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2November 2009

Company: North Cyprus UK Ltd Managing Director: Zorlu Cezaro¤lu Graphic Designer: Halil Yalt›r›kN.Cyprus journalist: Misli Kad›o¤lu

Address:11 Byron Close, Sydenham, SE26 5SFN.Cyprus: +90 533 863 5341 UK: +44 7958 352 411 Mail: [email protected]

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Dr. Muhammet Yaflarata

World Travel Market:Explore a world of business oppertunitles

Towards an ‘Islandof informatics’

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Page 36-37

Castle of the CyprusOrthodox Church:Barnabas Monastery

Beaches inNorthern Cyprus

Misli Kadioglu

HHamza Ersan Saner, TheMinister of Tourism, En-vironment and Culture

of TRNC, said: “If you arelooking for a place where thesun is shining for 365 days,you can count the rocks un-derwater while you are flyingat 2 thousand feet, observethe crystal clear Mediterrane-an water, live with wild life,watch wild donkeys, Carettas,immigrant birds in Autumn,and witness the most beauti-ful vegetation with orchidsand tulips in Spring. We arewaiting everyone here inNorth Cyprus. For those whoare looking for tourism for re-ligious beliefs we would liketo see everyone here wherethe St. Barnabas tomb ‘s loca-ted as well as the the Churchof the 11th apostle, ApostolosAndreas Church with fantasticbeaches, sea and sand.” Onthe other hand, Saner, calledout to the Turkish Cypriots li-ving in the UK saying: “Thosewho had to leave their rootsfor several financial reasons,our closest ones are now li-ving in the UK. We can notbe separated. They will al-ways be welcomed by us.They should come and standup for their home country.”

SEA, SUN & SANDSaner also says that there areimportant reasons for those li-ving abroad and especially inthe UK to choose NorthCyprus for holiday. “The mostimportant of those reasons isthe Three S’s. I mean Sea, Sunand Sand. Along with this,our history is also an impor-tant factor. I affirm that ourcountry has the most untouc-hed nature in Europe. Fromanother perspective, NorthCyprus being a country outsi-de the Euro-zone is also a rea-son for it to be chosen. Be-cause of this reason the pricesfor restaurant and hotels arelower compared to the othercountries in the world” saidSaner. Saner refers to the his-tory of the island as a British

colony and says that there arealmost 20 thousand Britishsoldiers living in the islandand this makes the place dif-ferent.

THE UK IS AN IMPORTANTMARKET FOR US

Saner pointed out that theyare thinking of opening newdestinations in the UK andwill create opportunities forthose who want to come fromIreland, Manchester and Bris-tol by increasing the numberof flights flying from those po-ints. He also mentioned thatthey pay a special attention tothe UK, which has a big im-portance for the tourism ofTRNC and stated that the UKis the 2nd important marketfor North Cyprus. Saner lin-ked the fact that they do nothave any major problems interms of publicity of the is-land in the UK to the ideathat the UK market knows theNorth of Cyprus pretty well.Saner told that there was adecrease in the number oftourists in the past 5 years ho-wever when it comes to thenumbers of this year it is pos-sible to say that there is an in-crease. In September 2008,the number of the touristsfrom the UK was 44 thousand655 said Saner and pointedout that this number went upto 50 thousand 873 in Sep-tember 2009.

A RISE IN THE ITALIAN MARKET

Saner stated that the openingsto external countries are stillon-going for tourism and mar-keting, there is a rise in theItalian Market and that theyare working really hard tomake it possible for thosewho want to come to the co-untry from that area in 2010.He stated the fact that thenumber of tourists from Italywent up to 6000 from 600and the aims of bringing at le-ast 10 thousand tourists nextyear and increasing the num-ber of tourists from the UK atleast by %15-20. Saner ans-wered a question on the suffi-

ciency of the publicity andmarketing in the UK was asfollows: “Tourism is such athing that you can never saythat anything is enough. Ho-wever, in the UK the publicityis on-going for the past 20 ye-ars, since the TRNC was for-med. Yet, the biggest problemis working with the rightagencies, and organizing a re-al publicity campaign with aPR company chosen by uswith the realistic and true sug-gestions of agencies that canactually bring tourists to thecountry.”

SUPPORT FOR THE AIRLINES

The Minister Saner also maderemarks about the encourage-ments made to improve thetourism sector of the countryand to serve the better. Sanerindicated that the areas nee-ding encouragements are de-termined with a prior evalu-ation until the end of 2010and there are studies going forthe necessary changes. Saner,who announced that it was

decided to encourage thetransportation and not theagencies, said: “We leave theprovocation to be given toeach passenger to the handsof the airlines. We are in theprocess of re-constructing theprovocation system”.

SPECIAL INTEREST TOURISM

On the other hand, Saner alsomentioned that they did notfocus only on the tourism fairfor publicity and there are inthe process of different ope-nings. He also pointed outthat they are working on spe-cial interest tourism and areaiming to improve yacht tou-rism in the country and belie-ve to make North Cyprus animportant destination in theMediterranean area of thissector. It is also said that therewill be underwater publicityready to take place in the In-ternational Tourism Fair thisyear and the different optionsabout a variety of areas in thecountry will also be publici-zed.

NNorth Cyprus, the placewhere the Mediterra-nean climate can be

felt at the utmost level andwhere the nature and the his-tory forms an incredible har-mony, calls everyone to sha-re this heaven…Hamza Ersan Saner, The Mi-

nister of Tourism, Environ-ment and Culture of TRNC,evaluated the latest stages inthe publicity of the countryand the potential of the is-land in terms of tourism forNorth Cyprus UK in the In-ternational Tourism Fair inEngland. Saner stated that

there is an increase in thenumber of the tourist comingfrom the UK and they expectit to be even more and thatthey are trying to create op-portunities for those whowant to come for a visit fromnew destinations. Saner alsomentioned that there is a rai-

se in the Italian market and itis planned to have 10 thou-sand tourists from Italy in2010. He also referred theimportance f the country notonly in terms of natural bea-uty but also in terms of tou-rism if religious faith andspecial interest.

BE A GUEST OF THE HEAVENLY ISLAND

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4November 2009

Cyprus

TThe first inhabitantsof Cyprus are tho-ught to have migra-

ted to the island fromthe lands now calledAnatolia, Syria and Pa-lestine between the ye-ars 7000-6500 BC. Themountains of these co-untries can be seenfrom the island on cleardays. The name of Cyprus,which is the most im-portant island in theEastern Mediterranean,came from the rich cop-per mines that were firstused in the Bronze Age.Its location and natural

resources such as olives,cereals and grapes ma-de Cyprus a very impor-

tant trading centre. Be-cause of these, manyancient civilizations tri-ed to capture it and tho-se which managed,each left behind a pieceof their own importantcultural heritage andmade the island a cen-tre of attraction. TheEgyptians, Assyrians,Phoenicians, Romans,Byzantines, Lusignans,Venetians and Ottomanswere the most importantancient civilizationswhich ruled the island. Cyprus, with its naturalbeauties and historicalrichness remains a cen-tre of attraction formany people to thisday.

MÖ 1450 - 700 Old Egypt Domination

MÖ 700 - 645 Assyrian Domination

MÖ 545 – 345 Persian Domination

MÖ 345 – 290 Hellenic Domination

MÖ 290 – 58 Ptolemaic Kingdom

MÖ 58 – MS – 395 Roman Domination

395 – 1190 Byrantine Domination

1190 – 1191 English Domination

1191 – 1489 Lusingnan Domination

1489 – 1570 Venetian Domunation

1570 – 1878 Ottoman Domination

1878 – 1960 British Domination

1960 – 1963 Cyprus Republic

1964 – 1974 Turkish Cypriot Administration / Greek Cypriot Administration

1974 Cyprus Peace Action

1975 – 1983 Turkish Federal State

1983 TRNC

The Choronological Calender of Cyprus History

Languages:Although Turkish is the official language,English is also widely used and understood.Many hotels employ German speaking per-sonnel. Some of the hotels have Arabic orFrench speaking personnel too.

ClimateCyprus has a typical Mediterranean climate,summers are hot and dry and winters aregenerally rainy and warm. In summer theaverage temperature is 30- 35C (90 F) and inthe coldest months it is around 10 C (50 F).

TimeLocal time is two hours ahead of GreenwichMean Time (GMT), however, from April toSeptember the local time is three hoursahead of GMT.

Passport and VisaOne can be admitted to North Cyprus withany passport. A three month touristic visa isusually given upon entry. In order to extendthe period, one must apply at theImmigration Office. Children younger than16 years of age can be admitted undertheir parent's passport.

CustomsThere is no custom for private belongingsand foodstuffs brought by tourists comingto the island. However it is forbidden to takehistorical works of art found in Cyprus off ofthe island. There is a substantial penalty forthose found to be doing so.

Traffic‹n the TRNC traffic flows from the left.International road and traffic signs are used.Maximum traveling speed is 100 km/h. Seatbelts are obligatory.

Telephone‹n order to cali TRNC from abroad, afterdialing 00 90 392, local numbers should bedialed. You can obtain telephone cards forthe public telephones present in entireTRNC, from the post offices.

Banks&Currency‹n TJ‹NC, numerous Turkish and TurkishCypriot banks operate and they are öpenfrom Monday to Friday (except public holi-days) betvveen 08.00-12.00/14.00-16.00hours. Turkish lira is used as the local cur-rency. Exchanging ali the currencies inbanks, exchange offices and in hotels, ispossible. Visa card, credit card, master andeuro cards, checks ete. can be used in placeofcash.

Opening HoursShops are open with some variations butgenerally: Summer: 08:00-13:00/ 16:00-19:00 Vinter: 09:00-13:00/ 14:00-18:00

Turkish Repablic North Cyprus (TRNC)

Public Services

SUMMER:Monday: 07:30-14:00 / 15:30-18:00Tuesday to Friday: 07:30 / 14:00

WINTER:Monday to Friday: 08:00-13:00 / 14:00-1 7:00

Museums During the summer season visitinghours of the museums can change.For Information, you can apply toOffice of Museums and Old Work ofArts (+90 392 227 2916).

Established: 15.11.1983 Capital City: Nicosia Area: 3,355 km2 Population: 208,886

Towns: Girne (Kyrenia), Ma¤usa(Famagusta), Güzelyurt (Morphou), Iskele

ZekiyeYücel

Why North

Cyprus?

IIam asked this question atalmost every businessfunction I attend, and

when the person asking dis-covers that I am from NorthCyprus, they quickly assumethat this must be the reason.It is true that I am very pas-sionate about my beautifulisland, I love and cherishour culture and our gen-uinely hospitable people,but it is not just this thatgives me a real buzz aboutpromoting North Cyprus. Itravel regularly, particularlyin Europe, and I have toadmit there are many beau-tiful spots still undiscoveredin the Mediterranean, equal-ly alluring. We as a compa-ny sell some of those desti-nations too, but what makesNorth Cyprus so special isits warm welcome in spiteof its chequered history; itsbeauty, its genuine localpeople and its rich flora. It israre to find so many wildflowers in one location forinstance. It's increasinglyhard to come across suchcaring people, hungry toplease their visitors and toshare their island withtourists so willingly. Andmost importantly, this part ofthe island is not filled withlager louts, British pubs andfish and chips shops, unlikethe south. The discerningtraveller is looking to stayaway from it all, to exploreand blend in with the localculture. Over recent yearsEcological tourism is steadi-ly increasing and more andmore people are now takinginto consideration thosevery important facts beforemaking a decision abouttheir holidays. Responsibletourism is the key to successand responsible travellerswill visit this uniqueMediterranean destinationyear-round, not just for twomonths of the year for seaand sand. The local econo-my needs balanced businessand only by attracting theright minded people cantourism grow, flourish andgive something back to theisland for the long term. Ifwe love our island, lovewhat we do and work as ateam, I firmly believe wecan outshine the competi-tion.

