Karpas
(Karpaz)
Karpas peninsula (or the panhandle) is the easternmost part of the island
of Cyprus, where the land tapers into a thin strip which stretches out
towards Turkey.
The area is rich in subterranean water reservoirs and
thus crops such as tobacco are grown in abundance. Another main source
of income in the region is fishing.
Boğaz and Kumyalı are the fishing
centres in the Karpas.
As well as numerous Byzantine churches, the most notably the
Monastery
of Apostolos Andreas, the area boasts some of the finest countryside in
the countryside. The Karpas peninsula has been called the nature reserve
of Cyprus for birds, wild flowers, and sea fossils are to be found everywhere.
Moreover,
numerous picturesque beaches, both sandy and rocky, are
said to be the best in the whole island. With also pine, cypress and
maquis covered hills reaching an altitude of about 1,000 metres makes the Karpas
region almost a perfect natural reserve site of the whole island.
Karpas peninsula is also almost totally free from heavy concentration of
industry and people, and is one of the least polluted regions in the
European periphery. Escaping the last ice age, the island of Cyprus has
managed to retain a substantial amount of biological diversity with a
significant amount of endemic species -plant species number about 1,600
(22 endemic); bird species about 350 (7 endemic); and there are 26 reptile
and amphibian species for most of which the Karpas is the natural home.
Being also on one of the main migration routes of birds between Eastern
Europe and Africa, each year approximately 300 species amounting to
millions of birds use this route in early spring and late summer.
Moreover,
about 46 sandy beaches in the Karpas comprise the main nestling ground for
the endangered Chelonia Mydas and
Caretta Caretta sea
turtles in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1992, about 1,500 rare female
turtles laid eggs on the shores of North Cyprus.
The last colony of European
Audouin seagulls nest on the small Klidhes (Kilit) isles at the tip of the Karpas
Peninsula in North Cyprus.
Map of Karpas Peninsula
Click on the maps to enlarge
Weather in Karpas
Karpas Peninsula weather forecast
Related Links
Apostolos
Andreas Monastery
Iskele 
