Cyprus is an island nation in the easternmost stretches of the Mediterranean Sea. Geographically, culturally, and even politically (as we’ll talk about), Cyprus is stuck between Greece and Turkey, and we found it a great place to get a taste of these two countries.
Our route in Cyprus brought us from the main airport in Larnaca (A) to the capital city of Nicosia (B), from which we took day trips to the Turkish side of the island to visit Kyrenia (C) and some beaches (D). From Nicosia, we headed into the central mountains, spending a day in Troodos National Park (E) before descending to seaside Paphos (F), from where we day-tripped north for more hiking on the Akamas Peninsula (G). Finally, we headed east through Limassol (H) to Cape Greco National Park (I) on the far side of the island before flying out of Larnaca (A).
Coming off three months of hard travel in the Middle East, of waking up not knowing where we’d sleep that night, hitchhiking through endless deserts and across borders, staying in the homes of strangers, exploring towns whose names don’t appear in travel guides, and generally loving every moment but having to work hard for it, there was nothing we wanted more from Cyprus than for our nine days to be a reprieve.
Welcome to Cyprus!
And that they were. First and foremost, we rented a car, giving us tremendous freedom over our route and saving us the work of navigating public transport.
Our trusty steed brought us up, down, and across Cyprus with Mackenzie at the wheel. Tons of difficult-to-access hiking spots, a limited timeline due to pre-bought flights, and bottom-dollar rental rates made the decision easy. While it’s not something we’ll always do - in Saudi Arabia, for example, it was the human encounters brought on by hitchhiking that made the experience for us - renting a car here was absolutely the right move.
An afternoon flight from Tel Aviv brought us to Larnaca Airport on the south side of the island, and after picking up our wheels we drove an hour inland to the divided capital of Nicosia. Here’s where things got geopolitically interesting again!
Not even two hours after going through border control in the airport, we had another border to cross! Our Couchsurfing host lived on the north side of the island in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an internationally unrecognized country which claims independence from the Republic of Cyprus.
Nicosia
Nicosia is the last divided capital in the world, with the north half belonging to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the southern half to the Republic of Cyprus.
Cyprus’ political layout. International consensus says that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is illegitimate, and most nations refer to the whole island simply as Cyprus, a single country. Two British bases in yellow - a leftover from when the island was a British colony - are thrown in for extra confusion!
With a long history as an important part first of Ancient Greece and later the Ottoman Empire, Cypriot locals are mostly of either Turkish or Greek descent. For hundreds of years, these two groups coexisted peacefully.
It’s impossible to stroll Nicosia without ending up at the Green Line, the UN-administered no man’s land running through the middle of town and across the whole nation, dividing the island into two parts.
However, calls for unification with Greece began among Greek Cypriots after Britain took control of the island in 1878, reaching a boiling point a hundred years later in 1974 when the Greece-backed Cyprus National Guard staged a coup d’etat. In response, Turkey invaded the island, taking control of the northern part and displacing thousands of Greek Cypriots who were forced to flee south. The UN intervened to broker a peace agreement, Northern Cyprus promptly declared itself independent, and ever since the island has remained divided.
The Green Line, photographed here through the wire fencing, can be as skinny as a few meters in the city. Outside Nicosia, it can grow to be kilometers across. The international consensus is that Turkey is the bad guy in the current situation (though it was Greece who kicked all this off). After the legitimate government of Cyprus was quickly reinstalled following the peace, Turkish forces have refused to leave the island. Nowadays, Northern Cyprus is considered little more than a puppet state of Turkey.
UN Peacekeepers, internationally recognized by their light blue berets, patrol the streets of Nicosia. Nowadays, there is little conflict between the two sides, but the governments are still not able to come to an agreement that would lead to reunification, with talks as recent as 2021 failing to materialize into anything.
The interesting history creates a fascinating modern state.
A border guard stood here along the fence. I asked to take a photo, and he gave me the okay but first hid behind the wall on the right. When I asked him “Are you a Greek Cypriot or a Turkish Cypriot?” he defiantly responded “I am just a Cypriot”. Nowadays, many Cypriots are expelling divisive denominations and looking to move forward in a unified future.
