Tourism Attractions in Guzelyurt in North Cyprus

Depending on the sources you read and the people you speak to Guzelyurt translates to mean ‘beautiful country’ or ‘good earth’ - while neither is a perfect literal translation both meanings get right to heart of the matter and that is, Guzelyurt and the surrounding villages in North West Cyprus are stunningly beautiful, rich and fertile.

Springtime or Autumn are the best times to visit this particular part of Cyprus when the fruit trees are in full bloom or when all the citrus fruits and vegetables for which the area is famous are ripening or being harvested - but whenever you choose to visit there are a number of tourism attraction in Guzelyurt in North Cyprus and in this article we will introduce you to them.

Greek Cypriots refer to Guzelyurt as Morphou - depending on where you’re starting out from there are a number of roads to take to Guzelyurt, but assuming you’re starting from Girne (Kyrenia) or the nearby towns and villages you head out West along the coast road through Karsiyaka and then you can either turn right towards Kayalar and follow the signs to drive right around the edge of the coast to take the most scenic route or you can carry on up over the mountain, past the reservoir and then turn right and wind your way through the village of Kalkanli which is home to the brand new North Cyprus campus of the Middle East Technical University and finally you’ll come to Guzelyurt.

Entering the town you’ll notice you drive across an extremely broad yet dry river bed…this river used to flow fast as the streams from the Troodos mountains kept it well fed. Unfortunately after the intervention in 1974 the waters were diverted away and ever since the 1980s the river bed has been dry and a lot of irrigation points for the Guzelyurt area have been lost.

A good day to visit Guzelyurt is on a Saturday when the weekly market takes over the entire town. You can buy anything at the market from a locally hand produced carpet to an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables which are all grown locally and mainly organically. It seems as though the market sprawls from the market square to take over the entire town because everyone comes from the nearby towns and villages to sell and trade, to buy and browse and the car parks are full, the buses are heavily laden and the atmosphere is fantastic.

If you’re living in North Cyprus you’ll find many of the same stallholders in Guzelyurt as you meet at the Wednesday market in Kyrenia (Girne) and even though market prices in Kyrenia are low, they are lower still in Guzelyurt as it really is a market serving the local area and its people rather than the tourists or slightly more affluent townspeople in Girne.

Within the town itself there are two particularly interesting tourism attractions – St. Mamas’ Church and the Guzelyurt Museum of Archaeology and Nature…both are in the centre and you gain entry to both via the museum which is open daily until at least 4.30pm (later in the summer season). Downstairs in the museum you’ll find examples of much of the wildlife found in Cyprus from snakes and spiders (not for the fainthearted) to birds, owls, foxes and fish for example. There is also an eight legged lamb and a two headed lamb on display and a chicken with three legs! Upstairs is the archaeological section of the museum and it houses some stunning artefacts….there are lamps, bowls, flints, statutes and functional as well as aesthetic pottery dating back as far as the Neolithic era on display and while the information supplied about each find is sketchy there are some really rare and even unique pieces on display that makes it well worth a visit.

To the side of the museum is St. Mamas’ Church and Icon Museum…St. Mamas is basically the patron saint of those who avoid tax! Local legend has it that Mamas was a very poor hermit living close to Guzelyurt whom the authorities captured for non-payment of taxation…as he was being taken into custody he escaped to save a lamb from being killed and eaten by a lion and he rode on the back of the lion with the lamb in his arms to meet his prosecutors. They were so in awe of his bravery that they excused him from payment of his taxes.

It’s believed that St. Mamas is buried within the church at Guzelyurt and the inside of the church itself is literally covered in hundreds of beautiful and well preserved icons from the Orthodox faith. Some are still in the process of being restored and the church is used annually by visiting Greek Cypriot’s who come to worship on St. Mamas’ feast day.

Once you’ve had a look round Guzelyurt, the Museum, St. Mamas’ church and the surrounding gardens why not drive out to nearby Yayla for example where you can take in the heady scent of the orange trees in Springtime, head to the deserted and wild beaches in the summer or just look around at the traditional villages and communities in the greater Guzelyurt area.

If you’re looking for the ‘real’ Cyprus, drive out to Guzelyurt, explore the town and the surrounding villages and get lost in a Cyprus that time has forgotten and left untouched.