A Visit to Northern Cyprus

I'm in a country that doesn't exist and it's paradise. A subtropical sun falls so heavily that the people use it to heat the water for their showers. Wild flowers grow yellow and purple along the roadside amongst orange and lemon trees. From the living room of our rented villa the mountains jut proudly, dotted with villages and monasteries; from the upper floors you can see the sea. The moment my fiancée, her sister and I got off the airplane on a cool spring night redolent with salty air, we knew the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was different.

Northern Cyprus is only recognized as a sovereign nation by Turkey-the rest of the world believes the north the rightful territory of the Republic of Cyprus. Throughout the 1960's and 70's trouble flared between Greek and Turkish Cypriots over the question of Enosis-annexation by Greece. The Greek majority, backed by Greece and spearheaded by guerilla groups clashed with Turkish Cypriots and in 1974 Turkey invaded the north on their behalf. Both sides of the "Green Line" have managed to live in peace for a quarter century but the world has refused to legitimize the Turkish Republic in the North. Two consequences for travelers are that you can only travel to the TRNC from Turkey and that if you plan to visit the south or Greece, you should have the passport officer stamp a separate piece of paper.