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Tourist
Guideline - Useful Information |
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Climate
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 North Cyprus is
blessed with seemingly endless sunshine and enjoys one of the
healthiest climates in
the world. The average annual temperature is about 20C /68F.
Summers are hot with July and August averaging over 30C /
90F. The coldest months are January and February with a
mean temperature of 10C / 50F.The sea
temperature is the warmest in the Mediterranean, ranging from a
mean average of about 16C / 61F in January, to 32C / 90F in
August.
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Health
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Health services
are extremely good in North Cyprus and there are good hospitals
and medical facilities. Visitors to Northern Cyprus do not
require any medical treatments prior to entry.
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Transportation
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Bus Services |
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There are frequent
bus services between the major towns during the day.
Public transport becomes less scarce after 7pm and at
weekends the services are less regular. |
Taxis are to be found at taxi stands only. The charges are
reasonable, although there are no meters to display the fares.
It is advisable to agree upon the fare with the driver before
setting off.
The system of sharing a taxi with another passenger
travelling to the same destination (called Dolmush) also
operates widely in North Cyprus.
| Car Rental |
| Renting a car in North Cyprus is easy and cheap (between UK £10
to £15 per day. Car rental services are widely available in the
main towns, and petrol is cheap. A current driving licence [with
your passport] is all that is needed. Traffic drives on the
left, as in Britain. The speed limit in urban areas is 30 mph. |
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Traffic &
Driving
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 Traffic in
North Cyprus circulates on the left, as in Britain, and the
traffic signs are international, with good dual carriageways
connections between major towns.
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Currency &
Credit Cards
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 The unit of
currency in North Cyprus is Turkish Lira (TL). The approximate
exchange rate fluctuates daily, so it's best to check the rate
at the many banks, exchange bureaus or at your hotel before you
change your money. Most businesses will also happily
accept payments in main foreign currencies such as Euro,
Sterling Pound, US Dollars, and Cyprus Pounds.
Most major international credit and charge cards are accepted by
hotels, restaurants, and shops.
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Banks
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North Cyprus is
well served, with each major town having about 10 banks. The
opening hours for most banks change from summer to winter:
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Winter-Spring |
Summer-Autumn |
| Mon |
7:30
am to 2:00 pm &
3:30 pm to 6:00 pm |
8:00
am to 1:00 pm |
| Tues |
7:30
am to 2:00 pm |
8:00
am to 2:00 pm |
| Wed |
7:30
am to 2:00 pm |
8:00
am to 2:00 pm |
| Thurs |
7:30
am to 2:00 pm |
8:00
am to 2:00 pm |
| Fri |
7:30
am to 2:00 pm |
8:00
am to 1:00 pm |
| Sat |
8:00
am to 1:00 pm |
8:00
am to 2:00 pm |
| Sun |
Closed |
Closed |
N.B. - The
cashier's desk opens at 8:30 am and closes at 12 noon daily
throughout the year. Most major banks also have ATMs which also
accept main credit and charge cards.
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Shopping
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 Most of the shops
are open Mondays to Saturdays from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and 2:30
pm to 6:30 pm during the summer months. In the winter, they keep
the same hours, but do not close at lunchtime.
For typical souvenirs
of North Cyprus shop for embroidery, Lefkara
lacework, rugs, and hand-painted pottery.
Philatelists
will also find a number of shops specialising in the postal
history of Northern Cyprus.
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Public Holidays
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| 1
January |
New
Year's Day |
| 23
April |
Children's
Festival |
| 1
May |
Youth
and Sports Day |
| 20
July |
Peace
and Freedom Day |
| 1
August |
TMT
Day |
| 30
August |
Victory
Day |
| 29
October |
Turkish
Republic Day |
| 15
November |
Proclamation
of T.R. of Northern Cyprus |
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There are also 2 Religious days, according to the lunar
calendar Ramazan Bayram and Kurban Bayram, each of 3
days duration. |
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Media
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 North Cyprus'
radio and television station BRT
(shortly Bayrak) broadcats daily in Turkish, English and Greek
from Nicosia. The programme content is a mixture of news,
current affairs, music, movies and documentaries.
There are 8
daily newspapers and 3 weeklies published in Turkish. Largest
daily circulation papers are Kibris,
and Halkin
Sesi. English language publications of interest to the
visitors are the weekly Cyprus Today, the monthly magazine Pan,
and the North Cyprus Monthly.
A range of the major European daily newspapers and magazines is
usually available at larger newspaper shops.
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Telephone
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 North Cyprus has
excellent telecommunications facilities and continually upgrades
its systems.
When calling
from abroad the code is +90-392 plus the local dialing code plus
the local number.
The local dialling codes for the main towns
are:
Inter-communal
dialogue between the Turkish and Greek-Cypriot sides on the
island gave way its fruits and for the first time since the
division of the island a telephone link has been established
between the two sides in 1998.
| To
call from Turkish-Cypriot GSM to Greek-Cypriot lines or
GSM |
| 1. |
Dial
0123 press yes/ok and get a dial tone |
| 2. |
Then
dial 9 and the number (623545) and DO NOT press yes/ok
just wait for the rings |
| 3. |
If
it is normal lines (Nicosia) press 2 and the number and
DO NOT press yes/ok |
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| To
call from Greek-Cypriot GSM to Turkish-Cypriot lines or
GSM |
| 1. |
Dial
0139 press yes/ok and wait for a dial tone |
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Then
dial the number e.g. 0542 and number e.g. 8550360 (Telsim)
and DO NOT press yes/ok just wait and it rings |
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If
it is KKTCell dial 0533 and number, DO NOT press
yes/ok |
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If
it is normal phone 0392 and number, DO NOT press yes/ok
(I got through just dialing the number without the
prefix) |
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Postage
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Postal charges
within Northern Cyprus are very reasonable. A detailed
information on Turkish-Cypriot stamps and postal services can be
found here.
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Electricity
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240 Volts AC , 50
Hz throughout the country. Sockets are the British 3-pin
variety.
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Time
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North Cyprus
operates on Eastern European time, which is +2 hours ahead of
GMT.
Click
to see the current local time in North Cyprus.
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Useful
Telephone Numbers
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