[email protected]

5November 2009

6November 2009

WWorld Travel Market, thepremier global eventfor the travel industry,

is this year celebrating its 30thanniversary. Since its launch in1980, World Travel Market hasoutgrown both Olympia (1980– 1991) and Earl’s Court (1992– 2001) and is now hosted atExCeL -London. Staged annu-ally in London, World TravelMarket is the must-attend fourday business-to-business exhi-bition for the worldwide traveland tourism industry, presen-ting a diverse range of destina-tions and industry sectors toUK and International travelprofessionals. It is a unique op-portunity for the whole globaltravel trade to meet, network,negotiate and conduct businessunder one roof. By attendingWorld Travel Market, partici-pants (almost 50,000 senior tra-vel industry professionals, go-vernment ministers and inter-national press), efficiently, ef-fectively and productively gainimmediate competitive advan-tage for their business and stayabreast with the latest develop-ments in the travel industry.As World Travel Market prepa-res for its 2010 launch, The Mi-nistry of Tourism, Environmentand Culture of Turkish Republicof North Cyprus gets set toshowcase its plans for the co-ming year. Tourism in NorthCyprus has long been viewedas crucial to the country's futu-re prosperity and growth, andits value to the economy hasgrown steadily since the1980s. From the opening ofthe new hotels, to the comple-tion of the renovation of Inter-national Ercan Airport, as wellas continued investment intourism and unrivalled supportof the travel trade, NorthCyprus is promoted as: “THE-RE IS A SECRET ISLAND INTHE HEART OF THE MEDI-TERRANEAN…”…a hidden je-wel in the Levant – with gol-den beaches, picture-postcardvillages and brilliant weather”.That is how North Cyprus hasbeen described in the UK pressas the hardened ‘hacks’ of Fle-et Street are inspired to suchprose. Even in this age ofmass-tourism, North Cyprus re-mains virtually undiscoveredand gloriously under-popula-ted. Considered to be the mostbeautiful part of the island, ourfamous Kyrenia & developingFamagusta, in addition to theKarpas Peninsula are all emer-ging as main resorts. With our9000 years of history and cul-ture, over 300 days of sunshi-ne and 200 miles of enchantedcoastline, North Cyprus is es-

tablished its position as a mainholiday destination from theUK. Being “EURO-FREE” isanother advantage for the co-untry in the years ahead. The stunning horseshoe-sha-ped harbour in Kyrenia, is justone of the many unforgettablesights waiting to greet you inthis unique holiday destinati-on. The natural geography ofNorth Cyprus is such that youcan spend the morning by thesea, indulging your tan, enjoylunch in a mountain-top taver-na, taking in the spectacularviews and then spend a leisu-rely afternoon exploring someof the most incredible histori-cal and cultural sites to be fo-und in the whole Mediterrane-an.Surprisingly, amongst all thisserenity and natural beauty,North Cyprus has another, mo-re lively side. The bustling re-sort town of Kyrenia, boastsover 500 restaurants and taver-nas, serving a wide range ofcuisine from traditional Medi-terranean fare to gourmet inter-national dishes. For the moreadventurous, there is an excel-lent choice of activities, suchas horse riding, paragliding,go-karting, quad-biking, jeepsafaris, archery and a full rangeof water sports including PADIscuba diving, waterskiing andwindsurfing. The wonderfulthing is that in North Cyprus,these activities blend in withtheir surroundings rather thanoverwhelm them.The sheer beauty of the co-untryside, the natural friendli-ness of the people and themost pleasing climate in theMediterranean combine to ma-ke North Cyprus a truly uniqueholiday experience, and onethat will stay in your memoryfor many years to come. Thisyear at WTM the North CyprusTourism Centre will have over100 co-participants on a 300sqm stand, including specialisttour operators – such asCyprus Paradise, Cyprus Pre-mier, Direct Traveller, Green Is-land, CTA Holidays, DiscoveryCollection, Happy Days, NewPresident, Jewels of the Med,Anatolian Sky and Tulip Holi-days ; airlines directly flying toNorth Cyprus including CyprusTurkish Airlines and PegasusAirlines; and most of the NorthCyprus hoteliers, travel agents,guides, restaurant and rent-a-car owners, with their associ-ations. The presence of such anarray of co-participants reinfor-ces the fact that there has neverbeen a better time to visitNorth Cyprus; with the intro-duction of increasingly compe-titive prices (as well as beingEURO-FREE area of Cyprus)from a secret island in the heartof Mediterranean that acknow-ledges the change in the moti-vations of travellers and holi-day makers.

World Travel Market: Explore aworld of business opportunities

Dr [email protected]

IIs thought to have been establis-hed by King Ptolemy Philadelp-hus II (285-247 BC) around the

lagoon near the coast of what arenow the Salamis ruins. The mo-dern town is built on the remainsof the ancient city of Arsenoe, na-med after the wife of the king,which was built to replace Sala-mis after its sacking by Arab rai-ders in 648AD. The name of the new city, Am-makhostos, means ‘hidden in thesand’, and residents hoped not toattract the raiders. The city deve-loped after its conquest by theCrusaders in 1291. From this dateonwards, Famagusta soon becamea stopping off point for pilgrimson their way to Jerusalem and itgrew in both political strength andmaterial wealth. In 1571 the Ottomans took thecity and it soon reverted to the in-significant port city it had been inearly times. During British rule much of thearchitectural heritage of the citywas lost when stone was takenfrom many of the historical sites toaid in the building of the Suez Ca-nal.

The Kertikli BathsA building to the north of the cityconstructed by the Ottomans, the-se baths are notable for the do-mes. The building is comprised ofsix domed rooms, a reservoir co-vered with a vaulted ceiling and asection believed to be the dressingroom, the ceiling of which hascollapsed.

The Panaya Kanakaria ChurchAlthough there is no trace left ofthe first church thought to havebelonged to the early Byzantineperiod, the second church is be-lieved to have been constructed inthe 5th C AD or early 6th C. Theentrance section is separated into

three sections by two rows of co-lumns. The church was destroyedby Arab pirates in the 8th C. Anew one on stilts was constructedbut was destroyed as well in anearthquake in 1169. It was rebuiltas a multi-dome church but onlycompleted in the 14th C. The mosaics in the apsis represen-ting Christ as a child sitting inMary's lap, surrounded by theArchangel and the apostles are so-me of the most noteworthyexamples of early Byzantine art.Unfortunately, the part whichshows the child Christ, St. Matt-hew, St. James and the Archangelare no longer there.

The Twin ChurchesThe larger of the two churches bu-ilt in the 14th C be-longed to theKnights Templar. When the lastgrandmaster and their other lea-ders were burned as heretics in1313, the order came to an endand the church was left to theKnights Hospitalers who ownedthe adjoining building. The buil-ding has been restored and is nowbeing used by the Cyprus Art So-ciety.

Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (Cat-hedral of St. Nicholas)

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas, bu-ilt by the Lusignans between 1298and 1312, is a stunning exampleof a Gothic Cathedral in Cyprus.The Lusignans held the coronationceremony for the Kings of Jerusa-lem in this cathedral. During Ot-toman rule the cathedral wastransformed into mosque, withoutharming its original shape, withthe simple addition of a minaret. Itwas renamed in honour of the ge-neral who led the 1571 invasionof the city.

Salamis RuinsAccording to Greek mythology,

the city of Salamis was foundedby Teucer on his return from theTrojan wars. Another story has itthat it began in the late 11th C BCafter the fall of the nearby city ofAlasia. The spectacular present day ruinsare only 8 kilometres north of Fa-magusta. The ancient city of Sala-mis is said to have been built bythe tribes who moved to Cyprusfrom Anatolia and Greece towardsthe end of the Bronze Age. Sala-mis, which was the capital ofCyprus in the centuries to come,was severely damaged during theearthquakes of 76 and 77 AD.Constantine rebuilt the city in the5th C AD and the city regainedthe title of the capital city onceagain. However, after Arab raidsand more earthquakes in the 8thC, the city was completely deser-ted.

St. George of Latins ChurchA beautiful example of Gothicarchitecture, said to be based onSt. Chapelle in Paris, was built to-wards the end of the 13th C.

Othello’s TowerBuilt in the 14th C by the Lusig-nans in order to further protect theport of Famagusta, it wasstrengthened and restored by theVenetian Nicola Foscari. On topof the entrance there are engra-vings of the Lion of St. Mark, thename Nicola Foscari and the date1492.Othello’s Tower is said to be thesetting for Shakespeare's Othello.

Namik Kemal MuseumSituated in the garden of a Veneti-an palace, the only door of thisdungeon opens into the garden ofthe palace. The famous Turkishplaywright Namik Kemal, once anewspaper editor in 19th C Lon-don, was exiled to Cyprus uponstaging of his play ‘Vatan yahut Si-listre’ (Motherland or Silistre) in Is-tan-bul on April 1, 1873. Kemalwas exiled to Cyprus and impriso-ned in this cell. It has henceforthbeen known as the Namik KemalDungeon and Museum.

RavelinRavelin is one of the two archedentries into the walled city of Fa-magusta. When the Venetians we-re surrounded by the Ottomans in1571, the white flag was hoistedhere. For this reason, the RavelinGate was called "Akkule" (WhiteTower) by the Ottomans.

The Heritage of Famagusta

7November 2009

8November 2009

9November 2009

10November 2009

Talat: “The biggest trouble is the isolations”

The President Talat stated thatNicosia needed such a hotelwith 5 stars and thanked to themanagers of the Net Holdingand al the other institutionswho contributed and said:“We will benefit from this.”Talat also mentioned that theface of Nicosia will be chan-ging by this hotel and serve tothe whole tourism sector andthat tourism is the motor po-wer of the economy and in-vestments in this sector will li-ven up the economy of the co-untry. Talat pointed out that thebiggest trouble is the continu-ation of the isolations and said“We have worked really hardto remove them but achievedpartial success”. He emphasi-zed that they are working for aresolution as well as removingthe isolations and underlinedthe necessity of a resolutionand that they need peace forthe tourism as well. “We needto work for both the develop-

ment of tourism and the reso-lution; however, this can notbe done by only one side wor-king. The other side needs toshow an effort as well” saidTalat.

Fakili: “TRNC showed a greataccomplishment in 20 years”

TR Nicosia Ambassador SakirFakili stated that TRNC sho-wed a great accomplishmentin 20 years and that the invest-

ments by Turkey also have arole in this success. Fakili re-minded that there were onlycountable hotel in Nicosia andKyrenia 20 years ago and said“I thank to the Net Holding forredounding this unique hotelto Nicosia”.

Saner: “There is still a long road to go”

Hamza E. Saner, the Ministerof Tourism, Environment andCulture, emphasized that tou-rism is the engine sector of theeconomy, however, there isstill a long road to go in orderto reach the target. The Minis-ter Saner thanked the investingfirm in his speech duringwhich he underlined the im-portance of such facilities interms of tourism and that thishotel will make both the Nico-sia community and the touristsproud.

Bulutoglulari: “Everything is for Nicosia”

LTB (Nicosia Turkish Munici-pality) Mayor, Cemal Bulutog-lulari, also underlined the ne-cessity for the hotel and than-ked to the investing firm. Ma-yor Bulutoglulari mentionedthat he always wants to takethe leading steps and said thatthey are working on the cons-truction of a new mall in Nico-sia, said “Everything is for Ni-cosia”.The CEO of the Net Holding,Besim Tibuk and the CEO ofthe Merit Hotels Chain, RehaArar pointed out how muchthey care about TRNC and in-formed the audience abouttheir investments.

Nicosia Merit Hotel opened to service with a splendid ceremony

The Face of Nicosia is changing

The official opening ceremony of the Merit Hotel, which is functioning for the past year in Nicosia, was held last night with

the attendance of a high-class protocol.

11November 2009

12November 2009

OOrganised by thecollaboration ofBüyükkonuk Mu-

nicipality and Büyükko-nuk Eco-Tourism Associ-ation, 4th Eco-Day acti-vities attracted hundredsof locals and foreignersto the town. Prime Mi-nister Dervifl Ero¤lu at-tended in the Eco-Dayfestival as an honour gu-est. And during the dayCyprus culture was pro-moted with various acti-

vities such as folk danceshows, workshops ofhellim cheese producti-on, copper tin and panermanufacture as well asCypriot scarf embroideryand “fioromillo.”Entertaining both theparticipants and audien-ce, Eco-Day covered theactivities for children,the show of Hasder FolkDance, village theatre tit-led Mülayim Day›, theproduction of Cypriot

chairs and the show ofDerince Association forCulture. The concerts byMusicland, Örge andGrup 3G were highlyappreciated and the finalconcert was given byHaluk Levent.

WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR

CULTURENoting that the nationslived through their tradi-tions in his speech, Pri-me Minister Dervifl Ero¤-lu stated that the activityof Eco-Day held in Bü-yükkonuk was highlysignificant to protect theculture and maintain thetraditions in this respect.Emphasizing such activi-ties are glad events forthe government as theyaim to protect TRNC andmake it live forever, Pri-me Minister Ero¤lu statedthat one of their essentialroles was to diversifyand improve tourism inthe country.

Reminding that tourismfacilities and the accom-modation was quite afew before 1974, Ero¤lustated that they carriedout important works todevelop the country'seconomy and tourism.Prime Minister Ero¤lu sa-id that they were strugg-ling to open TRNC to the

world and make it a fa-vourite tourism country.“It is a difficult situationthat our country is notrecognised, and the ru-lers know best the dis-tress of living under em-bargos," says Prime Mi-nister Dervifl Ero¤lu. Healso notes that TRNC is adeveloping country; it

struggles to maintain itsexistence with traditionsand this must be percei-ved by the world.Stating that transportati-on embargoes placed onTRNC by "the countriesthat claim to be civilised"are not fair, Ero¤lu emp-hasized that this was anaffront to humanity.

“One of our essential roles is to diversify andimprove tourism in the country," says Ero¤lu

During Eco-day, Cyprus culture was promoted with various activities such as folk dance shows, workshops of hellimcheese production, copper tin and paner production as well as Cypriot scarf embroidery and “fioromillo.”

