Cyprus - Part 2

When you cross the green line in central Nicosia, you enter what’s known as the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. There is a border and a passport check and immediately after crossing you feel like you're back in Turkey. We drove to the centre of the island to Nicosia and wandered around the excellent Cyprus museum before deciding to cross and have lunch on the Turkish side. I had a few extra Turkish lira to get rid of and after lunch, we crossed back into Cyprus. The Green Zone was established by the UN and Great Britain in 1974 and ever since the nation and the capital have been divided. This is the longest-running UN peacekeeping mission in the world. Turkey is the only country that recognizes the state, and in fact, a tradition in Turkey is for every newly elected president to visit Northern Cyprus as his first official visit abroad.

Today we headed west toward Aphrodite’s birthplace near Paphos. There is a Greco-Roman city (Kourion) near there with fantastic views over the Mediterranean. Then a final stop in Paphos to visit the Tombs of Kings to act like Indiana Jones for a while.

Tomorrow a new region and country...