Travel Guide Rizokarpaso - Dipkarpaz

The last village before Syria (107 km to the east), Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz is also the last locality in the northern zone where Greek Cypriots still live: there are around 250 of them, compared with 2,500 before the 1974 invasion. These "diehards" live in very special conditions, since their official supply is provided by the Blue Helmets. But here, at last, we discover what Cyprus must have looked like before, with its communities living (almost) together on a daily basis. Here, everyone drinks their own coffee, some at the kafenio, others at the kahvesi. And the old Orthodox churches stand side by side with the large mosque erected in 1991 to cater for the needs of the new inhabitants who arrived from Turkey in 1977. The village is not very pleasant, however. But just outside, the Karpas "national park" begins, with its beautiful beaches and landscapes. This protected area ends 27 km - and a few wild donkeys - further on, at the tip of the peninsula, with the Apostolos Andreas monastery and Cape St. Andrew.