A foot border also exists in the center of Nicosia, and all day Greek and Turkish Cypriots pass the controls to buy goods or visit friends. Turkish Cypriots who moved from Turkey to Northern Cyprus after the 1974 division, however, cannot cross into the south, as they are viewed as illegal immigrants. All border crossings between Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus were only established in 2003; before this, it had been impossible to cross from north to south for thirty years.
In the north, Turkish is the de facto language, Turkish lira is the currency, and you’re sure to only find “Turkish coffee” on the café menu. In the south, however, the locals speak Greek, the euro is used, and you’re far more likely to bite into a gyro than a shawarma. It was absolutely fascinating to spend time on both sides and witness the contrasting realities.
Turkish and North Cyprus flags hanging side-by-side north of the Green Line are contrasted by Greek and Republic of Cyprus flags in the south. While many young Cypriots hope for reunification, strong nationalist sentiments still exist among much of the population (and these sentiments are stoked by Greece and Turkey for their own interests).
That said, despite the geopolitical tension, most of our two days in the capital was spent a world away from the Green Line instead enjoying the relaxing norms of a standard Euro-trip with the added benefit of hopping over the border when it benefitted us. We went to the Greek side for the café culture and delicious gyros and the Turkish side for the cheap beer and baklava.
Our third day in Nicosia saw us take the car out for a day trip around the northern side of the island, first driving to the mountaintop St. Hilarion castle an hour north.
Looking up to the ruined ramparts of St. Hilarion castle - time for a climb!
St. Hilarion castle was built by the Byzantines in the 11th century and has since traded hands countless times, reflecting the many powers who have controlled the island over the past 1,000 years, from famous powers like the Venetians and Ottomans to obscure feudal families like the Lusignans.
Nowadays, perhaps the highlight of the castle is the great views it provides of the Kyrenia Mountains and down to Cyprus’ north shores.
Further stops along the day trip saw us visiting the seaside town of Kyrenia, going up the coast to Alagadi Beach, and navigating steep winding roads to the mountainside village of Karmi.
Owing to their history as a British colony, Cypriots drive on the left, but drivemaster Mack quickly got the hang of it!
Seaside Kyrenia with its famous 16th century Venetian castle. Traveling in Cyprus can be confusing as each town bears two names: one Greek and a second Turkish. Kyrenia is the Greek name for this town, while Turks call it Girne. Even telling the locals what town you’re visiting can be a political statement - ugh!
Alagadi Beach is famous for turtle spotting, but for us it was mostly famous for an afternoon nap!
Andddd more coffee time in cute Karmi. Did I mention this was a relaxing break for us?
With three days in Nicosia behind us and having gotten a taste for Turkish Cyprus, we took the car back across the border into the Greek-speaking south and continued into the mountains - it was time for our first hiking day of many in the nation!
Troodos Mountains
The Troodos region is home to the largest mountains in the country and is scattered with small villages, forested trails, and - on its lower slopes - wine vineyards.
A detour on the way up the mountains brought us to the frescoed Church of the Virgin Mary of Podithou, one of ten churches comprising the Painted Churches of Troodos UNESCO site, renowned for their Byzantine murals. Without the car, a 20-minute break here would’ve been impossible, and we were really coming to love the flexibility self-driving provided!
The Artemis Trail in the heart of the Troodos Mountains saw us circumnavigating the nation’s highest peak, Mt. Olympus, as we hiked a surprisingly flat path through high-altitude conifer forests.
The silence except for the crunch of our shoes on downed needles and chirp of birdsong, the smell of pine amidst the fresh air, and the expansive views across green-covered mountains flowing down to the Mediterranean was everything we’d been missing over the past months.
A quicker second hike within the Troodos brought us to Kaledonia Falls.
Following the hikes, it was time to reward ourselves, so we headed to Zenon Winery, where we had our first encounter with Cypriot wine, trying all three of the native grapes only found here.
The day ended in Paphos, a destination famous for its beaches and the country’s best-preserved Ancient Greek heritage.