13November 2009

14November 2009

15November 2009

16November 2009

OOrganized by Tur-kish Republic ofNorthern Cyprus

(TRNC) Minister of Pub-lic Affairs and Transporta-tion Hasan Taçoy, “Islandof Informatics 2009Workshop” took place inGirne Acapulco Hotelbetween October 23-24.Turkish Republic Ministerof Transportation BinaliY›ld›r›m honoured theopening session of theworkshop, which bro-ught together opinionleaders and participantsfrom all over the world.Public and private corpo-rations, NGOs, universiti-es, Cyprus Turkish Airli-

nes (CTA) authorities, andmany representativesfrom informatics sectorwere present at the work-shop. TRNC Minister of PublicAffairs and TransportationHasan Taçoy gave theopening speech and hesaid that informatics wasthe most important phasein the development ofTRNC. Taçoy emphasi-sed that the young, effici-ent, dynamic, and tech-nology literate populati-on of North Cyprus pro-vide the country with arare advantage for rapidadvancements in infor-matics. Taçoy said that

North Cyprus would be-come an Island of Infor-matics in ten years to co-me. Taçoy noted, “Weare planning to increasethe number of techno-parks and improve theircondition.” He addedthat human capital flightcan be brought to an endwith the vision of the Is-land of Informatics. Following TRNC Ministerof Public Affairs andTransportation Hasan Ta-çoy’s speech, Turkish Re-public Minister of Trans-portation Binali Y›ld›r›mgave a speech. Y›ld›r›msaid that the vision of theIsland of Informatics is a

right objective for TRNCto realise. Y›ld›r›m ad-ded, “Informatics is bor-der-fee, time-free, space-free. It is possible to atta-in information no matterwhere it is kept. AsTRNC continues itsstruggle for equal rights,an advancement in infor-matics might help lift theisolations imposed onTRNC. For, North Cyprusholds a very prominentadvantage and potentialto realize its aims in in-formatics sector.” TRNC Prime MinisterDervifl Ero¤lu said in hisspeech, “Today we wit-ness a historical moment.

In line with our promises,we will improve the co-unrty’s infrastructure inevery area.” Ero¤lu notedthat besides technical in-frastructure, efficientwork power was also im-portant. Ero¤lu emphasi-sed that TRNC boastedwell-educated human re-sources. Ero¤lu said, “Wewill turn this island intoan Island of Informaticsby making efficient useof this enormous advan-tage.” TRNC President MehmetAli Talat, who was thelast speaker of the ope-ning session, said, “Thevision of the Island of In-

formatics is very crucialfor attaining the spirit oftime and piercing the iso-lations. It is even morecrucial to attain this visi-on, realise its objectives.For, informatics is a fieldsans borders. Therefore,it is a significant mediumto lift the isolations impo-sed on our country.”Talat also said that infor-matics sector would gainimportance in the case ofa settlement in the politi-cal condition of Cyprus,and added, “Investmentsin the field of informaticswill improve our level ofcompetitiveness with theGreek Cypriots.”

Towards an ‘Island of Informatics’The process that will lead Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to become an ‘Island of Informatics’ has been

launched with the ‘2009 Workshop.’ The first step of the process that will turn TRNC into an Island ofInformatics in ten years “Island of Informatics 2009 Workshop” was held between October 23-24.

17November 2009

18November 2009

Pegasus Airlines: Turkey’sleading low-cost carrierPP

egasus Airlines, Tur-key’s leading low-cost carrier and the

country’s largest priva-tely owned airline, defi-ed the global economicdownturn in 2009, bo-asting both growth inpassenger numbers andthe launch of an array ofnew routes and services.From expanding its net-work of Europe-widedestinations and increa-sing fleet size to partne-ring with Expedia andacquiring a significantstake in and commen-cing cooperation withAir Berlin, Pegasus isTurkey’s most dynamicand innovative airlineand a leader in the LCCsector. Pegasus Airlines was fo-unded in 1990. In Janu-ary 2005, the companywas acquired by ESASHolding and it began itsfirst domestic scheduledflights in November ofthat year. Since the la-unch of scheduledflights in 2005, the airli-ne has carried over 10million passengers andhas carried more pas-sengers in Turkey thanany other privately ow-ned airline since 2007. Pegasus Airlines has re-corded staggeringgrowth, at an impressive43% from 2005 to2009, against an avera-ge of 19% for the Tur-kish airline sector. Pega-sus plans to continuegrowing with targetgrowth set at 10% ondomestic services and46% on the internatio-nal network; the com-pany has invested $2.3million to this end, in-creasing its order of737-800’s from 12 to 23last year. All aircraft areexpected to be deliveredby 2012. The total fleetsize is currently 24, ma-de up of 19 Pegasus Air-

lines and 5 of sister air-line IZair’s aircraft. Pe-gasus is the first priva-tely owned Turkish airli-ne to have made such alarge order of new air-craft. Pegasus is mana-ged by Chairman Ali Sa-banci and General Ma-nager Sertaç Haybat.

2009 HIGHLIGHTS

Air Berlin Acquisitionand Cooperation

In April 2009, PegasusAirlines’ parent com-pany ESAS Holding be-came the largest share-holder in Air Berlin, fol-lowing its acquisition ofan 18.3% stake in Ger-many’s second-largestand Europe’s fifth-largestairline. Pegasus AirlinesChairman Ali Sabancicommented on the ac-quisition: “As ESAS Hol-ding, we have set ourvision beyond Turkeyand see value in inves-ting in EU countries. Wewere encouraged byGermany’s significancewithin the EU, as wellas Air Berlin’s strengthand management team.”As a result, Pegasus andAir Berlin started theircooperation in October.Selected flights fromboth airlines are nowlisted and interlinked onwww.airberlin.com andwww.flypgs.com allo-wing travellers to benefitfrom more extensiveflight offerings. UsingAir Berlin’s online por-tal, customers are auto-matically redirected towww.flypgs.com wherethey can book 18 addi-tional connections fromGermany to Turkey aswell as 26 routes withinTurkey. Equally, 28 AirBerlin destinations wit-hin Germany and aro-und the world, inclu-ding Miami and Los An-geles, can be booked vi-

a the Pegasus Airli-nes website.

New Destinations & Routes Launched

Pegasus began dailyflights from Londonto Istanbul as of 1April. The airline

previously operated fiveflights per week on itsLondon (Stansted) – Is-tanbul (Sabiha Gokcen)/ North Cyprus (Ercan)route, and scaled up theservice to daily flights inresponse to growing de-mand.

On 4 May, Pegasus la-unched direct flightsfrom London (Stansted)to Bodrum, one of Tur-key’s top holiday desti-nations. The once-we-ekly Bodrum flights we-re launched with one-way prices from £65.99including taxes andcharges.Starting 2 October, Pe-gasus and it sister airlineIZair launched Athens-Izmir flights. The thrice-weekly direct flightsfrom the Greek capitalto Turkey’s third-largestcity are on Mondays,Wednesdays, and Fri-days, from just _67.99. From 26 October, Pega-sus will fly from Basel-Mulhouse to Istanbul,four times weekly andfrom 25th November,daily flights are set to la-unch to Frankfurt.On the domestic net-work, new flights toKonya are launching23rd October.

Partnership with Expedia

In March, Pegasus andthe Expedia AffiliateNetwork (EAN) signedan exclusive white labeldeal for EAN to supplyhotel and destinationservices booking capa-bilities to Pegasus.Thanks to this partners-hip, www.flypgs.comusers can book hotel ac-commodation and desti-nation services, inclu-

ding city excursions andtours like the Hop-on,Hop-off Tour of Istanbulas well as theatre andattraction tickets thro-ugh a co-branded portalavailable on PegasusAirlines’ site. PegasusAirlines is the ninete-enth European airline topartner with EAN, who-se other airline partnersinclude bmi, NorwegianAir Shuttle, Blue1 andAlitalia.

New Website and Online Presence

Pegasus re-launched itswebsitewww.flypgs.com in Au-gust, making flying eveneasier with its new user-friendly design andpractical interface. Pe-gasus’ 3D Secure systemprovides a secure onlinebooking service for carrentals, hotel reservati-ons and insurance aswell as flights.At the forefront of socialand new media, Pega-sus also has a presenceon the micro-bloggingsite Twitter: http://twit-ter.com/flymepegasuswith competitions towin flights.

Working with Trade in UK

Pegasus Airlines opera-tes a service charge feefor tour operators in theUK where every sectorflown generates a servi-ce charge rebate whichfor International flightscan be as much as£26.00 round trip (twosectors) and domesticflights £8.00 round trip(two sectors), regardlessof seat rate. Pegasusworks with a variety oftour operators including

Olympic Holidays, Tui,Thomas Cook Holidaysand a variety of Turkeyspecialists such as Ana-tolian Sky and Green Is-land Holidays.

Charitable WorkPegasus Airlines sup-ports the Just a Dropcharity, which carriesout health and sanitati-on programmes, buildswells, and engages indisaster relief to help di-sadvantaged communiti-es around the world getaccess to clean water.

SponsorshipPegasus Airlines is a pi-oneer of sponsorship ofa growing number ofcultural and sportingevents, including theTurkish leg of the PWAWorld Windsurfing Cupin Alacati, Turkey in Au-gust and more recently,as lead sponsor of theworld renowned ice-troupe, the British Cir-que de Glace, perfor-ming in 29-31 Octoberat the Tim Maslak Cen-tre in Istanbul.

Editors NotesPegasus flies a schedu-led service to 18 domes-tic destinations and 15international destinati-ons from Istanbul, withmore destinations star-ting soon all which canbe booked online atwww.flypgs.com fromjust £39.99 one-wayincluding taxes.International: Amster-dam, Athens, Basel, Ber-lin, Brussels, Dusseldorf,Copenhagen, Cologne,Frankfurt, Krasnodar,London, Munich, NorthCyprus (Ercan), Stuttgart,Zurich.

Domestic: Adana, Anka-ra, Antalya, Bodrum,Dalaman, Diyarbak›r,Elaz›¤, Gaziantep, Ha-tay, Konya (starting 25October), Istanbul, Iz-mir, Kayseri, Konya, Ma-latya, Mardin, Samsun,Trabzon, Van.The following routes arenow integrated with AirBerlin flights through thecross-linking of the Pe-gasus Airlines and AirBerlin websites:Dusseldorf to Bangkok,Barcelona, Cancun,Dresden, Fort Myers,Gran Canaries, Ham-burg, Helsinki, Ibiza,Los Angeles, Malaga,Miami, Milan, Moscow,Nice, Nuremberg, Pal-ma de Mallorca, Rome,St. Petersburg, Sylt, Van-couver, Varadero, Veni-ce; Berlin to Bangkok,Milan, Moscow, Oslo,Rome, St. Petersburg;Hamburg to Barcelona,Dusseldorf, Munich, Ro-me, Stuttgart; Munich toCancun, Cape Town,Hamburg, Hannover,Moscow, Phuket, Sylt;Stuttgart to Hamburg,Sylt

-Ends-Pegasus Airlines Chair-man Ali Sabanci is ava-ilable for interview on 9- 10 November at theWorld Travel Market.For further press infor-mation or to arrange aninterview or press visitwith Pegasus Airlinesplease contact RedmintCommunications:Ceyda Sara Pekenc /Hulya Soylu T: +44 (0)20 7745 7255F: +44 (0)20 7745 7256E: [email protected] W: www.flypgs.com

19November 2009

20November 2009

Korineum Golf & Country ClubThe peace island of Cypus

Burçin Tuncer

SSituated on the Coast atthe foot of The FiveFinger Mountain in

Esentepe, the prestigiousKorineum Golf & CountryClub is proud to be the first18 hole golf course in Nort-hern Cyprus, in line withthe world standards. Carved from a natural forestof Umbrella Pines and Oli-ve trees, amongst others,with stunning views of theMediterranean Sea on oneside, and breath taking vi-ews of the famous Five Fin-ger Mountain range on theother, this makes for a trulymemorable experience youwill never forget.

Wonderful landscape surrounding

Korineum Golf & CountryClub does not limit itself tobeing a phenomenal golfcourse. It also aims at pro-moting golf on the island.Korineum facilities includea 3-hole academy coursefor players who wish to le-

arn the sport and a drivingrange that can accommoda-te 34 players at a time. The golf course is 72 parand 6,232m. 72km. of va-rious piping and 148 km ofcables have been used in itsconstruction meeting theworld standards. The wate-ring system is computercontrolled. A special type ofgenetically engineeredgrass, ‘Seashore Paspalum’,was imported from the USAwith an approved licenseand used for the first time inEurope on this project. Thisparticular type of grass is65% more economical inits utilisation of water. Another attraction of Kori-neum is that the graduallysloping landscape of its co-urse provides the opportu-nity of the scenery of seaand mountain to be obser-ved from each hole. To ourknowledge, this joy is uni-que to our golf course. Ourgolf course does not onlyprovide facilities for golfersof all skills and levels but itenables the game to be ap-

preciated surrounded bynatural beauty.

