Cyprus before Partition Famagusta and the rest of the island in 1973 In May 1973 we went on a package holiday to Famagusta. We hired a car and drove all around the island, but there was some tension evident. We passed an EOKA training camp and heard gunfire in the hills, and when we tried to drive through a Turkish enclave on the north-west coast in the evening, they gave us a military escort from one side to the other. In Nicosia, there were armed guards in guard posts on either side of the 'green line' in the middle of the shopping district although you could walk from one side to the other without interruption. These are the routes we drove around the island. Famagusta In Famagusta we went up on the city walls (now in the Turkish sector) .... .... and looked down from the walls towards Varosha, the new town and hotel district (now in the buffer zone and until 2020 uninhabited and known as 'Famagusta Ghost Town'). The entrance to Othello tower in Famagusta old town. Famagusta city walls and moat, Cyprus. Former St Nicholas cathedral, now Lala Mustafa Pasha mosque, from near the Sea Gate in Famagusta old town. Our favourite kebab stall in Famagusta old town. The makings of a picnic lunch from the market in Famagusta old town. Nicosia We visited Nicosia a couple of times for sightseeing and shopping. This is the Bedesten, originally built as a church in about the sixth century, it was converted to a bedesten, a type of covered market, during the period of Ottoman rule. It is now a cultural centre. Kyrenia gate, built in 1567 in the northern walls of Nicosia. Shopping in Arasta Street, Nicosia. Drive to Kyrenia and Larnaca We hired a Mini and went on a series of drives around the island. The first stop on our first drive was at Saint Hilarian castle on a hilltop near Kyrenia, with a view of the jousting field in the valley below. We visited Kyrenia with its picturesque harbour .... .... and had lunch sitting on the harbour wall. We stopped at Bellapais Abbey near Kyrenia and found a grafted orange and lemon tree. There was an Armenian monastery in the mountains east of Kyrenia. We finished with a stroll along the seafront at Larnaca. Drive to Limassol, Paphos and Troodos Our next drive started in Limassol where we paused at the Metropolis church .... .... before visiting Kolossi castle a few miles away. There was another castle in Paphos. We paused on the coast near the Baths of Aphrodite. We drove through the Troodos mountains. We drove through the hills to Galata and another church .... .... and on through Peristerona and Nicosia to another monastery, St Barnabas back near Famagusta. Drive to Salamis, Cape Andreas and Kyrenia again We drove to the extensive Roman ruins at Salamis a few miles north of Famagusta. These are some standing columns in the former gymnasium. Cape Andreas, the eastern 'end point' of Cyprus. The northeast tower and a view of the mountains from Kantara castle near Kaplika on the north coast. We stopped at the church in Trikomo, the town where General Georgios Grivas, leader of the EOKA guerilla organisation, was born. We went via Buffavento to Kyrenia and visited the castle, with a good view of the harbour from the battlements. We had lunch in the sun by the harbour in Kyrenia. We drove back through the hills via the Lefkoniko pass. Drive to Stavrovouni and Kyrenia yet again We stopped for a swing on a little beach near Paralimni, south of Famagusta. We visited Stavrovouni monastery near near Larnaca, which was built on the remains of a temple of Aphrodite. We went to Kyrenia yet again and had a kebab for lunch. We went back through the mountains, over the Lefkoniko pass again, through Trypimeni and along the dirt road towards Agios Nikolaos. If you would like to see more of our travels just click the map.