In marked contrast to our last trip down to Luton airport, this one went very smoothly apart from the now familiar wrestling match between the sat nav and the geography. We did however arrive at Slip End where the car parking is, albeit from the opposite direction. There was a slight delay in take off when an absentee passenger's suitcase was removed from the hold. Good thinking, I thought.
Anne and David were there to meet us at Larnaca arrivals and we were soon on our way. Larnaca is,of course in the south, ie Greek Cyprus. After about twenty minutes we had to cross the border into the North. A serious formal border with rigorous checking of the kind that we don't encounter within the EU, but we will now have to get used to again. The contrast between the two sides is immediate and stark. Another thirty minutes drive and a stop for a meal before we arrive at the accommodation that Anne and David have arranged for us. They have lived most of the year over here for the past 12 years and have had various villas and apartments over the years.
This development contains 8 blocks of 5 apartments each with a shared 25 metre pool and gym. All in all a very nice facility. Let's have a look around.
Above you can see 4 of the blocks, the pool and the gym along with the landscaped gardens which is a common area.
The pool was easy entry, without that mild shock to the system you often get.
Our bedroom on the mezanine level,the right over the ledge looks down to our lounge, sea view and patio, as the picture below shows. Below the bedroom and bathroom is the kitchen, second bedroom and another bathroom.
The lounge and dining area.
Friday's trip out involved following the north coast towards the Karpass "pan handle" peninsula. Much of the time the beaches are pebbley but there are nice sandy coves which are almost completely deserted.
The bedrock is a rather soft sandstone which is eroded by the wind and rain into weird fantastic shapes, where with an active imagination you can create anything.
A closer view of the Daliesque images.
We drove south across the Karpass peninsula to the little fishing port of Bogaz. You can see the winches attached to the bows of the fishing boats to haul the nets in with.
Quality of the composition betrays the professional competencey of the photographer that I hired to take this group shot. If you zoomed the camera lens enough, you would eventually see a beach on the coast of Lebanon.
We drove on further south towards Famagusta to explore the ruins of the site of Salamis. The history of this large site goes back to the C11 BCE when it is thought that people from Enkomi came here after the earthquake of 1075 BCE. Coins were first minted here in the C6 when the area came under the rule of the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great marched in during the C4 and following his death it became part of Ptolemy's empire. Hellenic followed by Roman invasions were to come next and finally the Byzantine emperor Constantius arrived and eponymously renamed it. Most of what you see today comes from the Roman period either side of the BCE/CE divide.
Above, the columnaded square is a gymnasium and baths complex. All the things you would expect to see are here. Cold rooms, sweat rooms, stroking rooms and 5 star decoration, like the mosaic below.
A nice example of a hypocaust system.
Next was a scruffy field with rocks in that was billed as the Amphitheatre so we walked swiftly on to the theatre as you can see below. Incidentally can you spot the dramatic photographer in the theatre.
The complete site is pretty huge and really needs some transport assistance to allow visitors a comprehensive overview. The site is crying out for some decent interpretation, better signage, proper paths that don't resemble goat tracks and best of all, multilingual audioguides. This is a fabulous site that deserves recognition as a world heritage site but won't get near to it until it improves its act.
Things we didn't see included two basilicas, the Forum, a villa or two, the Temple of Zeus and a very sophisticated reservoir and aqueduct. Below is a roman street.
Time to move on to Famagusta. This city is famous for its no go zone. Most of the city still functions including the medieval walled city but there is a large zone which was under Greek title which has been unoccupied since 1973. Or has it?
We are enjoying a drink in the smart hotel from whoes terrace I took these pictures. At the end of the sun loungers the beach is closed with a military checkpoint preventing anyone from going any further. The three towers are former hotels and are in ruins. This situation is the same all the way round until the white hotel you can see immediately above the couple on the shoreline.
But what's this in the middle of the empty zone? A Turkish and a TRNC flag flying.