Wide range of activitiesKorineum Golf and CountryClub does not limit itselfonly to being a phenome-nal golf course. It also ca-ters for numerous social ac-tivities. The 3,300m2 ClubHouse comprises a FitnessCentre, Unisex Hair StylingSalon, Massage Parlour anda Sauna. The Club Houserestaurant suggests an un-matchable experience withits spectacular variety andquality of cuisine crownedwith a picturesque view. In addition, Korineum hou-ses two conference rooms,specially designed andtechnologically fully equip-ped, with capacities of 100and 60 guests respectively.These conference roomscan be combined into onebig hall, on demand.

Contribution to EconomyOriginating in the 15th-cen-tury Scotland, Golf is todayenjoyed by 50 million pe-

ople worldwide. It is alsoexceptional for embracingplayers of all ages. Playedeither solitarily or in a teamin the midst of nature, Golfis recommended against thestressful rhythm of city life.Now, this sport is enteringthe life of the NorthernCypriot thanks to KorineumGolf Club. Korineum Golf& Country Club also in-tends to make a contributi-on to the country’s eco-nomy and culture by intro-ducing a long awaitedbranch of sport and tou-rism. North Cyprus havelong been recognized for itsbrilliant sun, bluest sea,magnificent beaches, anci-ent history, greenest natureand hospitability services.From now on the islandwill be remembered withmodern recreation opportu-nities it suggests. Korineum expects to attracthigh-income people to theNorth Cyprus, thus make aprominent contribution tothe economy. Golf tourism has shown an

8.2% rise between the ye-ars 1997-2001 and interestin golf is increasing daily ata tremendous rate. Recentresearch completed in Spa-in and Portugal indicatesthat a golfer spends asmuch as 3 tourists when onholiday. It is concluded thatgolfers do not limit themsel-ves to spending on the golfcourse or at the hotel atwhich they are guests. Theyalso spend in local restau-rants, for transport, shop-ping, local tours and enter-tainment. A fantasticexample of this is no doubtthe 2005 Britannia Open

Tournament, which contri-buted 72 million poundssterling to the Scottish eco-nomy.

An alluring alternativeKorineum Golf Club invitesinhabitants and guests alikefor relaxing hours in the co-untry. With its location offe-ring a spectacular view,combining green and blue,Korineum suggests tranquilhours away from the stress-ful city life. Whether you bea resident on the island, ora-few-days visitor, the pe-aceful air of Korineum is re-ady to surround you...

Lying on the ridge of Esentepe, Korineum Golf & Country Club is the first of its kind inNorth Cyprus pertaining to world standards. This beautiful facility, combining green and

blue in its magnificent view, offers tranquil hours...

21November 2009

22November 2009

23November 2009

24November 2009 25November 2009

Beautiful BellapaisChoose the right time to visit and you will experience the

pervasive tranquillity of this alluring and incomparable placeby Gwendoline Thomas

IIf you feel like a moment of relax-ation, away from the pressures ofeveryday life, there is nowhere bet-

ter, in my view, than to stroll throughthe streets of Bellapais, and on to thepeace and tranquillity of the Abbeyitself. Choose a quiet time, avoidingthe weekends and high season, if youcan, when locals and tour companiesalike tend to descend upon the pic-turesque spot like a flock of birds. Ihave been lucky enough, on severaloccasions, to find myself totallyalone, meandering through theancient site and believing that I hearthe steps of the "white monks" scurry-ing along about their duties, or whis-pering urgently among the greateaves of the ancient Refectory.Although there is a car park directlyadjacent to Bellapais Abbey, it maybe wise to park on the outskirts of thevillage and walk the few hundredmetres in to the centre itself. Thenyou will be able to experience theambience created by the narrowstreets, and see what the village itselfhas to offer. Bellapais occupies asloping natural terrace overlookingthe sea, on the road inland and uphillfrom Ozanköy.

Sympathetic RestorationWalking through the narrow mainstreet, up towards the Abbey itself, Iget the feeling that Bellapais, as a vil-lage, has smartened itself up. Whilst

obviously targeting the tourist trade,there has also been a concerted effortto provide a certain international airof quality, yet still retaining the ethnicatmosphere that Gerald Durrell foundso appealing when he first settledhere. During the mid-1950's, whenthe writer himself brought interest tothe area, I would imagine that thebuildings and facades were in a farmore sorry state than they are today.Crumbling facades have beenrestored and cleaned; inviting restau-rants, cafes, small exclusive hotelsand holiday accommodation sit hap-pily and unobtrusively among thetenanted buildings and family homes

of old Bellapais.As I walk the slow pace of a local inthe summer heat, I feel Chameleon-like, tip-toeing up the dappledasphalt road, side-stepping into theshade as the traffic tries to negotiateits way through the single thorough-fares. Apart from the occasionalengine noise, all is quiet.

St. Mary of the Mountain

At the brow ofthe hill, at thenorth east of thevillage, the vistaopens. The firstastonishingglimpse of theAbbey can beseen, perchedsentry-like onthe cliff plateau,yet nestling inthe lea of themountains, likea babe in arms.It is as if natureitself is protect-

ing something of beauty. I can wellunderstand why the Abbey was origi-nally founded and named as "St.Mary of the Mountain", just after1200, by Augustinian Canons fleeingPalestine.It was the Lusignan King Hugh IIIwho endowed the Abbey, and suc-ceeding Lusignan Kings who were itsbenefactors, and who lived there. Formany years it was known as "Abbaye

de la Pais" (Abbey of Peace), and thename was eventually corrupted bythe Venetians to "De la Pais", whichlater became Bellapais.

Gothic AmbienceLet us enter the Abbey grounds then,through the low gate (a smallentrance fee is charged) andapproach through the promenade ofexotic palm trees. Immediately youare struck by the Gothic ambience ofthe place as you walk through thefourteenth century cloisters, watchedoverhead by the carved heads of bothhumans and gargoyles. The centralcourtyard dominates the scene, whileheady and robust Cypress trees towerloftily into the sky above, castingtheir shadows on to the tended bor-ders and crafted lawns below. The

contrast of light and dark isstartling. As is the silence.Travel up the outside stair-way which leads to theupstairs parapet. There youwill see the Abbey in itsentirety, from the ruinedChapter house at the east ofthe cloister, onwards acrossto the north, where the won-derful Refectory beckons youto investigate further.

The RefectoryOn the north side of thecloister you will come acrossa Roman sarcophagus whichthe monks used as a wash-basin as they prepared forrefreshment in the magnifi-cent and high-vaultedRefectory. Enter through thelarge wooden doors into anairy haven, where six bay

windows frame the sea. The onlysounds will be breeze waftingthrough the large openings, even on abreathless summer's day, and thecooing of doves and pigeons nestlingin the cool of the eaves. It is here, asyou sit alone on one of the woodentrestles, that you become acutelyaware of time past. You may thinkthat you hear whispers of the scrip-tures echoing across from the raisedpulpit in the north wall, where themonks read to theirpeers during meal-times. Or you mayimagine that youhear the very wallssinging to the soundof piano concertos,choirs and orches-tral concerts, theirmusic absorbed intothe very fabricof theAbbey itself, likelayers upon layersof gently resonating gossamer.Outside, steps lead down to whatonce was a storage facility or cellar.Today, the structure has been reno-vated, and is an ideally atmosphericand popular venue for various artisticand photographic exhibitions, as wellas the occasional private function.The view through the Abbey walls atthe top of these steps, falling awaythirty metres to the plateau andMediterranean in the distance, isbreathtaking!

The Greek ChurchTo the south of the site is the thir-teenth -century Greek OrthodoxChurch. As you pass below the horse-shoe shaped wooden structure abovethe entrance, and enter the interior,

be prepared to be a little disorientat-ed as you move from intense light todarkness. Gradually your eyes willbecome accustomed to the gentleglow of five dim chandeliers, and theintricately carved pulpit and Bishop'sthrone will suddenly materialise likea castle through mist. It is much as itwas when they left it in 1976. As youleave the Church by the way youentered you may be reminded that,underfoot, several Lusignan Kings are

thought to be entombed beneath thefloor pavement.And so, at the end of our journey,why not take refreshment at a nearbyrestaurant or cafe? Back, once more,to the modern day where we canwhile away the hours in the groundsof the Abbey at the KybeleRestaurant, hunt for souvenirs andgifts across the road at the little shopsopposite the Abbey, or eat and drinkat The Tree of Idleness or AbbeyBelltower.Wherever we decide to linger,Bellapais Abbey and its wonderfullocation will be dominant, and everwatchful. It is one of those places thatwill remain in your memory for along time, as a thing of beauty on thisearth.

The narrow streets meander up the hillside,flanked by a blend of homes, cafes, shops

and workshops merging into a living, active community on a sloping natural

terrace, overlooking the sea.

The central courtyard dominates theAbbey, while robust Cypress treestower loftily and sway in the sky

above, asting their shadows on to thetended borders and crafted lawns

below. The contrast of light and darkis startling. As is the silence.

26November 2009

RRamadan Özdemir, theowner of Direct Tra-veller which is a tou-

rism company marketingthe tours of TRNC in Brita-in, said that the flight po-ints from Britain to TRNCare not sufficient.Noting that they haveflights to all points of theisland but they mostly pre-fer Ercan Airport, Özdemirsaid, "5 different destinati-ons including Heathrow,Gatwick, Stanstead Manc-hester and Birminghamare not sufficient for us.We expect an increase inthe flight points." Indica-ting that the company’sbiggest problem is the go-vernmental incentives,Özdemir said, "That theincentives do not reach us

in time causes a big prob-lem. If the payments aremade in time, the com-pany is going to determinea fixed calendar for ourannual plans and prog-rammes. Yet, unfortuna-tely, the payments are notmade in time.”Özdemir stated that thegovernment of TRNC werecarrying out the worksconcerning the issue andthe concrete steps are ex-pected to be taken regar-ding the solution of theproblem shortly. He alsonoted: "Besides, we have atransportation problem.Certainly, different flightpoints should be determi-ned. Ministry of Transportheld a meeting regardingthis matter and they are

carrying outthe relatedworks." Explai-ning that theyhold tours to18 differentdestinationsboth in Ercanand Larnaca,Özdemir statedthat they wo-uld like tobring moretourists toTRNC over Er-can Airport.Expressing thatit is advanta-geous to makeflights to vario-us destinations,Özdemir said,"We are quitehopeful aboutthe next sea-son. It will be agood year, andI guess, evenbetter on con-dition that we

solve our problems. Ot-herwise, you cannot ex-pect something superb."Noting that they also havegeneral problems, Özde-mir indicated, "British me-dia and particularly travelmagazines place an em-bargo on us. You know,the articles on media, es-pecially if signed by theeditors, are quite effecti-ve.” Emphasizing that TRNC'spromotion campaigns inBritain are not sufficient,Özdemir says that the go-vernment needs to payspecial care for promotionnetwork. Özdemir alsowarns, “You need to giveparticular attention to Bri-tain. You must devote acertain budget. If thesesteps are not taken, we

cannot be effective. Thepresent stituation cannottake us to the future. Un-less necessary promotionis made, we cannot prog-ress." Upon the question“Why is Britain an impor-tant market for TRNC?"Özdemir says, “TRNC hastwo important markets.One is Turkey and the ot-her is Britain. So you mustput particular emphasis onboth countries."Underlining that they donot go through any stag-nancy despite economicrecession and even theyprovided 55 percent in-crease this year, Özdemirsaid, "Generally, we ex-pect 15 percent increase,but we have 55 percentincrease in holiday packa-ges. And we expect a cer-

tain rise for the next year.As long as our countrygets sufficiently prepared,we are not going to lose.Despite the recession, weare having a good year.And Britain is overcomingthe crisis; we are going tosee the results in the follo-wing months."Upon the question “What

needs to be done to attractmore tourists to TRNC?”Özdemir said, “Our jobincludes both transportingthe tourists to the destinati-ons and taking them back.When they come back,the tourists inform us abo-ut even the slightest prob-lem. Particularly, construc-tion works in some regionsand the pollution cause aprominent complaint. Thepolluted beaches and the

waste in the sea are bigproblems. And the touristsmight hold an anti-campa-ign on internet by sendingthe negative pictures eachother as a warning." Özde-mir also states that the ex-tremely high prices of foodand drinks in the seasoncompose another impor-tant complaint for tourists. Noting that Direct Travel-ler has been operating sin-ce 2003, Özdemir indica-tes that the company, asthe leader TRNC tour ope-rator, targets to reach 16thousands of tourists forthe package holidays and4 thousands for the ticketsin 2010. He states thattheir long-term goal is tomake Northern Cyprus amore preferred destinati-on.

