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Led By Brian and Eileen Anderson
(9 Nights - 10 Days)
North Cyprus is a sparkling corner of the Mediterranean
almost forgotten by time. It has all those magical attractions; a rugged
mountain range, a sparkling sea, fairy-tale Crusader castles, ruins of a
glorious abbey at Bellapais, evocative classical ruins at Salamis, Byzantine
painted churches and Ottoman mosques. Mix in the main ingredients, orchids
and flowers in abundance and the perfect recipe is on hand for a rewarding
spring holiday.
One of the most attractive features of this region is the craggy limestone
mountain backdrop of the Besparmak range (the five Finger Mountains) which
peak around 1300m (4,250ft). Three Crusader castles hide amongst these lofty
peaks, St Hilarian, Bufavento and Kantara.
Colour abounds in March when the crown anemones brighten the olive groves
and the red, yellow, white or even pink turban buttercups decorate the
hillsides. Overhead the birds are arriving for the summer or migrants are
heading through to more northerly destinations.
Flowers
The flowers in North Cyprus are every bit as prolific as the birds and this
limestone region of the island has an especially good orchid flora. Amongst
the orchids, Kotschy’s bee orchid, Ophrys kotschyii, is a speciality to look
out for as is the endemic elegant orchid, Ophrys elegans, but there are some
other charmers, like the Anatolian orchid, Orchis anatolica, which is hard
to beat for pure grace and elegance. Two other orchids which have a
distinctly eastern distribution but can be seen here are Bornmueller’s
orchid, Ophrys bornmuelleri, and Ophrys levantina.
Tour Date:
27 th March - 05 th April 2008
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