Cyprus Review

I was only in Cyprus for twelve hours but it still gets a review.

I landed around 8am, went through customs which was surprisingly easy for a European Union country, and found a shuttle into Nicosia (the capital). After a 45 minute van ride I was in a dusty parking lot behind the Hilton. After getting directions, I walked into the city. It took me about 45 minutes and a few wrong turns to find the center. I got lunch and wandered around until I found the border to North Cyprus. Time for a quick history lesson: Cyprus has two types of people. Greek and Turkish. In 1974 Turkey invaded and took over the northern half. So now all Greeks live in the Republic of Cyprus in the south, which is part of the EU and uses the Euro. And all Turks live in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is basically an illegal country that no other country recognizes, aside from Turkey oddly enough.

Anyways, the border is now open and tourists are allowed to walk across. I did so, and walked around for an hour or so. Took a few pictures and walked back across the border. Then my day started to suck. I bought some souvenirs and tried to walk back to the Hilton so I could catch the shuttle back to the airport in Larnaca. Problem is, everything in Nicosia looks the same and I quickly got lost. After making a huge circle I was back in the center, two hours later. I eventually made it back to the parking lot, after a few more wrong turns. I at least got to see a lot of the city, even if it was annoying to be lost. Once I got back to the airport I sent out some postcards and checked in for my flight on Cyprus Airways. My flight to Greece was another quick one, only about an hour and a half. I slept for most of it, thankfully.