We need to find a solution for the problems in tourism

Young tourism operator Ramadan Özdemir31-year-old successful tourism operator Ramadan Özdemirwas born in Britain and studied business at University of Sur-rey. Özdemir says, “We've started this business with our lovefor TRNC.” He also notes that they are targeting to appeal 20thousands tourists to TRNC in the year 2010.

27November 2009

28November 2009

Mehmet Ratip

The House of the Deaf Monk...

TThe Saint Hilarion Cast-le is one of the mosthistoric and pictures-

que spots in North Cyprus.It lies on the Kyrenia moun-tain range, located halfwaybetween Nicosia and Kyre-nia, and nowadays offersfrom a distance a breathta-king sight with its completeexterior lighting duringnighttime. It is the best pre-served and westernmost ofNorth Cyprus’s three castlesand the view from the cast-le of the north coast ofCyprus and beyond is alsoquite inspirational. Thecastle itself is an excitingplace to visit because of itsmaze-like structure full ofpaths, staircases, tunnelsand hidden rooms that offeradventure.Saint Hilarion was origi-nally a monastery and na-med after a monk who alle-gedly chose the site for hishermitage. During theByzantine rule on the is-land, the castle was fortifiedand served the defense ofthe island with the other fa-mous Northern Cypriotcastles Buffavento and Kan-tara against Arab pirates, amenace to the Mediterrane-an for nearly three hundredyears, raiding the Kyreniacoast. The Lusignan rulersalso occupied this beautifulcastle and even upgradedsome of its sections.It must be noted that thecastle was not named afterSt. Hilarion the Great, thefounder of monasticism inPalestine who died nearPaphos in the 4th century.There is not adequate infor-mation about the monkwho gave his name to thecastle. He is one of thethree hundred saints who

escaped from persecutionin Palestine and sought re-fuge in Cyprus, accordingto local tradition, due to theArabian conquest of theHoly Land. He is believedto choose this mountainoussite in order to live the lifeof a hermit. The stories abo-ut Saint Hilarion living atthis site in the 7th century,easily resisting the cries ofdeceptive demons stalkingthe mountains because hewas completely deaf andthereby finding peace so-und overblown yet interes-ting.

From the Third Crusade to the 1960s...

The transformation of theoriginal monastery into acastle was realizedunder the Byzantinerule for defensivepurposes. It is presu-med that the castlewas constructed du-ring the late ele-venth century. Theearliest references tothe castle are foundin the contemporaryaccounts of Richardthe Lionheart’s con-quest of Cyprus onhis way to the ThirdCrusade during thelate twelfth centurywhen Richard the Li-onheart fought anddefeated Isaac Kom-nenos who was theisland’s despot at thetime. During this pe-riod, the castle wasknown as Didymus,meaning “theTwins”, because ofthe two crests whichcrown the mountaintop on which thecastle rests. During the early ye-ars of the Lusignankingdom, the castlewas strengthened.

After long and harsh peri-ods of warfare, it eventuallylost its strategic importanceand became a summer resi-dence for the Lusignan ro-yal family. Another namegiven to the castle was theFrench “Dieu d’Amour”,meaning the God of Love.This might be a reference tothe legend of the ancientGreek goddess of love Ap-hrodite which has stronghistorical and mythologicalconnections to Cyprus, or itmight simply be a Frenchcorruption of the originalByzantine name “Didy-mus”.The invention of fire armsincreased the importance ofdefending the coasts, ma-king Saint Hilarion Castle,

along with the other twoNorthern Cypriot castles,lose its significance as a mi-litary fort. This is probablythe main reason why muchof the castle was dismant-led by the Venetians duringtheir rule on the island inthe fifteenth century. Anot-her known reason, relatedto the first one, was the up-keeping cost of garrisonsthat needed to be reduced.After the conquest ofCyprus by the Venetians in1489, the defensive con-cerns were mainly aroundthe cities of Kyrenia, Nico-sia, and Famagusta. This re-sulted in St. Hilarion’s beingneglected and falling intooblivion. Nevertheless, thecastle relived at least a

glimpse of its ancientheritage of warfare inmodern times duringthe intercommunalCypriot conflicts of1960s when a groupof Turkish militia ea-sily held off an attackby the Greek CypriotNational Guard.

The Queen’s Windowand the Prince John

Tower...The castle has threesections. The first sec-tion, or the lowerward, consists of para-pets defending themain entrance whichare still used. This isthe largest part of thecastle which wasknown to be inhabi-ted by soldiers andtheir horses taskedwith defending thefortress. The second section, orthe middle ward, con-sists of the royal pala-ce, the church, thekitchen, and a largecistern for collectingrainwater. Entry to the

middle ward is via a largeLusignan gate. Once thro-ugh there is a courtyard inthe middle, separating thequarters of the nobles onthe east side from the kitc-hen and other utility roomson the west side. Thechurch is party ruined andpartly reconstructed and itis oversized compared tothe rest of the castle. Thisprobably means that it da-tes back to the castle’s birthas a monastery. On the se-cond floor of the royalapartments is the most fa-mous section of the castle,the Queen’s Window,which offers the most pano-ramic view from the castle. The third section, or the up-per ward, is to the west ofthe middle ward and is re-ached by a restored stairca-se. At the very top is thePrince John Tower, surroun-ded by a precipice on threesides. This is the spot wherea group of Bulgarian merce-naries suspected of plottingagainst Prince John of Anti-och in 1373 were thrownoff to their deaths.

Walt Disney’s “Snow White” and Room 101...With its walls and towersthat appear to rise naturallyfrom the ground, St. Hilari-on Castle would certainlyremind many people of afairy tales. The writer RoseMacaulay described it as “apicture-book castle for elf-kings”. Of course, the mostpopular rumour is that SaintHilarion was a major inspi-ration for Walt Disney andhe used it as a model forthe castle depicted in thewell-known story “SnowWhite and the SevenDwarfs”. Another equallypopular local legend holdsthat the castle has 101 ro-oms, of which 100 couldeasily be found. The lost

101st room opens to anenchanted garden with amagnificent treasure. The road to Saint Hilarionis well signposted and justoff the main highway con-necting Nicosia and Kyreni-a. There is no public trans-port; therefore rental cars ortaxis are recommended.The car park lies at the footof the castle. From the carpark, the only way to getaround and climb is on fo-ot. It is a steep climb to thesummit, but the castle isquite large and there isplenty to see along the way.The road to Saint Hilarionpasses through a militaryarea. This means that, in or-der to avoid any inconveni-ences, you should not try towalk or cycle to the castle.Also, on the narrow roadbetween the rocky crags,do not stop the car and tryto take any photos, becausethis is forbidden so close tothe military base.Right next to the entranceof the castle, there is a ref-reshment room (some mightcall it a cafe) selling mildlyoverpriced drinks andsnacks. There is no accom-modation in Saint Hilarion.Day trip from Nicosia orKyrenia is recommended.During summer, come earlyor later in the day to avoidthe heat. Climbing to thetop (which is a height of730 metres) is exhausting;not a very clever option ona day of Cypriot summer.Make sure you wear shoeswith strong soles becausethe ground is usually une-ven. A walking stick, came-ra, binoculars, and a bottleof water are highly recom-mended accessories to beused during the climb. Beaware of dangerous cliffs.Yet have faith in fairy tales.Maybe you will step intoRoom 101.

The ideal climb to a fairy taleSaint Hilarion Castle

This is the castle of Snow White. This is the castle of a monk that drove away the evilspirits and gifted the Kyrenia Mountains an eternal peace. And this is the castle where

you might get lost and end up in Room 101 where heaven descends to earth...

29November 2009

30November 2009

GGreek Cypriot teac-her A TurkishCypriot actress,

Reyhan Girgin Saleh isgoing to take leading fe-male role in Turkish TVseries “Hayat›m” to befilmed in TRNC. The se-ries is going to be direc-ted by Ünal Küpeli andSaleh is going to sharethe leading roles with arenowned Turkish actorwho shows up in TV se-ries lately. Saleh will beacting in the role of aGreek Cypriot teacherwho lives in Karpaz. Theseries of which pre-shooting started, is goingto be broadcast on Ka-nal D. Holding a pressmeeting at Savoy Hotel,the actress gave informa-tion about the series tit-led “Hayat›m” (My Life).And she signed a con-tract with Motion MediaNetworks & PR, which

is the agent of the seriesthat will be filmed onthe island.Grown up on the islandas the daughter of a Tur-kish Cypriot mother andDubai-based father, Sa-leh won the 1st prize of"Miss Globe" competiti-on held by Süha Özger-mi in Turkey (1996)when she was just 17years old. And she wonthe second prize of thecompetition held in LasVegas. Afterwards, shetook parts in TV series,music videos and catalo-gue shootings. She tookrole in the series titled"Kumkap› Cinayeti" and"Oyun Bitti." Having re-turned Dubai and comp-leted her education afterthe mentioned TV series,the actress is getting re-ady to show up againwith a new TV seriesand show programme.

Turkish Cypriot actressReyhan Girgin Saleh isgoing to present “Rey-han fiov” on Star TV andtake part in “Hayatim”that will be made inNorthern Cyprus.

REYHAN G‹RG‹N SALEH

In the press meeting, un-derlining her pride to bea Turkish Cypriot,Cyprus-based actressReyhan Girgin Saleh no-ted that it was significantfor her to take part in TVseries which would befilmed in Cyprus.“Promotion of Cyprus isnot only about the sunand the beaches; I wo-uld like its people, itshistory and culture to beknown better," says Sa-leh. She explained thatis why she had acceptedthe offer coming for theseries which are going to

be made in Cyprus.Noting that if the seriestitled "Hayat›m" and "Ka-rabulut" became suc-cessful, they would co-me into action to broad-cast the series in Dubai,Syria, some Arab coun-tries and SouthernCyprus, Reyhan GirginSaleh stated that thecontract, signed withMotion Media Networks& PR, covered the cop-yright and promotion ac-tivities at home and ab-road.Bülent Gardiyano¤lu,Motion Media Networks& PR agent, stated thatthe contract they signedwith Reyhan Girgin Sa-leh covered all theworks of the actress onthe island and abroad aswell as PR relations. Hewished the actress suc-cess with her attempts topromote TRNC abroad.

A Turkish Cypriot actress, Reyhan Girgin Saleh isgoing to take leading female role in Turkish TVseries “Hayat›m” to be filmed in TRNC…

Reyhan Girgin Saleh

AAre you in to gain aperfect health whilehaving a vacation?

If your answer is "Yes,"then it is time to drop byMED Centre for Physicaland Spiritual Treatment.Coming into service atSunrise Beach Club in ‹s-kele Bo¤az›, the centre isa first in the field of he-alth tourism in TRNC.Having opened its doorslate October, the first andonly health centre givesall kinds of service fromYoga to physiotherapy,from spiritual treatmentsto various courses.Established by London-based Safa Grup, which

is owned by TurkishCypriot Ali Özmen Safa,MED Centre for Physicaland Spiritual Treatmenthas attracted great inte-rest from the first day.Providing beauty servi-ces, physical and spiritu-al therapies under the sa-me roof, the centre alsooffers daily treatmentsand the choice of ac-commodation. And thelocals or the guests co-ming from abroad are of-fered additional servicessuch as transportation,accommodation andflight tickets.Apart from private the-rapy rooms, sauna, Ja-

cuzzi and gym,MED Centre forPhysical and Spiri-tual Treatment alsooffers the servicesof manicure, pedi-cure, skin care, ma-keup, waxing andherbal cosmetics.Using high techno-logy equipments,the expert physiot-herapists comingfrom Turkey givethe physical treat-ments below:Neurological disea-ses; paralysis, ortho-paedic problems; illnes-ses of the shoulders andthe related joints; stress

in shoulders and backmuscles; muscle spasm,lower back pains, hernia-ted disk; neck arthritis;

movements res-trictions and pa-ins resulting fromsports injury;post-operationalfunction disor-ders; treatment ofpains on theneck, back andlower back; treat-ment of inbornspinal curvature;soft tissue disor-ders on elbows,wrists and handjoints; thigh andknee diseases;treatments of os-

teoporosis or risk of oste-oporosis; swelling of jo-ints, limited movement

and rheumatism diseases.

THE SECOND COMING

In the meantime, a he-alth centre is going to beopened in Safakoy,which is approximately 1km away from MEDCentre of Physical andSpiritual Treatment at SunRise Beach Club. To costaround 1 million pounds,the centre is planned tocome into service in2010. Besides, a 100-bedhotel is being built forthis purpose. This secondcentre is going to be apart of 500-house holi-day village.

A first in the field of health tourism for TRNCMED Centre for Physical and Spiritual Treatment comes into service

31November 2009

32November 2009

SSettlement in theKyrenia area goesback to Neolithic ti-

mes, and under the influ-ence of the Anatoliancoastal civilisations du-ring the Bronze Age, thepopulation of the regiongrew. Until 312 BC Kyre-nia was an independentcity kingdom but wasthen taken over by Sala-mis. The name is thoughtto date back to that timewhen Ptolemy1, King ofSalamis, referred to thetown as ‘Keravnia’ whichmeans Aphrodite withthe Thunderbolt. During Roman times,Kyrenia was a Christiancity even before it hadbecome the official reli-gion of the Roman Empi-re. In 1571 the Ottomansconquered Kyrenia wit-hout firing a single shot.

