The New York Times ‘Does’ North Cyprus

A New York Times correspondent and blogger is embarking on a tour of Europe this summer and sharing his exploits, experiences and discoveries via video download and also blog entry on the Travel pages of the leading American newspaper.

Visiting nations such as Malta, Poland, Lithuania and Romania on his travels, imagine North Cyprus’ surprise when he landed at Larnaca on his exploration of Cyprus and promptly headed North and only North to discover the best that Cyprus has to offer.

Matt Gross, the New York Times’ so called ‘Frugal Traveller’ is spending the summer of 2008 exploring the whole of Europe! Quite a tall order in just a few weeks and an even taller order when you realise he is attempting to do so cheaply at a time when the dollar is riding far from high against currencies such as the euro and the pound. Could that be why he favoured Northern Cyprus over south Cyprus? He doesn’t seem to think so.

The reason Matt decided to visit the North was to explore the ancient relics and ruins that this third of the island is famous for but which remain lesser explored because of the isolation of North Cyprus. He also wanted to venture right to the very tip of the famous pan handle or Karpas Peninsular and look out to sea and see if he could see the Holy Land…unfortunately, all that he could see, see, see was the deep blue sea, sea, sea!

Nevertheless, Matt’s tales of his time in Northern Cyprus just so perfectly capture the very essence of all that is so perfect about this island. He does not get involved in deep and meaningful discussions about ‘the Cyprus problem,’ he does not get involved in real estate disputes, he gets down and he meets the real people, experiences their incredible hospitality and he finds that he can hitchhike safely across Northern Cyprus at any time of the day and night!

He makes friends wherever he goes, he is looked after, fed and watered usually for free, he discovers Efes beer and is driven to places he wants to visit, taken pity of by the ticket office at Salamis after he has to get a taxi to the ruins and he is let in for free, and he enjoys the natural and historic beauty of this part of the world.

In a beautifully written, frank, open and honest blog entry, Matt charts his course from Larnaca airport, via a hotel bed for the night in Nicosia to his adventures across North Eastern Cyprus. And in so doing, he creates quite possibly the best advert that North Cyprus and Northern Cypriots could have. He finds the people to be giving, honest, helpful and willing to go out of their way to assist someone who is a perfect stranger, who has no money and who has nothing to give in return!

He visits some of the best sites in the North, he makes it to the end of the peninsular, he enjoys the beach, the sunsets and the stars, and all in all, his report on the New York Times website does more for Northern Cyprus tourism than any amount of government investment into advertising. Check out the blog entry and see for yourself.