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A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO NORTHERN CYPRUS
Situation
The island is situated in the north eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. It is about 40 miles from the south coast of Turkey (which can be seen on a clear day) and 60 miles from Syria to the east and 250 miles north of Egypt to the South.
Physical Features
The most important features of the island are the two mountain ranges separated by the wide and fertile Mesarya plain. Mesarya means ‘land between the mountains’. The Northern range is known as the Kyrenia Range or the Five Finger contains (so named after a fist shaped mountain said to be the fist of Alexandra the Great).The southern range is called the Trodos Mountains. The Kyrenia Mountain Range is about 80 miles long and is a narrow range running parallel to the coast.It occupies about 100 square miles and is composed predominantly of limestone, dolomite and marble. The average height is over 2000 ft, at the highest peak known as Kyparissovouno (Selvili Tepe) above Lapta with an elevation of 3,557 ft. In spite of the great fire of 2003, the mountains remain green with amongst others a covering of olive, fir and carob trees.
Languages
Turkish is the principal language, but English is widely spoken and understood.
Local Time
Cyprus time is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and one hour ahead if Central European Time.
Money Matters
Changing money
Most hotel receptions, major shops and restaurants readily accept foreign currency especially sterling and several will also exchange Traveller’s cheques (with your passport). The exchange rate fluctuates so it’s best to check the rate before you change your cash (current rates are displayed in newspapers and banks). We recommend that you do not change all your money at once. Our banks are always busy and full of queues, you may prefer to use one of the many Exchange Bureaus and of course there are many ATM machines to choose from. ATM machines pay out in YTL (new Turkish Lira).
Currency
Turkish Lira was introduced on 1 January 2009 and replaces the old Lira which famously contained many zeros. New Turkish Lira notes and coins look as follows:
*The old currency will be accepted until 31 December 2009.
Opening Hours
The majority of banks are open from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Monday to Friday.
Exchange Bureaus are open from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Saturday.
If you lose your credit card
If you are unlucky enough to lose your credit card(s), here are some of the emergency contact numbers* you need to cancel your cards:
Bank or Savings Bank Emergency Telephone Number:
Abbey National ………………………………00 44 1908 344 900
Alliance & Leicester ….……………………..00 44 1519 284 033
Allied Irish Bank (GB) ……………………….00 44 8002 330 77
American Express …………………………..00 44 1273 696 933
American Express Traveller’s Cheques …..00 44 1273 571 600
Bank of Ireland (GB) ……………………….. 00 44 0702 360 177
Bank of Scotland …………………………….00 44 8453 000 344
00 44 1314 427 222
Barclays Bank ………………………………. 00 44 1604 230 230
Barclaycard ………………………………......00 44 1904 554 366
Britannia Building Society ………………….. 00 44 1538 399 135
Citibank ………………………………............00 44 1268 567 202
Co-operative Bank ………………………….. 00 44 8456 006 000
Coutts & Co ……………………………….....00 44 1423 700 545
Diners Club ………………………………......00 44 1252 513 500
First Direct ……………………………….......00 44 1132 345 678
Halifax ………………………………..............00 44 8457 203 099
00 44 8453 000 344
HSBC ………………………………...............00 44 1442 422 929
00 44 1702 278 270
Lloyds TSB ………………………………......00 44 2077 857 654
00 44 1763 456 789
Nationwide Building Society ……………….. 00 44 1268 567 213
00 44 1423 700 545
Nat West … ……………………………..........00 44 8705 888 444
00 44 8705 133 550
Royal Bank of Scotland ……………………..00 44 1268 298 929
Thomas Cook MasterCard …………………00 44 1733 318 950
Woolwich Building Society ………………… 00 44 1255 233 901
Yorkshire Bank ………………………………00 44 1132 315 230
* Correct at time of printing
The British High Commission
Should you need to contact the British High Commission, the details are as follows:
Address: General and Consular enquiries telephone:
Shakespeare Avenue Tel: (0392) 228 3861
29 Mehmet Akif Caddesi
Koskluciftlik
Lefkosa (Nicosia)
High Commissioner: Mr Peter Millett (appointed July 2005)
Opening hours:
For General enquiries:
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
1230 hrs - 1430 hrs
Tuesdays and Thursdays
0800 hrs - 1430 hrs
For Consular enquiries:
Monday to Friday
0800 hrs - 1200 hrs
Directions to the British High Commissioner’s office
From Kyrenia take dual carriageway to Lefkosa. At main roundabout (with monument) turn right. At next roundabout turn left. At next roundabout (with Bayraktar Turk Maarif Koleji) turn right. Next roundabout turn left. At T-junction (Citroen garage opp) turn right following signs towards Ledra Palace. Go straight over small roundabout (Pronto Pizza on right side), the High Commissioner’s offices are on the right - easily spotted with concrete barricades and high walls.