Old Kyrenia HarbourThe horse-shoe shapedharbour is the focal point

of the town. The histori-cal Kyrenia harbour, withits colorful fishing boatsand yachts and its livelybars and cafes is the he-art of Kyrenia, both forlocals and tourists.

Kyrenia CastleThe impressive KyreniaCastle on the easterncorner of the harbourwas begun in the 7th Cby the Byzantines in or-der to protect the cityagainst Arab raids. Addi-tional construction du-ring the Lusignan andVenetian periods furtherenlarged and fortified thecastle. In order to escapethe damage that was vi-sited upon both Nicosiaand Famagusta by theraiding Ottomans, Kyre-nia surrendered and hen-ce the Castle remains al-most as it was then.

Antiphonitis MonasteryThe fresco-covered wallsof the Antiphonitis Mo-

nastery, located in themiddle of the forest, arevery interesting. Thechurch, dedicated tothe Virgin Mary, wasbuilt in the 12th C , ho-wever the narthex to itswest and the gallery toits south were added la-ter by the Lusignans. Asturdy vehicle is nee-ded in order to visit thisoutlying Monastery, butit is well worth the visit.

St. Hilarion CastleRumoured to be theinspiration for the Dis-ney film ‘Fantasia’, thiscastle sits atop the mo-untains overlookingKyrenia. The site wasoriginally the home ofthe hermit ‘Hilarion’,upon which a monas-tery was built in his ho-nour. The castle, thethird in a protective line,was built on the mounta-in tops to protect againstattacks from the seafa-ring Arabs.

The Shipwreck MuseumThe shipwreck, 14.75metres long and 4.4metres wide and displa-yed in one of the roomsof the Kyrenia Castle, isthe oldest shipwreckever discovered. The fin-dings suggest that theship was a Syrian com-mercial ship which sankoff the coast of Kyreniain the 3rd C BC with acargo of nearly 400amphorae of suppliesand foodstuffs.

Buffavento CastleAt an altitude of 954metres, Buffavento, mea-ning wind defying, wasoriginally built as awatchtower against Arabraids by the Byzantines.It was later converted in-to a castle by the Lusig-nans, who more gene-rally used it as a prisonrather than a militarystronghold. Although litt-le of the original buil-ding remains, a visit isworth it if only for themagnificent vistas fromthe site.

The Museum of Folk Arts

Within the historicalyacht port of Kyrenia,an 18th C house nowserves as the museum.Olive oil presses, primi-tive ploughs, cubes, awooden threshing sled,agricultural tools, a lo-om and pulley wheelsare on exhibition. Upthe wooden stairs fromentrance hall, historicgarments, table cloths,head scarves, woollensocks, wedding dresses,carved trousseau chests,silver embroidered bed-covers, cushions, beds-teads, wooden boardsand window roll-downshutters can be seen.

Baldoken GraveyardWhen the Ottomansconquered Cyprus in1571, the land next tothe municipality parkingarea, known today asthe ‘Baldoken Grave-yard’, was reserved asthe ‘Cemetery for soldi-ers’. It was used for thesame purpose until the

end of 17th C. A cistern,water canals and manytombs were built there.When the cemetery be-gan to accept civilians,the name was changedto the present name. It isknown also as ‘Grave-yard of the Forlorn’. St.Andrew’s BritishChurch, the DistrictClub and a tennis courtwere built beside thisgraveyard. It was resto-red by the Vakif Officein 1995.

The Icon MuseumThe ArchangelosChurch, located aroundthe corner and up theslight hill from the histo-rical Kyrenia harbour,was built in 1860 and isdefinitely worth seeing.A tower that was addedafter the church was bu-ilt is a symbol that canbe seen as a point of re-ference from every partof Kyrenia. The museumhouses the many splen-did icons that were col-lected from Kyrenia andits environs.

The Heritage of kyrenia

33November 2009

34November 2009

Stuffed Marrow Flowers (Çiçek Dolmasi)

CyprusKitchen

TThis is one of the fa-vourite of the Tur-kish Cypriot appeti-

zers. To make chakistes,pick some green olivesearly in winter, best inOctober. Try to select thelarge ones.

Ingredients Large green olivesWaterSaltExtra virgin olive oil1 eggGarlic cloves -crushedLemon juiceCoriander -crushed

PreparationFirst wash them well anddry in the sun. To splitthem, crush the olives gen-tly with a flat stone or ahammer. Place them into abucket and cover themwith enough water. Theyhave to stay in water forsix days and the water hasto be changed every con-secutive day.To preserve them measureenough water to coverthem and dissolve somethick salt in the water. Inorder to make sure the wa-ter has got the correct qu-antity of salt needed, put a

fresh egg in it. If the eggfloats, with part of it co-ming out of water, then itis just fine. Add the juiceof three lemons and pourhalf a cup of olive oil onthe surface. They are readyto eat after one month.

Serving To serve the chakistes, getenough quantity out of thejar and wash under coldwater to remove salt. Mixsome olive oil with lemonjuice, crushed corianderand some crushed garlic.Pour the mixture over thegreen olives and serve.

Serves 4

Ingredients 1 bunch marrow flo-

wers -remove thestems and the pistilsfrom the flowers; washand dry them by gentlypressing onto a towel.

1 tablespoon vege-table oil

75-100 ml waterFor the stuffing

150 gr rice -washedand drained

1 small onion -finelychopped

2 medium tomatoes-peeled and finelychopped

1 tablespoon oliveoil

Seasoning10-15 leaves of fresh

mint -washed and ro-ughly chopped

PreprarationMix the stuffing ingre-dients together except

the cooking oil andstuff the flowers care-fully by using a smallteaspoon. When doingthis take care not to te-ar the flowers, and alsofill only 3/4 so thatwhen cooking the ricehas enough space toexpand.After stuffing, fold theflower petals in witho-ut breaking them. Intoa small saucepan, putone tablespoon of coo-

king oil and place thepan on low heat. Placeeach flower into thesaucepan by standingthem next to each ot-her. Pour 100 ml ofwater into the pan andbring gently to boil.Cover the saucepanand cook gently onlow heat another 20minutes until all thewater has absorbedand the rice is cooked.Serve hot or cold.

Crushed green olives in marinate (Chakistes)

35November 2009

36November 2009

by Idil Akcal

TTourists are often at-tracted to NorthCyprus because of

its unspoilt golden sandybeaches and clear bluewaters. The typical holi-day maker wants tospend their days relaxingor having fun on a beachwhilst aquiring a goldentan.The seaside town ofKyrenia boasts a numberof beautiful isolated co-ves and beaches. As thetourist capital of Nort-hern Cyprus, its naturalbeauty attracts hundredsof tourists throughout theyear. Although there aremiles of deserted sandybeaches, I will guide youthrough the hotspots ofKyrenia which are popu-lar with both tourists andlocals alike.

Alagadi BeachSituated about 17 kmeast of Kyrenia this pub-lic beach is best knownas the headquarters ofthe Marine Turtle Con-servation Project. Duringthe summer months ofJune, July and August,the green and loggerheadturtles lay their eggs onthis beach. Many visitorsgo to Alagadi at night to

watch the turtles nest.From August to October,the turtles may hatch andthis is another popular at-traction.Alagadi is a speciallyprotected area and it is

famous for its unspoilt,natural beauty. There areno sunbeds or shades,but nevertheless it is po-pular with local familieswho spend their day atAlagadi having picnicson the beach and fishingoff the rocks.

AcapulcoThis five star Holiday Vil-lage is located on100,000 square metres ofland. Although it has re-cently become popularwith tourists for its largeaquapark, it has one ofthe best beaches on the

island. Acapulco beachis a kilometre in lengthand its natural beauty at-tracts many visitors. Lo-cals can be seen joggingalong the beach at sunsetand a wide variety of

sporting activities takeplace there. Tennis, vol-leyball, beach football,basketball and aerobicsare offered to the public,with annual tournamentsand competitions. It’s alively, fun place to beand is popular with pe-ople of all ages. The sizeof the beach enables tho-se who wish to relax andread their novels in pea-ce to do so. There are anumber of venues for ea-ting, ranging from localhome made cuisine tofast food. Although theprices are quite high, the

quality of food is gene-rally good. Entrance tothe Acapulco complexwhich includes use ofthe beach facilities, aquapark and sports facilitiesis currently 15 YTL foradults and 5 YTL for chil-dren.

EscapeThis beach is situated atthe landing site of theTurkish Paratroopers wholed the peace operationin 1974. It is located be-neath the shadow of thememorial stone. If youwant to be part of the“in” crowd, this is theplace to be seen. Escapeis probably the most po-pular beach in Girne astourists and locals flockhere throughout the sea-son. Escape caters forthe upmarket tourists andthe elite crowd!The entrance fee of 10YTL is collected at thedoor. This entitles you toa sunbed and umbrellaand use of the showersand toilets. The beach isclean and tidy at all ti-mes with a large numberof waiters and attendantspandering to your everyneed. You can choose tosunbathe on the upperlevel grass section whichhas a bar and loud mu-

Beaches in Northern CyprusNow that the clouds and cooler weather of approaching winter become more preva-

lent in Northern Europe, you might be considering where to soak up the sun nextsummer. There's no better place than on the beaches of Northern Cyprus

North Cyprus has excellent beaches. Throughout the Karpazregion, around Famagusta, on thenorthern and southern coasts you

will find many attractive coves andbays that will meet your needs. The

area around Kyrenia has its ownhotspots and they are very popular.

37November 2009

sic, or on the sandy be-ach very near to the sea.The beds are comfortableand large soft cushionsare provided for additio-nal comfort. The waitersconstantly walk up anddown so you don’t needto move if you’d like acold drink or a bite toeat. Everything can bebrought to your feet. Ho-wever, there is a largerestaurant where you caneat in the shade if youhave the energy to move.The menu is a mixture offast food, kebabs andpasta dishes. The qualityis reasonable and the ser-vice is good. However,the prices are above ave-rage. Escape is not acheap family day out atthe beach but that’s notwhat it claims to be. It’sa high quality, trendy lo-cation.It’s most popular withtourists and local teena-gers Families tend to visitEscape at the weekendsas a special treat. The be-ach is wide and there isplenty of space to playbeachball games inclu-ding volleyball. There isa variety of summersports available here inc-luding scuba diving, ca-noes, pedal boats, bana-na boats and trips on spe-ed boats. There is asmall island opposite thebeach which is popularwith younger childrenwho swim across to itand play on the sand the-re. Further out to sea,

you can watch as peopleshow off on their jet skisand tourists wave as theypass by on yacht toursthat leave from Girneharbour. One of the onlycriticisms I have of Esca-pe Beach is the closeproximity of the sunbedsto one another. Duringpeak season it can beco-me a little claustropho-bic.

Deniz K›z› and Golden Bay

These two establishmentsshare the same secludedcove. Deniz K›z› is oneof the oldest established

beaches in North Cyprus,owned by the famous Mr.Niazi of the popular res-taurant chain. It has twohotels and a large swim-ming pool. The beacharea is perfect for familiesas it is easy to see thechildren from wherever

you sit. The sand is gol-den yellow and clean.The sea always appearsto be crystal clear andcalm. There are a goodnumber of sunbedswhich are well distribu-ted along the beach.There’s a relaxed familyatmosphere at Deniz K›-z›. Scuba diving coursesare popular here and be-ginners have the chanceto learn basic skills in thelarge freshwater swim-ming pool by the beach.Several water sports arealso available at reaso-nable prices. The entran-ce fee to Deniz K›z› is

currently 6 YTL foradults and 4YTL for chil-dren. The newly refurbis-hed restaurant offers pa-noramic views of the be-ach and the mountains.There is a varied menuwhich offers fresh fish,kebabs, sandwiches and

burgers. Service is swiftand the food is good va-lue for money. There is aseparate bar for drinks,which makes it easy tobuy your ice cold drinkwithout queuing for ages.There is also a pool tableand backgammon forthose who tire of the sun.There are a number ofchanging rooms, showersand toilets which are keptclean at all times.

Mare MonteSituated 9 kilometreswest of Kyrenia, MareMonte is currently undernew management afteryears of being run by agovernment controlledfoundation (Vak›f). The 76 bungalows andthe hotel are all being re-furbished and the beachfacilities updated. MareMonte beach is a seclu-ded, picturesque cove setagainst a backdrop oflush greenery. The walkdown the steps to the be-ach offers breathtakingviews of the Mediterrane-an through a variety oftrees and plants.The beach is quiet andperfect for those whowish to get away fromthe hustle and bustle ofdaily life. The sunloun-gers are well dispersedalong the beach and the-re are a number of bam-boo umbrellas to protectyou from the glare of thesun. There is a cafe andbar which overlooks thesea and enables you to

watch the budding diversas they jump off therocks. There is also asmall island where strongswimmers can often beseen snorkelling. The fo-od is very reasonably pri-ced as this beach is oftenfrequented by locals.

