Bigger Taste of Turkey - Giving Thanks for Beach and Treats

Our last full day in Cyprus, Monday 9/21/09:

I had it in my mind to make a run for one of the most distant points on the Karpas peninsula (the far Northeast stretch of Cyprus), Golden Beach. So we got up early to ensure enough time to make it up, enjoy the place, and come back. Unfortunately, things didn't work out quite as planned. Golden Beach, though completely untouched, and supposedly incomparably beautiful was just a little too far when it came down to it.

Instead, we made it up to a point that seemed to us very similar to the descriptions of Golden Beach. It was well into the wild on the Turkish side of Cyprus, plenty beyond Bogaz, but not quite to Dipkarpas (maybe 10 kilometers away?). We don't even know the name of the place, but there weren't any tourists. There were only a couple of people who happened upon the beach anywhere nearby us. The sea here was calm, crystal clear, perfectly temperate, shallow for a long way out, with the softest sand and CLEAN. Paradise? Close.

We swam for a while and laid out for a bit, but not too long as Tina really shouldn't be out in the sun on antibiotics. She was feeling quite a bit better though. The pictures will have to speak for themselves.

Afterwards, we headed back on the highway roads of Northern Cyprus, whipping back to civilization. The feel is different there. A lot of signs don't have Greek or English on them and therefore are truly foreign to us. I did try my hand as some limited Turkish that I'd memorized. I got smiles and responses out of people, and even bought some food at a little shop in a country village.

We made our way back to the city of Famagusta. The actual city itself isn't so bad. There's more scenery to it than the outskirts of Famagusta; and the military presence isn't quite so present. The inner part of the city that we explored lies within some Ottoman castle walls, so there's a pretty cool feel there. We walked the high medieval walls a bit, the brick and cobblestone streets some more, oggled some shops and soaked the Turkish feel in a much more positive way. A giant mosque that I believed was originally a 4th century church was right smack in the middle of things. The construction around it is just shy of fascinating.

The highlight of the day, however, was matched at Petek's Patisserie. This trendy Turkish confectionerie is just inside the eastern-most portion of the barricade walls. Every flavor of Turkish delight and cake and treat one could imagine adorns a whole room within the edifice. We sampled and grabbed a few, of course. Then we sat like posh Northern Cypriots on the second floor open patio, eating Turish Cypriot eats and sweets, spooning up pistacchio rice pudding, munching on delectible lamb and hallimli, sipping Turkish coffee and diving into honey-infused pastries.

Northern Cyprus has a wonderful side.

We finished the day back in Protaras by our apartment, checking some shops for last minute memories with price tags. Tomorrow we drive back to Larnaka, fly back to Athens and visit with Costa and his family (and Argyri, of course).

Then, back to the states.