Full-Circle Cyprus Culture Tour Route

We will be at Istanbul Airport at 07:30 in the morning and, after approximately a one-and-a-half-hour flight to Nicosia on Turkish Airlines’ 10:00 flight, we arrive in Cyprus. Upon arrival, we meet our guide waiting for us at the airport and transfer to our vehicle, then head to Kyrenia. After visits to Kyrenia city center and the castle, if the weather permits, we will join those who wish for a Kyrenia boat tour (extra). After discovering the views of Kyrenia from the sea on our boat tour, we arrive at our hotel. Dinner will be served as an open buffet at our hotel.

After our open buffet breakfast at our hotel in the morning, we depart from the hotel for the tours of Nicosia and Famagusta. Our first stop is the Boğaz Martyrs’ Cemetery, located in the Boğaz region on the Nicosia road, where the heaviest fighting during the Cyprus Operation took place. This is the second largest martyrs’ cemetery after the Çanakkale Martyrs’ Cemetery. Afterwards, we head to Nicosia. Our first stop in Nicosia is the Barbarism Museum. We visit the house where Dr. Nihat İlhan’s three children and his wife were murdered, also known as the Bloody Christmas House. Then our panoramic Nicosia tour begins, and we see, in order, the Green Line border, the Ledra Palace Hotel, the historic Kyrenia Gate, and the Presidential Palace. Then we walk into the walled city and visit the historic Selimiye Mosque and the Great Inn. We then head to our next stop, the city of Famagusta. On the Famagusta road, our first stop is the Barnabas Icon and Archaeology Museum. This is the place where the Gospel of Barnabas was written, which is also very important for Christianity, and it is also a very large icon museum. After touring here, we continue to Famagusta. We give you a 1-hour break in walled Famagusta for lunch and shopping, and then our stops in Famagusta are as follows: Famagusta Castle, the Venetian Walls, Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, the dungeon where Namık Kemal was held when he was sent from Turkey as punishment, and finally the Closed Maraş area, also known as the Ghost Town. After touring there, we return to our hotel. Dinner and accommodation are at our hotel.

After breakfast at our hotel in the morning, our tour begins with the Bellapais Monastery, one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture, perched in the upper parts of Kyrenia. After visiting the monastery, we will enjoy our coffee with the beautiful view of Kyrenia, and then our tour continues. Our next stop is St. Hilarion Castle, located on the summit of the Five Finger Mountains and one of the five castles on the island. Afterwards, we head to the Landing Beach, the area where the 1974 operation began and where our first soldier set foot. Here, we will also visit the open-air museum and our memorial cemetery. Our next destination is the Blue House, the mysterious home of Paulo Paolides, the Italian arms smuggler and lawyer of III. Makarios, the first President of Cyprus. Then we return to Kyrenia city center, visit Kyrenia Castle, and begin our shopping break in central Kyrenia. After our shopping break, we return to our hotel. Dinner and accommodation will be at our hotel.

After our open buffet breakfast at the hotel in Sabah, you will have free time until transfer time. Afterwards, we arrive at Ercan Airport. We depart on Turkish Airlines flight 18:50 to Istanbul and bid you farewell.