Cyprus - into the North

The most recent history of Cyprus is that it was a British colony starting in 1878 (that is recent when your history goes back a few thousand years). After a few decades of struggle, the Cypriots gained independence in 1960.  Tensions between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus grew during independence, resulting in violence and the UN bringing in peace-keeping troops in the mid-sixties. Turkey invaded in 1974, and won, resulting in 37% of Cyprus becoming North Cyprus. The north-south border is called the Green Line (I know it sounds like a public transit line, but it has that name because a British guy drew on a map with green crayon), and there is a UN-regulated buffer zone along it. Turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes North Cyprus as a sovereign nation. Otherwise it’s considered an occupied territory. Since Cyprus is in the European Union, it’s a little awkward that part of it is occupied by a non-EU foreign power. 

In North Lefkosa (Nicosia)

To cross into North Nicosia, we drove through at a checkpoint where we had to purchase temporary car insurance (ours was only valid on the Greek side) and show our passports.

We headed to St. Hilarion’s castle on the north coast of Cyprus. St. Hilarion was supposedly the inspiration for both Schloss Neuschwanstein in  Germany and Disney’s Cinderella castle. It was originally built as a monastery, then converted to a castle by the Byzantines in the 8^th century. They figured it would be the best place to spot any Arabs invading by sea. The Lusignans, the next conquerors, used it also until it was abandoned in the 15^th century.

St. Hilarion's Castle

After visiting the castle we headed back across the border and to Kalavasos. The old guys were still sitting at their cafes, drinking cans of Carlsberg and playing dice.