CamelotThis facility is a part ofthe Girne American Uni-versity’s faculty of Tou-rism and Hospitality (Ho-tel Management). Ha-ving recently undergonea major face lift it has be-come a chic and modernhotspot. At the entrancethere is a restaurantwhich has breathtakingviews of the mounta›nv›llage of Lapta and theMediterranean. The à lacarte menu offers excel-lent quality food withoutstanding service atlow prices. The beach below is uni-que in its location as it islocated at the site ofmany historical buildings.The small secluded coveoffers privacy with mag-nificent views of the localvillages and mountains.A natural wall of rocks inthe sea enhances the co-ve's beauty and increasesprivacy. There is a pierwith a bar and a deckwhich offers sunbathingfacilities for those whodon’t want to get sand ontheir feet. There is also asnack bar on the beachoffering a bite to eat anda refreshing drink at affor-

dable prices.Snorkelling is very popu-lar due to the calm wa-ters and wide variety ofsea life. You can increa-se your collect›on of be-autiful shells whilst swim-ming in the shallow wa-ters. Fishing is very po-pular off the wall ofrocks. For the more ad-venturous there is the op-portunity to hire a jet skior cruise on a speed bo-at.Camelot is ideal for yo-ung children as the wateris shallow, clean andcalm. ‹t’s a beach thatappeals to all ages and isbecoming more and mo-re popular with its everincreasing facilities andservices.There are also a numberof smaller popular beac-hes and coves which de-serve to be mentioned.Public beaches includeÇatalköy, Karakum andKervansaray, all of whichoffer basic amenities andare free to the public.You can take along yourown picnic lunch and hi-re a sunlounger only ifyou wish to use it.All along the east andwest coast of Kyrenia youcan find beautiful privatebeaches and hotels withtheir own beaches. In Ju-ne, July and August, blueskies and sunshine arevirtually guaranteed inNorthern Cyprus. Yourwinter dreams of sea, sunand sand will be realisedonce you arrive here.

There are beaches that are privateand secluded, without any beachcafe and with hardly a soul onthem, and there are others that

throb with life day and night, cafés,bars and water sports abounding.Others offer you tranquillity and

peace of mind if you want to keepan eye on your children and make

sure they are safe in the water.

38November 2009

39November 2009

40November 2009

41November 2009

TThe mysteries of men’santi-aging, which is sta-ying young, have been

solved. Anti-aging generallyreminds women's productsof skin care and vitamins.What about anti-aging formen? The men's youth elixiris a hormone called Testos-terone. Determining themuscle power, thinking abi-lity, agility and sexual per-formance as well as every-thing distinguishing himfrom the woman, this hor-mone decides on the futureof a man in a sense...In medicine, the deficiencyof this hormone is examinedunder the category of "Parti-al Androgen Deficiency."This field studies the questi-ons such as what happensin case of the male hormo-ne deficiency, what the re-sults and the treatments are.These answers are not pre-destined or mystery at themoment. The issue we dis-cuss in the following questi-ons & answers is actually arevolution in the field ofmedicine and its address isnot only men!*Do you complain aboutthe lack of motivation andless intellectual energy?*Do you feel lack of energy,weakness, fatigue or tired-ness?*Has your strength or endu-rance declined?*Is there a decrease in yoursexual desire and orgasmquality?*Do you feel that you takeless pleasure from the life?*Have you started feelingsad, sorry, depressive, worri-ed, cross, bitter and surly?*Do you have erectionproblems?*Has your exercise perfor-mance declined?*Do you drowse off afterthe meals?*Has yourwork perfor-mance dec-reased?*What is tes-tosterone,what does itwork for?Testosteroneis a hormonethat affectsthe men'sphysical per-formance

and sexual desire. It affectsthe maturation of genital or-gans, muscle and bone sys-tem, deepening of the voi-ce, growth of the beard andaxillary hair. Men’s formati-on is determined by testos-terone and women's forma-tion is determined by estro-gen. Its deficiency results inthe lack of sexual desire andweakness in men.*Does it really influence se-xual potency of men?It is effective in male perfor-mance. But it is not the onlyfactor for erection. Defici-ency of testosterone causesthe lack of concentration,fatigue, tiredness and exha-ustion. The person cannotperform regular activity. Fat-tening and insulin resistancepave the ways for the disea-ses such as diabetes. In fact,sexual potency resembles ageneral check-up for men. Itpre-signals many diseasessuch as cardiac illnessesand diabetes.Testosterone does not onlyaffect sexual desire in menbut it also affects the musc-les and bones and controlsthe growth of hair. It pro-tects the heart, melts downthe fat around the abdomi-nal region, matures themuscles and gives power tothe muscles. Testosteroneincreases the bodily powerand supports the immunesystem.BLOOD TEST SHOWS THEDEFICIENCY*What should be done ifyou have testosterone defi-ciency?Firstly, you need to knowthe reason. Blood test showsthe deficiency. It is a simpletest. In the morning, betwe-en 8 and 10 o'clock, you gi-ve a blood sample whenyou are hungry and they tellthe testosterone level. It isnot recommended takingmedicine immediately. Youcould put the right thing inits place. You might also useherbal medicine to increasethe level of testosterone.

Mysteries of Men’s Anti-Aging Solved…

OkanDa¤l›

[email protected]

TThe NEU Hospital – which isbeing built by the Near EastUniversity (NEU) – is prepa-

ring to provide healthcare as fromthe first months of 2010. The hos-pital was planned as a privatehospital with a structure at inter-national standards to fulfil the re-search and training needs of theUniversity’s Faculty of Medicine.International standards and JointCommission International Accre-ditation (JCI) criterias for hospitalsare being taken into considerationin the construction of the facilityto provide safe high-quality healt-hcare and other services to pati-ents.The Director of the Near East Tou-rism and Travel Services AhmetSavaflan said once completed, theNEU Hospital which will attachgreat importance to patient safetyand respect to patient rights, willhave the capacity to provide ser-

vice not only to those living inCyprus but also international pati-ents with its high-quality medicaland technical infrastructure andstaff. The director added that the hospi-tal is expected to provide servicein the first quarter of 2010. He sa-id the facility, which is being builtwithin the campus of the NEU inLefkofla, has a closed area of55,000 square meters. It has 209private single patient beds, 8 ope-rating theatres, 24 bed capacityIntensive Care Unit, 17 bed capa-city Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,a laboratory where all requiredtests can be carried out and ahigh-tech diagnostic centre. Mr Savaflan noted that the hospi-tal will also have a “CoordinationCentre for International Patients”which will arrange and coordina-te the transfer of international pa-tients and their accompanyings to

and from North Cyprus.It will also provide themwith sufficient accom-modation and transla-tors who will help themto communicate in theirown languages. TheCentre will also arrangetours and transfer for pa-tients within the countryand provide them facili-ties for their social ne-eds. Mr Savaflan saidthe objective of theCentre is to send the pa-tients back to their ho-mes as healthy andhappy individuals.

Living like an European on an is-

land…

Reminding that the JCI accreditedthe Near East University Facultyof Dentistry Hospital – which be-came the first dental clinic to atta-in this accreditation worldwideacheiving the highest evaluationgrade in the international plat-form, Mr Savaflan said the decisi-on to establish the Faculty of Me-dicine Hospital taken by the ex-traordinary genius of Dr. SuatGünsel, the founding rector of theNEU in accordance with his “li-ving like an European on the is-land” philosophy, will free the pe-ople of the TRNC from their de-pendency on the hospitals abroadand provide them with the oppor-tunity to use health services of aninternational quality in their owncountry. He said in addition tothis, international patients will vi-sit North Cyprus to receieve healt-hcare at the NEU Hospital andthus a new form of tourism willdevelop, which will be beneficialfor the development of the co-untry’s economy. He stated that the Near East Uni-versity is an establishment whichrealized many “Firsts” in Cyprus.“The NEU is unique and proud ofits achievements” he said, listingthe achievements of the universityas: The first and unique privateuniversity hospital.The first and unique high-tech Ra-diotherapy center (Rapid Arc tech-nology).The first and unique PET/CT. The first and unique reference la-boratory where all kinds of testscan be undertaken.The first and unique HIS, RIS andLIS digital systems.The first and unique air-jet ambu-lance.

High Quality NEU HospitalOpens Soon in North Cyprus

42November 2009

Iconic representation of St.BarnabasSt.Barnabas is generally depicted as a middle-aged man with abeard standing near a pile of stones, holding a book or olive-treebranch. Sometimes he is shown allied with St. Paul.

43November 2009

Asl› Özgen

FFirst Christians wereonly a small number ofpeople having listened

Christ’s lectures in personand devoted their lives topreach these values. Defi-ning themselves as the dis-ciples of Jesus, the 12Apostles dispersed to vario-us parts of the world, set-ting their aim as to teachwhat they had learnt. A larger circle of these 12 isa group of 70 disciplescomposed of either relativesor acquaintances of theApostles. Canonized as sa-ints by the Church after afew centuries later, thesemonks had the chance to li-ve and listen the teachingsof Jesus in the first placeeven maybe not in person.Joseph of Cyprus was to becalled among these 70monks, with the name SaintBarnabas, given to him bythe Church. Following the steps of SaintBarnabasWe are in the old port cityof Salamis, 8 km far to Ma-gusa. The high marble co-lumns surrounding thegymnasium, and conside-rably large bath complexeswith the charming theatreof a noticeably large capa-city behind, easily take usback to the old days of thecity when it was the viva-cious centre of a colourfullife. Being the capital formany years, Salamis was towitness Saint Barnabas sto-ned to death in one of its li-vely days. As we are heading towardsthe necropolis, leaving the

coasts of Salamis behind,the mystic atmosphere startsto surrender. Lying as ifeternal, the Mesarya Valleyand the Royal Toms risingfrom the shallow ground,dominate the scene arou-sing a feeling of mystery.Following the narrow roadas we pass the RoyalTombs, we are finally im-pressed by a monumentlying in front: that is Barna-bas Monastery. But why would these peop-le build such a gorgeousmonastery for a person theystoned to death? The storytells us that the corpse ofSaint Barnabas, stoned todeath by the Jews of Sala-mis, was hidden in themarshes to be thrown intothe sea in the morning rise.The disciples of Barnabas;however, kidnap the corpseand bury him in a cave inthe west of Salamis city,placing a copy of the Gos-pel of Matthews on hischest. Passed unknown forapproximately 432 years,the tomb is recognised byarchbishop Anthemios in adream. Upon his dream, Anthemi-os orders the opening of thetomb, and they easily iden-tify the corpse of Saint Bar-nabas thanks to the Gospelof Matthews lying on hischest. The Archbishop thentravels to Constantinople toinform the Emperor Zenoabout the tomb and requ-ests donations to build amonastery. Thus this mo-nastery lying in front wasbuilt in the 5th century, si-multaneously rendering in-dependence to the Cyprus

Church.

History in seclusionThe centre of Cyprus Ort-hodox Church once, themonastery is in a fairly go-od condition today. Under-gone small changes and anumber of restorations, themain church generously re-veals its architectural deta-ils. Inhaling this mystic air, Iwander around the churchquite slowly, never takingmy eye off the building, asif a calm camera movementby Tarkovsky. Having twodomes resting on highdrums with 16 windowseach, the church reveals aplan of two crosses gettinginto each other. Datingback to the early Christianera, the church has a fairlytransformed basilica plan. Amore detailed look tells usthat bearing still traces fromits 5th century style, thechurch was enlarged mostprobably in the late medie-val period and reached itsfinal state that we may ob-serve today after a compre-hensive restoration it hadundergone in the 18th cen-tury under the commissio-ning of archbishop Philot-heos. We enter the church not ac-ross the apse, but beside it.On one of the walls next tothe apse, we see small pic-tures depicting St. Barnabasappearing in a dream toarchbishop Anthemios.These pictures are not asold as the icons exhibitedin the apse, but most pro-bably made in the 20thcentury. The rich collectionof icons adorning the apsedates back to 18th century.The capitals and columnsplaced in the church areclaimed to be brought fromSalamis. Just near thechurch, there believed tobe a well, from which thepilgrims and the monasteryinhabitants drew water,which they accepted asholy. Unfortunately, there isnothing left from this wellto our day. Surrounding the court onthree sides, the buildingsinclude rooms that wereonce home to the monks,and pilgrims coming topray in the brilliant days ofthe monastery. After havingundergone a considerablerestoration, the building to-

day serves as a museumhousing a rich archaeologi-cal collection. As I strollalong the rooms among thearchaeological remainsfrom the history of Cyprus,ranging from its Neolithicage to Roman times, I lookfor a sound or breath lefthanging in the air from theold days when priests usedto pray all day long. What Ifind, is the silence of a mu-seum…

Catacomb and the chapel Unwillingly turning yourback to the beautiful gardenof the monastery, as youleave the court passing be-side the church, a tiny cha-pel in the distance aheadcatches your sight. There li-es Saint Barnabas. As I follow the path againstthe wind, I would like tosalute this stiff chapel andthe spirit of St.Barnabas.The closer I get, the biggerseems the chapel. Very firstthing I do is to have an im-patient look through thewindow. Dominated by a single do-me, this tiny central-plan-ned church is occupied bythe echoes of birds twitte-ring. No need for frescoesor mosaics with bird figureson representing the HolySpirit, because here dwellthose birds. At a moment that I couldtake my eye off the birdsflying in circles inside thechapel, I realize the darkstairs leading underground.This is the exact place: thatcave where the corpse ofSaint Barnabas was buriedsecretly with a Gospel ofMatthews on his chest by

his disciples after being kid-napped from Salamis, anddiscovered only 432 yearslater. As I descend the sta-irs, the smell of humidityand earth intensifies brin-ging oldness to my senses.I reach the tomb and I feelthat I may lose my timeconception here in themidst of this cave. At such amoment, when there is not-hing around you belongingto this century and may dis-turb your sight; you mayplace yourself in any periodin history. The most thrillingmoment is the one whenyou can make yourself be-lieve in it completely. Inhaling the smell of humi-dity and earth, you canchoose to go back to thatvery night when Barnabaswas taken secretly down tothis cave; or the momentwhen Anthemios finally un-covered the tomb followinghis dream. Should there beno crowd or a tourist groupto disturb such a moment,do not hurry and spend so-me time in the cave, assimi-lating in its environment.

