North Cyprus Day 2: A solo day trip to Famagusta

The view of the walled city from the top of the wall
 above the main entrance 

So, for the second full day in North Cyprus, Steph and I had decided to part our ways and then meet in the evening and share the stories. It was my way of thanking her company and letting her to go to the Republic of Cyprus where I would require a visa to enter. We left our hostel in a decent time today and then walked around Ataturk Square.

It was a Saturday and a group of young people were putting up stalls for a charity fundraiser. They gave us free Turkish coffee because I think they were excited about my little bit of broken Turkish skills. With the objective of helping for the charity and filling our own stomach, we bought some Simit ( a special kind of Turkish bread with sesame). Then we went to a Turkish tea garden and had those simit with some chay.

Steph and I said goodbye to each other and then I walked towards the bus stop. I had located the bus stop the night before on our long walk. Once I got there I asked for the bus that would go to Karpaz Peninsula. Well, none of the bus would go there and I did not know much about the geography of this country. The ticket agent pointed me towards some bus but for me it was going to be like another go with the flow experience. The bus ride was nice and lasted for around an hour and a half. After I got off the bus I started to wander around the city which I finally know was called Famagusta (or Gazimagusa in Turkish). I walked towards a stone wall which seemed pretty interesting to me which apparently was the wall of the city of Magusa.

St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral

The walled city of Gazimagusa is rich in history and culture. There are numerous churches, tombs, mosque, palaces, a sports complex and many other interesting places. It was so interesting that I was able to spend my entire day walking around the walled city and be amazed by its richness and the stories. I had gone into the tourist information office to learn what I could do there. Then I walked around to see everything that was located on the map. It was very similar to the city of Nicosia but with a different atmosphere. Also, it is on the sea side so the weather is much nicer.

A thing to note: I had not met a single Nepali or an Indian since I had left Cedar Falls in February. It was already middle of April. Luckily there was an Indian working in a restaurant and when I told the servers that I was from Nepal they immediately pointed me towards the Indian guy. He was very nice and we had a good conversation. He told me that there was a Nepali man working in a restaurant across the street.

With my first Indian friend in Turkey/Cyprus in front of St. Nicolas Cathedral
which is now converted to mosque known as Lala Mustafa Pasha Cami

I went across the street and then waited until the he was free. His name was Shankar Maharjan and was from the same area in Kathmandu where I had spend few years during high school. He is the manager at Ginkgo Restaurant. I am thinking about doing a separate post on the restaurant because I liked it so much. Especially because it served some Nepali cuisines as well. One thing to remember as a Nepali traveler is when you meet another Nepali abroad, you will go talk for hours and will be treated very well. It is mainly because Nepali people has this charm and feeling of nationalism that wherever you are, you will be reminded of who you are and where you are from. I had a nice lunch and some Nepali masala tea (Oh God!! finally in three months) finally decided to leave as I had more places to see.

Church of St. George of the Latins.
There is another church of St. George of the Greeks few steps away

I slowly made my way out of the walled city and decided to go explore the beach. I walked along the beach and it felt amazing. I had been walking the whole day so getting my feet wet was heavenly. Right by the beach was the part of the city called Varosha which I learned was abandoned since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The local people call it ghost town of Varosha since no body have been able to go back since 1974 which is when the 35000 residents had fled leaving everything behind with the fear of getting massacred. (I learned this as I overheard a woman talking about it to a group which I did not realize was a guided tour until they were ready to leave.)

Othello Castle. Nuff' said

It was around 6 pm by then and the last bus back to Nicosia was going to leave in 30 minutes. I made my way back and took the bus. On the way back, I was only thinking about how much I had seen and learned today. The next morning we were to leave Nicosia and then head to Girne, the best part of Northern Cyprus.

Tombs of the Turkish Cypriots killed during the conflict.
There are Greek Cypriots during the occupation as well

Posing (behind the St. Nicholas Cathedral, or Lala Mustafa Pasha mosque)