Post Office
You can purchase stamps from the post office - in Kyrenia it is located between the main car park and the Law Courts. Stamps can often be purchased from shops that sell post cards. Light mail can be slow, taking more than a week to reach the UK so write and send your cards early! Most hotel Receptions are happy to post letter for you or you can post them at Post Offices or in the yellow letter boxes around the towns.
Electricity
Throughout the country the voltage is 220/240V. Sockets are the 3-pin variety, so there is no need for adapters.
Water
Mains tap water is perfectly safe to drink, however water within hotels tends to come from large storage tanks. We advise caution when drinking tap water and recommend that you purchase bottled water.
Telephone
If there is a telephone in your room, ask reception how to obtain an outside line. We recommend you check with the reception staff what their call charges are because they vary from hotel, most have a set charge for a minimum of 3 minutes and charge by the minute thereafter.
Alternatively, you can use the public telephone boxes outside the telephone exchange (opposite the PO). You can purchase a phone card. These phone boxes represent excellent value for money compared to the hotels and mobiles phones.
To dial England: 00 44 + area code minus the zero
Eg: 00 44 1226 848 432
From England: 00 90 392 + the number
Eg: 00 90 392 82 44 110
Shop Opening Hours
Summer Hours 0800 hrs to 1300 hrs
1600 hrs to 1900 hrs
Winter Hours 0900 hrs to 1300 hrs
1400 hrs to 1800 hrs
English Speaking Radio
Below you will find three English speaking radio stations:
British Forces Radio 1 BFBS 1 89.7 KHz
(pop channel)
British Forces Radio 2 BFBS 2 91.7 KHz
(programming from BBC radio)
Bayrak International BRT Int 87.8 Khz
(local news and pop music)
Religious Festivals (Bayram)
Rather like the Christian holiday of Easter, these festivals are moveable.
The end of Ramazan is marked with a 3 day holiday called Seker Bayram - where people visit each other‘s families and adults give children gifts of sweets.
Kurban Bayram is marked with 4 days of feasting when families gather to ritually slaughter an animal.
Religious Services
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a secular state but most of the population are Muslim, however other religions are catered for here. You will hear the Muslim call for prayer five times a day.
If you visit a Mosque, please remove your footwear before entering and remain silent if there are prayers being said.
St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Girne (between the Castle and Car Park) has services on:
Sundays at 0800 hrs and 1000 hrs, Thursdays at 0930 hrs.
Check local press or Church Notice Board for further details .
Terra Santa Roman Catholic Church, Girne (Ersin Aydin Sk, turning opposite Dome Hotel Taxi Rank) has services on:
The first and third Sunday of each month at 12.00 midday.
Maronite Catholic Church of Ayios Georgios, KoruVam celebrates mass every Sunday.
See your reception/local press/church notice board for further details on services in the area.
Emergency Pastoral Care:
Anglican: 0392 815 4329
Jewish: 0392 815 7541
Free Church: 0392 824 4774
Getting About
If you are not planning on taking an excursion or hiring a car then the other option is local transportation. These consist of either Dolmus or Taxis.
Dolmus
Dolmus literally means “stuffed” and you’ll understand why when you travel on one!They are usually minibuses or old stretch Mercedes which connect most of the major villages and towns. You can spot the minibus versions by the destination boards on the dashboard and the two red give-way triangles in the rear window. They run from early morning to early evening, about every half hour, however the driver will go when he decides to so make sure you ask him what time he returns. We don’t want you to get stranded anywhere! To get off just SHOUT eg shout “Escape Beach please!” as you approach it. For longer journeys ie Kyrenia - Famagusta, go to the Kombos office next to the roundabout in Kyrenia town centre. The Dolmus may not be the most luxurious mode of transport but it certainly is the cheapest!
Taxis
These are readily available and run 24 hours a day. Your reception/bar/restaurant or wherever you are will be happy to call one for you. Meters have only recently been introduced. If your taxi does not have a meter always check before departure how much the journey will cost. Beware that tariffs increase after midnight. If there is a group of you specify a large taxi - many can take up to 7 people at once.
Driving it the TRNC
A legacy of British Colonial times is the fact that Cypriots drive on the left and the rules are pretty much the same as the UK. You can drive here on a full UK</st1: | 