Story of Saint BarnabasBorn to a Jewish family inCyprus during the first yearsof Christianity, Joseph meetsthe teachings of Christianityin Jerusalem, probably be-fore the crucifixion, wherehe travelled for his educati-on as a young man. While some sources claimhim to be appreciated byJesus himself, and even per-sonally designated for mis-sionary activities; some so-urces portray him as nevermet Jesus in person but al-ways stayed in close con-

tact with the 12 Apostles. Itis for this reason that his na-me is mentioned among theclosest group of 70 discip-les. After converting toChristianity, Joseph donatesall his property to theChurch, upon which hewas given the name “Bar-nabas” meaning “the son ofprayer” or “the son of enco-uragement”. Barnabas travels acrossmany cities such as Antioc-hia, Tarsus, Perge, and Der-be with his cousin JohnMark and Paulus to preachand spread Christianity. Inthe time of famine in Jeru-salem, he brings the donati-ons he gathered from Anti-ochia to Jerusalem with theaccompaniment of his dis-ciples. Barnabas and his cousinJohn Mark return to Cyprusupon the parting of Paulustowards the Asia Minor topreach Christianity. Little is known about the li-fe and deeds of Barnabasafter this moment. WhenPaulus fell captive in Romein the year 61, John Markwas attached to him as adisciple, which is regardedas an indication that Barna-bas was no longer living. The day of Saint Barnabasis celebrated on June 11,reckoned as the day of hisbeing stoned to death in Sa-lamis. During Byzantine ti-mes, every June 11 wascommemorated with ritualsorganised in the name ofSt.Barnabas at the St.Peter’sChurch near Haghia Sophiain Constantinople. Barnabasis sometimes referred as thefounder of the independentCyprus Orthodox Church.

Barnabas MonasteryCastle of the Cyprus Orthodox Church:

Built in the name of a Cyprus-born Saint Barnabas and commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Zeno, the monasterywas renowned as the independent centre of Cyprus Orthodox Church for years. Still bearing its magnificence of the

old days, the monastery is a museum today, housing a unique collection of archaeological findings and icons.

TThe only gospel that theIslam recognizes clai-ming its being “unchan-

ged”, the gospel of Barnabasmaintains its controversialnature still over the years. Itis asserted that Barnabas ofCyprus must have collectedin a book what he had learntand heard from Jesus. TheGospel of Barnabas is said tobe accepted in the churchesof Alexandria until the year325. However, in one of thelegendary Nicean Councils,where the general characte-ristics of Christianity were de-fined with many radical deci-sions taken still pertainingtheir mystery, the Gospel of

Barnabas was proclaimed he-resy. These councils declared theGospels of Matthews, Mark,Luke, and John as CanonicalGospels; whereas all othergospels and epistles weredeclared “apocryphal” mea-ning forbidden to be readand possessed. The Gospelof St.Barnabas was of no ex-ception. Still not recognizedby the Church, and claimedto be written by some Barna-bas of a different root, thegospel is known to mentionChrist as a human being, nota godly figure, and that a lastprophet would come to endall ambiguity.

Mystery of the Gospel of Barnabas

44November 2009

Serhat ‹ncirli

WWhat is the most impor-tant feature of Yesilir-mak? Its greenness, of

course… What was the sourceof this greenness? Definitely itswater…Yes, we are in Yesilir-mak… And we learn that thewater that gave Yesilirmak the‘green’ coverage is about to runout... Almost 1/3s of the well-shafts in the village are out ofuse because they got salted;they can not be used in cultiva-tion and are kept closed. Thewater problem of the village isnot the concern of only the vil-lagers but of our country. Notvery long ago, just 5-10 yearsago it was planned to build awater reservoir and distributethe water to be collected to thewhole country. During thosedays, all villagers stood up andrebelled against the project. Goksel Kabaran, the village he-adman, is stating that if they are‘convinced’ into the project ofbuilding an underground reser-voir to a point close to the seain order to stop the entering ofsalty water and the exit of sweetwater, the villagers will not sayno.

Yesilirmak – Pirgo gate should be opened

The biggest problem in Yesilir-mak is the waters getting salty...15 out of 54 wells are alreadysalted and close…Well, is thisonly problem of the village andits people? No, it is not. That is

why we have decided to visitthis village in order to detectthose problems and the sugges-tion for solutions and write as apart of our feuilleton...We chat-ted with the villagers…All thevillagers are demanding ans-wers to two main questions re-garding the Cyprus problem:“Will this village be handed tothe Greeks?” and “Will the Yesi-lirmak-Pirgo Gate be ope-ned?”... According the to thevillage headman, Kabaran, thewest of Guzelyurt is continuo-usly in the list of “will be han-ded” during the intercommunitynegotiations... Kabaran deman-ded the Yesilirmak-Pirgo gateshould be opened because ofthe necessity and it should beannounced that Yesilirmak isnot the subject of negotiationwhile he says that the “peopleare afraid to make an invest-ment”.

Strawberry and KolokasThe maintenance in Yesilirmakis based on cultivation…Straw-berry and kolokas are the mainproductions of the villagers. 3families are working with sheepand goat in the village of 200houses. They also have theirown share of problems. Themost serious problem of thestock breeders is either the lackof rain or the lack of ‘green’ thatshould have been present in na-ture now because of the dro-ught. Emir Kabaran, whose ma-intenance is based on farming,starts his words by complaining

about the inflation of gas ratesand fertilizers. The brother ofthe village headman, Emir Ka-baran, is a victim of the %200inflation rate of the artificial fer-tilizers. He also adds: “Naturally we should be able toraise the prices of our productswhen there is a raise for the gasand fertilizers. But we can notbecause if we raise the price ofstrawberry it will be importedeither from the South or Turkeyimmediately.”Bilgin Kaygul refers to the Yesi-lirmak Gate or The SunflowerGate, with its real name in ourdiscussion... He adds “Open thegate and we get a higher chan-ce of selling our products to theGreeks.” According to Kaygul,Yesilirmak will benefit greatly ifthe gate is opened. For examp-le, the investments made alongthe sea side will pay off.

Kolokas is being sold to the South

The people of Yesilirmak s cur-rently selling the majority of theproduced kolokas to the Southand they are not complainingabout it. The people of the villa-ge are saying that they will beable to sell other products to theSouth as well if the Pirgo gatenext to them is opened. It is reminded that there are so-me important investments madeto the sea side and now theyare trouble because of the lackof customers and the villagersand forming hopeful sentencesstarting like: “If the gate is ope-ned…” Emir Kabaran is comp-laining that loans are not givento those who actually needthem. “Unfortunately, only therich people benefit from govern-ment opportunities and loans”says Emir Kabaran, and empha-

Yesilirmak community who said “We were always neglected”, focused on the border gate

Story 3

45November 2009

sizes that the villagers should besupported with loans. He also re-minds the opportunities providedto the farmers in the Southand andsays: “In the south, if the farmer is goingto buy a tractor the governmentsupports the %60 of it whereas, inour side, the government almostsucks our bloods out by the taxesetc. when we buy one with ourown opportunities, let alone sup-porting us.”

Being tied to the municipality by force!

Unemployment also has an impor-tant part in the problem list... “Ye-silirmak was tied to the municipa-lity by force, they promised to givejobs to 4-5 young adults but didnot keep the promise” says one ofthe villagers...And the village headman takesover the words… Goksel Kabarantook over the job from his uncle,Y›ld›z Kabaran, who was a villageheadman for years. He tasted a Eu-

ropean, modern local manage-ment style…He starts with the wa-ter network of the village…He re-fers to this problem before theproblem of the wells getting saltedand says that the water network ofthe village should be changed.

Thanks to the Civil Protection“The government keeps givingpromises for the past 3 ye-ars…They promised to be in thebudget for sure this year, again…The drinking water network is in ahealth-threatening condition. Wecan not use the water in our hou-ses for drinking. This is not somet-hing that Yesilirmak is used to. Weused to be proud of our. Look atour situation now.”And the water tank…Goksel Kaba-ran thanks to the Civil Protectionand continues: “Our old tank for39 tonnes and it wasn’t enough forall 200 houses. Civil Protection ga-ve the 32 billion TL of the moneynecessary for buying a new tank of150 tonnes. We paid 10 billion TLas the villagers and a constructorfriend form our village built thetank. Our tank is new but the net-work is in a bad condition.”Goksel Kabaran reminds that 15 ofthe 54 wells are closed due to get-ting salted and mentions: “The drought affected us as well asa result of the global warming.Our wells have dried up. Thereused to be a reservoir project forour village. We know that the bid-ding time limit is over for that pro-ject. So, for now, that project is outof application. No data has beengathered. It can openly be seen

that the water resources are redu-ced compared to the past. A serio-us research can be done. As a re-sult of this research, if any guaran-tee is given to us, if the entering ofthe sea water will be stopped, aswell as out water will be stoppedfrom going into the sea with a pro-ject, we will not say no. But if it isnot going to work out like all theother ponds, we will not give per-mission for it to be built. We aredetermined about this.

The roads of the village are also neglected

The village headman Goksel Kaba-ran and some villagers are comp-laining that no proper roads havebeen built in the past years otherthan some repairs made that looklike an unsuccessful make-up. Ka-baran says that the roads are ter-rible and very dangerous especi-ally in rainy weathers and finis-hes:“The gate that links us to Pirgo

should be opened immediately.We live in a cave with one en-trance and no exit for 40 years. 3thousand villagers moved to Eng-land and 2 thousand moved toAustralia. Can you believe this? Iwonder if there is a like one inthe world. The Yesilirmak peopleliving in the village are 300 andthose who live in England andAustralia are 5 thousand. Onlythe University of Lefke is built tothe west of Guzelyurt since 1974.Show us another invest-ment…There is no other invest-ment to help the development ot-her than the University of Lefke.

Those who were made are nowclosed down.”

Population is 300 plus 150!The population of Yesiirmak is300. However, it goes up to 450with the Turkish families that arenot citizens and work as labourers.The number of voters is 195. 3 fa-milies in the village maintain thro-ugh stock breeding. Actually, it isnot right to say “maintain” becau-se according to Sevtapa Koycu, amember of one of the stock bree-ding families, it is better to say“trying to maintain”. Sevtap Koycusays that the green areas are notavailable in nature because of thedrought and demand the govern-ment to show more concern. Yesi-lirmak is currently producingstrawberry mostly in the greenhou-ses. .Kolokas is also an importantproduct. All types of vegetables arealso produced along with thosetwo main types. Citrus fruits haveofficially run out. The seven facili-ties that function in the village insummer are now in aruined condition. So-me of them are stillopen to public butthey lack customers.The owners also belie-ve that the opening ofYesilirmak-Prigo gatewill liven up their faci-lities. There is no pri-mary school in the vil-lage. The children aretaken to Gemikonagiwith bus. The villageYesilirmak, which suedto be a central village

before 1974, and had importantroles in the history of Cyprus Tur-kish fighting, that sued to organizestrawberry festivals, had a secon-dary school, and used to be a li-vely area is now trying to re-gainits glory. “The gate linking us toPirgo should be opened immedia-tely. We live in a cave with oneentrance and no exit for 40 years.3 thousand villagers moved toEngland and 2 thousand moved toAustralia. Can you believe this? Iwonder if there is a like one in theworld. The Yesilirmak people li-ving in the village are 300 andthose who live in England andAustralia are 5 thousand.

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46November 2009

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