VILLAGE AND ISLET OF LIMNITIS

The coastal village of Yeşilırmak (Λιμνίτης/Limnitis in Greek) is the last locality west of Morfou Bay. Located in the Tylliria region, it is also the last town in the northern zone before the Kato Pyrgos crossing point, 4 km to the west. Crossed by the River Limnitis, which rises in the Troodos massif, it has been almost exclusively populated by Turkish Cypriots since the ^19th century (around 300 inhabitants today). There's a small fishing port with fish restaurants, the Vouni King hotel and a pebble beach. If you take the carriage road that climbs the hill to the north-west, you'll find yourself 2 km further on, facing a rocky islet 150 m long, 105 m wide and 30 m high. Called the "Rock of Limnitis" (Yeşilırmak Kayalığı, Πέτρα του Λιμνίτη/Petra tou Limniti), this is not unlike the famous "Rock of Aphrodite", in the Paphos region. Located just 80 m from the coast, it is however very difficult to reach by swimming due to the current and strong waves. But the hike here offers beautiful scenery, with no construction in the vicinity. The islet of Limnitis was one of the first sites inhabited by man in Cyprus. Between 1927 and 1930, Swedish archaeologists discovered traces of a fishing village that had been inhabited between 7000 and 5300 BC. Today, it is an important nesting area for the Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis).