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Beautiful Environment
North Cyprus offers the perfect escape from the stresses of everyday life. Enjoying more than half of the island's 480 miles of spectacular coastline, North Cyprus boasts a myriad of picturesque coves and beautiful broad bays backed by historical harbors and citrus groves. Whether it's swimming on secluded stretches of sandy beaches in the Karpaz, enjoying the excellent facilities and activities of private hotel beaches or scuba-diving in one of the region's spectacular dive sites, there's a great choice for beach-lovers. Indeed, it's no surprise that according to legend, Julius Caesar gave the island to Cleopatra as a token of his love.
World-famous Golden Beach Further along the East coast, at the foot of the Karpaz peninsula in the Yeni Iskele district is Boğaz, a sleepy fishing village in an utterly tranquil location. Here, you are within easy reach of the Karpaz itself which boasts some of the island's most deserted sandy beaches. The highlight of this area is the Golden Beach, one of the world's finest and longest beaches, with magnificent sands that stretch for more than 3 kilometres. The beach is fringed with magnificent sand dunes and it is here that turtles roam and make their nurseries.
Wildlife:
North Cyprus is still relatively undiscovered so wildlife flourishes, with some 250 species of birds touching down on the island every year on the passage from East to West. There is also an abundance of lizards, wild donkeys and butterflies, including species which are unique to the region, such as the strangely-shaped festoon and Cleopatra butterflies adorned with the colors of sunshine. They are all part of a rich natural heritage on an island of contrasts that spans from the top of Mount Selvilis 3000 feet to the gentle slopes of the coastal waters, where the famous loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.
The warm climate in North Cyprus also means visitors can enjoy beautiful flowers all year-round, making it a veritable botanic haven. In the autumn and winter golden-yellow oleanders swathe the hills, whilst multi-colored anemones and crocuses appear before Christmas. But it is in late winter and spring that the island blooms into a rhapsody of color with the orchid family and cherry-red poppies taking centre stage.
Climate
North Cyprus enjoys a very pleasant climate, with warm, dry summers and mild winters, and an average of 300 days of sunshine. In August, the hottest month, mean temperatures range from 21°C to 36°C and in the coldest months of January and February, the average temperature is around 10°C, with a winter average of 6 hours daily sunshine and only moderate rain, making it an ideal year-round destination.
Culture
Religion
The majority of the Turkish Cypriots are Muslim and although very few regularly attend mosque services or wear religious attire, most celebrate religious festivals.
Family Life
For Turkish Cypriots, family life is of ultimate importance and therefore a great amount of their free time is spent at family gatherings, barbeques and weddings. All towns and even some villages hold festivals many of which are in the early summer (see events).
Cuisine
The culture of a place is always reflected in its kitchen, and Northern Cyprus is no exception. Cypriot cooking, like its people, is unique. Eating out is popular amongst locals and the choice of cuisine reflects this, combining many wonderful tastes from the Mediterranean, Turkey and the Middle East. In larger towns, a range of international restaurants also offer dishes from around the world.
Typical Turkish Cypriot restaurant meal consists of meze, kebabs (lamb or chicken) or fish, followed by fruit and coffee. Meze is a selection of hot and cold appetizers - the Turkish Cypriot equivalent of Tapas - such as kofte (meatballs), hummus dips, mint yogurt, hellim (goat's milk cheese). A Turkish Cypriot specialty is the şeftali kebab (peach kebab), made with minced meat, chopped onion and spices, wrapped in lamb fat and grilled. Other mouth-watering dishes include marinated fish and squid - and for dessert, lokma (small doughnuts in syrup), Ekmek Kadayif with Cream or baklava, as well as freshly-picked fruit such as sweet melon, oranges and figs. Wash your meal down with a glass of rakı (alcoholic aniseed drink), or there are also many good wines, beers and spirits, including the famous brandy sour drink a cocktail made with brandy, lemon juice and angostura bitters. If you have room, you may want to finish off with a fix of thick Turkish coffee or tea.
Cypriot home cooking is quite unique and is only found in a handful of restaurants in North Cyprus, so do look out for them. Food lovers will delight at the variety of fresh local produce. Fresh herbs such as wild thyme, calamint, fennel, oregano and sage flourish in the mountains, ready for picking in June. Traditional cuisine makes fine use of the abundant fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices this includes a variety of vegetarian dishes such as yalancı dolma (stuffed vine leaves with rice, onions and tomatoes), stuffed peppers and tomatoes, melt in the mouth aubergine meals, sigara börek (fried white-cheese rolled in pastry), bulgur koftesi (cracked wheat balls) and home made baked beans.
Useful Links for more information about TRNC:
http://www.trncinfo.com/index.asp
http://whatson-northcyprus.com
http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus
http://www.cyprus44.com/
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