Crossing the border between two areas of the island still technically at war is surprisingly easy. In the middle we can even see the buffer zone extending in both directions separating the two warring sides. We feel like crossing the border in Berlin, with the Turkish side being the more isolated one internationally in this case. Entering Northern Cyprus is quite easy again, the process is well defined now since the checkpoints opened exactly 20 years ago in 2003.
The area right around the checkpoint is quite touristy with many shops and a pedestrian area but given the approaching dark clouds we decide to hurry towards the major attraction here, Büyük Han.
Büyük Han is the largest caravansarai on Cyprus and was built in 1572 the year after the Ottomans seized controls from the Venetians. During the years it served as an inn and also more ominously as a prison during British rule. Now it is an arts center with multiple galleries, workshops and of course restaurants and gift shops.
In the middle of the inn sits a small building and we are a bit confused on what it is, a fountain, a guard station from the jail times or something else? We then find out it is actually a small mosque with basins for ablutions.
Next we move to the nearby Kumarcilar Inn which is less touristy and visited. And here it starts to rain- really, really rain.
We try to walk but it is impossible so we decide to hide under a shop awning. And there we wait while watching people run by or hide with us under the awning.
We are hoping that the downpour will subside but instead it starts to hail quite seriously. The shop owner decides to exit a few times to push the water from the awning which now seems in danger of collapsing under the weight of the accumulating water.
Finally the rain subsides for a short while and we take the chance to explore the Turkish downtown area passing government buildings and the old Venetian column that anchors a major downtown square.
Our turnaround point is the Kyrenia Gate, a medieval town gate which we cannot even get close to as the road itself is flooded from all the rain.
The architecture is about turn of the 20th century and we enjoy it as we start returning towards our starting point and the border crossing.
We stop once more at Büyük Han looking for a restaurant where we can sit inside to warm ourselves and dry our clothes while eating. Unfortunately none here are fitting the bill so we move on towards the border hoping we find something along the way.
And right outside the inn we find a restaurant that looks quite enticing. Entering it we think there is no place to sit but luckily there is still is a hidden table right in the middle of the restaurant from which we can see all the going ons. It is a very busy restaurant probably because it is warm inside and everyone can escape the cold and rain.
The food actually is quite good and we really take our time eating it to ensure we dry out as much as we can before exiting back into the streets.
From here it is a straight walk to the border. On the way we keep an eye out for the interesting street art that adorns the streets We assume that some of them are related to the war but some we are not sure really and seem a bit out of place.
