the blue sea. Some are simple caves, others have carved columns, and some are excavated down into the bedrock like Ethiopia’s Lalibela. They don’t reckon they were actually dug for kings but they are so-called due to their grandeur. I happily wandered in, around and above the tombs for over an hour.
Wandering into Paphos harbour area was less pleasant. Here I found the alternating souvenir shops selling cheap plastic crap and “pubs” full of very pink people avoiding the shade drinking pints at 10:00am. I headed back up the hill to leave them to it.
Paphos also has a bigger and more famous archaeological site right next to the harbour, which is part of the same UNESCO site as the tombs. It’s lovely looking Greek and Roman mosaics and ruins were saved for a subsequent trip, which there definitely will be as I would love to get into the Troodos Mountains, spend more time on the Turkish side, and explore this little island further. And I’d probably
The Tombs of the Kings, Paphos
One of Cyprus's three UNESCO World Heritage sites. drop in on the Zenobia again while I’m there!
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