Erkan Kilim

Economic growth differs on either side of the demarcation line, for while a similar base sustains each part, the Greek Cypriot sector generates three times its negihbour’s wealth. Both utilize their geographical situation to provide offshore centres for banking.

The reward for turning your back on the beach is a glimpse of another Cyprus, one far removed in spirit from the heavily developed resorts that crowd sections of the coast. With scarcely a backward glance at the turquoise shimmer of the warm Mediterranean, the adventurous spirit heads for the hills.

Leave the Lemesos –Pafos motorway at the exit for Ypsonas and Kouris Dam and head for the dam. Mount Olympus is ahead as you drive through wild olives and Aleppo pines to the west of the reservoir, following signs for Alassa. Go left onto the B8 to Trimiklini, a village thriving on the production of almonds and fruit. At the major crossroads, go right onto the E801.

Leave the Limassol-Nicosia motorway at exit 24 and go onto the E128 to Germasogia. Tucked between a cliff face and a riverbed, this village’s narrow streets contain some fine old houses, several tavernas, and a country club.

This village, which has rural accommodation in renovated village houses, is to your left before you climb the chalky ridge to Lefkara. Go right at the signpost to Kato Lefkara and drive to the village centre. Wandering the meandering streets of the tiny village reveals good example of the area’s architecture: houses built with horizontal layers of limestone interspersed with pebbles.

The Hala sultan Tekke stands surrounded by palms and cedars overlooking the Salt Lake. It is one of the most important shrines in Islam and is reputed to be the burial place of Umm Haram, a relative of the Prophet Mohammed who was killed in a fall from her horse during an Arab raid in the 7th century AD.

It is now possible to walk the length of Europe, thanks to the European E4 long distance path, Starting in Gibraltar, the path traverses Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece; then it is a short air trip to Crete and on to Cyprus.

A rural holiday gives the opportunity to participate in traditional activities, to eat in the village tavern and enjoy the genuine hospitality of a rural community. Basic foodstuffs and other supplies, including fresh bread, vegetables and fruit can be bought locally in the village. Ask the friendly villagers to let you in to the area’s best-kept secrets and then go and explore them for first-hand experience.

The island of Cyprus was formed around seventy million years ago by the collision of the Euro-asian and African tectonic plates. By the Lower Miocene era, some twenty-five million years ago, the Troodos mountain range was an island and the Mesaoria and Pantadactylos range to the north were submerged under the sea.

Ficus sycomorus, called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry, is a fig tree species native to East Africa, especially Ethiopia, but also grows naturally in the eastern Mediterranean regions.