A slightly closer view of the empty buildings.
A superzoom shot of the beach in front of the building with the flags reveals lights on and people on the beach.
Meanwhile the band plays on at our end, but not "Nearer My God to Thee" I trust.
So after a lovely day, it was back to the ranch and out to the restaurant to eat.
Anne and David were there to meet us at Larnaca arrivals and we were soon on our way. Larnaca is,of course in the south, ie Greek Cyprus. After about twenty minutes we had to cross the border into the North. A serious formal border with rigorous checking of the kind that we don't encounter within the EU, but we will now have to get used to again. The contrast between the two sides is immediate and stark. Another thirty minutes drive and a stop for a meal before we arrive at the accommodation that Anne and David have arranged for us. They have lived most of the year over here for the past 12 years and have had various villas and apartments over the years.
This development contains 8 blocks of 5 apartments each with a shared 25 metre pool and gym. All in all a very nice facility. Let's have a look around.
Above you can see 4 of the blocks, the pool and the gym along with the landscaped gardens which is a common area.
The pool was easy entry, without that mild shock to the system you often get.
Our bedroom on the mezanine level,the right over the ledge looks down to our lounge, sea view and patio, as the picture below shows. Below the bedroom and bathroom is the kitchen, second bedroom and another bathroom.
The lounge and dining area.
Friday's trip out involved following the north coast towards the Karpass "pan handle" peninsula. Much of the time the beaches are pebbley but there are nice sandy coves which are almost completely deserted.
The bedrock is a rather soft sandstone which is eroded by the wind and rain into weird fantastic shapes, where with an active imagination you can create anything.
A closer view of the Daliesque images.
We drove south across the Karpass peninsula to the little fishing port of Bogaz. You can see the winches attached to the bows of the fishing boats to haul the nets in with.
Quality of the composition betrays the professional competencey of the photographer that I hired to take this group shot. If you zoomed the camera lens enough, you would eventually see a beach on the coast of Lebanon.
We drove on further south towards Famagusta to explore the ruins of the site of Salamis. The history of this large site goes back to the C11 BCE when it is thought that people from Enkomi came here after the earthquake of 1075 BCE. Coins were first minted here in the C6 when the area came under the rule of the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great marched in during the C4 and following his death it became part of Ptolemy's empire. Hellenic followed by Roman invasions were to come next and finally the Byzantine emperor Constantius arrived and eponymously renamed it. Most of what you see today comes from the Roman period either side of the BCE/CE divide.
Above, the columnaded square is a gymnasium and baths complex. All the things you would expect to see are here. Cold rooms, sweat rooms, stroking rooms and 5 star decoration, like the mosaic below.
A nice example of a hypocaust system.
Next was a scruffy field with rocks in that was billed as the Amphitheatre so we walked swiftly on to the theatre as you can see below. Incidentally can you spot the dramatic photographer in the theatre.
Things we didn't see included two basilicas, the Forum, a villa or two, the Temple of Zeus and a very sophisticated reservoir and aqueduct. Below is a roman street.
Time to move on to Famagusta. This city is famous for its no go zone. Most of the city still functions including the medieval walled city but there is a large zone which was under Greek title which has been unoccupied since 1973. Or has it?
We are enjoying a drink in the smart hotel from whoes terrace I took these pictures. At the end of the sun loungers the beach is closed with a military checkpoint preventing anyone from going any further. The three towers are former hotels and are in ruins. This situation is the same all the way round until the white hotel you can see immediately above the couple on the shoreline.
But what's this in the middle of the empty zone? A Turkish and a TRNC flag flying.
A slightly closer view of the empty buildings.
A superzoom shot of the beach in front of the building with the flags reveals lights on and people on the beach.
Meanwhile the band plays on at our end, but not "Nearer My God to Thee" I trust.
So after a lovely day, it was back to the ranch and out to the restaurant to eat.
