our holidays in the Manolya Hotel Northern Cyprus

OUR HOLIDAY’S IN THE MANOLYA

We have been asked by Mehmet to show some of the places that we have visited and places that we enjoy eating and drinking at,and generally why we enjoy Northern Cyprus.
There are 3 main reasons for us to come to Northern Cyprus,The scenery,The weather, but most of all the people.
Lets start with the most important the people,we have traveled all over Europe and as yet we haven’t found a friendlier race of people,they always make you welcome whether it be in the towns or the villages.It’s very easy to make friends,which makes you want to return on a regular basis.
Now the scenery,Cyprus has the lot Mountains,plains and a beautiful coastline with crystal clear water and lovely beaches.Also if you visit in the spring time an abundance of beautiful flowers.
Finally the weather,what can you say sun and more sun.In June you can rely on temperatures of around 33 degrees centigrade.July and August get considerably hotter while the spring and autumn are lovely and warm with maybe an occasional shower of rain.
PLACES TO VISIT

Shopping:-
For shopping there is Kyrenia which is fairly small but has plenty of small shops selling pretty much everything from local produce to jewelry and clothes.Every Wednesday they have a local market which is worth a visit.You can easily drive to Kyrenia but park your car in the car park next to the roundabout and walk into the town.Next is Famagusta,there are two parts to this town the old city within the city walls and the new part,again you can buy pretty much anything here.Finally you have Nicosia,this is probably the biggest shopping centre and certainly the hottest,here you have a local produce market and a street market every day (don’t know about Sundays),the best way to go to Nicosia is by Dolmus Taxi or by ordinary taxi but get a price first and ask to be taken to Kyrenia Gate where you will find the tourist information centre.

PLACES OF INTEREST

KARPAZ :-
This you must visit,to us this is the most beautiful part of the island.
We would advise staying overnight at the Balciplaza.
This is a fairly new restaurant with some lovely apartments built in october 2004,a room for 2 people will cost approx £30 per night £45 for 4 people which includes a big full English breakfast,it also has a lovely secluded sandy beach.
The reason we say stop overnight is because it’s a fairly long drive especially if you go over the mountain road through Kaplica, but also there’s a lot to see like the big sandy beaches and the wild donkeys.You can drive for ages and hardly see another person except maybe a shepherd with his sheep or goats.This is also where the green turtles come to lay their eggs but you must remember that these animals are a protected species.

Salamis:-
These are ancient ruins near Famagusta and include an amphi theatre and some lovely mosaic floors.
While your this side of the island and only 5 minutes drive from salamis you should also visit the tombs and also the very lovely St Barnabas monastery you can do all these in a day easily.

Vuni & Soli
These are more ruins but at the other end of the island near Lefke,to get here you will go through Guzelyurt this is the citrus fruit growing area with orange and lemon trees in abundance.
Soli has some very interesting old mosaics and a small amphi theatre while Vuni is the remains of an old Persian palace,the views from here are spectacular.

Castles:-
There are three main castles that we have visited they are Kantara,St Hilarion and the beautiful Kyrenia which overlooks the lovely old harbor with all it’s restaurants.All of these are well worth a visit although the first two are rather high up the mountains,don’t let this put you off because the views when you get there are breathtaking.
St Hilarion is unusual as it’s built into the mountain on 3 different levels and you need to be fit to reach the top.
While your at St Hilarion you should take the road marked koszin restaurant this is a fairly narrow road that will wind it’s way across the top of the mountain
but will give you some of the best photo shots of your holiday and will bring you out the other side of Lapta.