Paphos
The highlight of Paphos was the Tomb of the Kings, an impressive necropolis used from about 300 BC to 300 AD and home to the rock-cut tombs of Hellenistic and Roman officials.
Eight rock-hewn tomb complexes and many more smaller excavations were spread over a large piece of seaside land on the outskirts of Paphos. Paphos was the capital of the island during the Greek and Roman eras and is therefore home to the best archaeological finds from this time.
Our second day in Paphos brought more hiking as we drove an hour north to the rugged Akamas Peninsula to explore the famous Aphrodite Trail.
The bending stretch of the Akamas Peninsula was clearly visible from the highpoint of our day hike.
Named because the starting point of the hike is apparently where the Greek goddess used to bath (in Greek tradition, Aphrodite was born on this island), the impressive hike brought us slowly up the back side of a rocky cliff with incredible views down the pointy peninsula and into the azure waters of the Mediterranean beyond.
A fun evening back in Paphos had us meeting up with Sydo, a Dutch travel friend we first met back in Wadi Rum, Jordan.
After sharing some beers, we agreed to meet up the next day to set out back north to hike the Avakas Gorge together.
While Avakas Gorge had been on our itinerary for the prior day, strong winds upon arrival delayed it and therefore allowed us to conquer the out-and-back as a trio with Sydo.
The hike brought us through a narrow slot canyon that later opened up to high and wide walls enclosing a stream and the small green pastures that it nourished.
Leaving the gorge hike, we continued past Paphos and along the southern coast of Cyprus, making a first stop at Aphrodite’s Rock as we headed towards Limassol, the country’s second largest city.
Aphrodite’s Rock sits off the south shores of Cyprus between Paphos and Limassol and is the legendary birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite. According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite burst from the white foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus at this very spot. Those Greeks sure know how to write an origin story!
A second stop brought us to the British exclave of Akrotiri, where we were briefly (but officially) in the United Kingdom. There were no borders at all and we only verified our arrival by checking Google Maps. The British use their two exclaves on the island as important military bases that give them access to the eastern Mediterranean.
The best part of Akrotiri? It is host to the Akrotiri Salt Lake and surrounding wetlands, which provide a rare breeding ground for Greater Flamingos! We were lucky to spot a happy group of the pink birds wading through the shallow waters in search of shrimps.
Once in Limassol, we toured the city for a couple hours, enjoying its modern and youthful energy, well-maintained oceanside promenade, and old town alleys and the ancient mosques and churches that they hid, beckoning back to a time when Greek / Turkish integration was better.
From Limassol, Sydo left us while we continued a further 20 minutes to the village of Pentakomo, where we had a Couchsurfing host for our final two Cypriot nights.
Chilled out day in Pentakomo with our cute cottage! Lots of conversation shared with our Israeli host Nir here, and we left learning tons about Judaism and Israeli politics as well as Nir’s crazy travel stories from across the world.
Waking on the day of our evening flight, we drove east with a brief stop in Choirokoitia before arriving at Cape Greco National Park in the far east of the island.
Choirokoitia is a well-preserved Neolithic site, occupied from the 7th to 4th millennium BC (crazy that this place was populated for 3,000 years and so little changed over that period - we humans have really sped up the pace of development). On the left are the ruins of the village, and on the right is a reconstruction that was built using only the traditional methods available many thousands of years ago.
Once at Cape Greco, we hiked a full loop around the seaside park, taking in the pristine blue waters, the wildflower-lined trails, and the mountaintop views.
The waters surrounding Cape Greco were a sensational turquoise!
A quick drive back to the airport and it was time to drop off our wheels for the week. And just like that, we were finished!
Off to Athens!
An evening flight brought us over the eastern Mediterranean to Athens, a city I visited back in 2017 while studying abroad in Europe. It was Mack’s first time and after six years and with a lifetime of new experiences it felt like a new city to me as well. We were excited to dig into what would be the start of a few months in Europe here in one of the world’s most ancient cities!
Awesome respite from the desert! I loved the Sido-Sydo traveler. I haven't ever heard of such a name!