Travel Guide Agios Epiktitos – Çatalköy

Named in honor of the German-born Cypriot saint Epictetus, who lived here as a hermit in the 9th century, the village is famous for its sea turtle nesting coves and for its tekké Hazreti-Omer, a Sufi place of worship that has stood by the sea since the 7th century. Populated almost exclusively by Greek Cypriots before 1974, Agios Epiktitos has since welcomed Turkish Cypriot refugees from the Limassol and Paphos regions, as well as settlers from Turkey and numerous foreign residents - mainly British - who own second homes here. Less glamorous are two large Turkish army bases and the Teknecik thermal power station. Teknecik is the main electricity production site in the northern zone, and is mainly fuelled by diesel illegally imported from Russia. The Turkish name Çatalköy ("forked village") is probably due to the road from Kyrenia, which splits in two here: one runs along the sea towards Agios Amvrosios/Esentepe and the Karpas peninsula, the other climbs towards Klepini/Arapköy and the castle of Buffavento, in the Pentadactylos mountains.