Alix Norman

“Varosha currently stands at a crossroads between decay and renewal. “Will it remain a relic – an open-air museum of abandonment – or will it be reborn through cooperation and reconciliation?” These ...

The flames came faster, hotter, higher than anyone expected. By the time Graham sent out the emergency WhatsApp alert, the sky above Avdimou was the colour of blood. Ash was ...

Last May, thousands of you read George’s story! Just 19 years of age, he was about to set off for the most gruelling top-tier bike race in the world – France’...

This isn’t just a map of Cyprus. It’s THE map! The map that, for over 100 years, defined how our island was seen, measured and governed. The map that ...

“Cyprus heals,” says Koraly Dimitriadis . “When we come back – even for a short while – the island starts to heal us.” Like so many of us, Koraly was born and raised ...

In the 1960s, Cypriots lived less than seven decades: 66 years was the average. By the 1970s, our average life expectancy had risen to 70; in the 1980s, we lived to the ...

Think of the longest-lasting relationship in your life. Who’s always been there, through triumph and disaster, laughter and loss? Who’s seen you at your best and worst, your ...

In Cyprus, family has always come first. On this island, over half of all Cypriots – the highest percentage in Europe – are in daily contact with their kin according to the ...

We don’t go solo in Cyprus! On this island, we grow up in our parents’ home, head to uni (usually living with friends or in dorms), and move back ...

Eight years ago, on my first day living in Latsia, I lost my credit card! I didn’t know I’d lost it – I’d been scoping my local kiosk, ...

The story of Cyprus isn’t just written on this island. It’s written wherever Cypriots call home. Often, that means the diaspora. The emigrants who – in a new land – ...

Weather prediction is an inexact science. Just ask Michael Fish! He may not be quite as famous in Cyprus as in the UK, but this was the weather forecaster who, ...

They go from Kolossi to Aphrodite’s Rock, the House of Dionysus to The Tombs of the Kings. There are oohs and ahhs. A few quick snaps for the relatives – ...

In the Americas, most people prefer autumn. According to CBS, 45 per cent of the country favours ‘fall’ over any other season. In Australia, summer is the most-loved time of the ...

Cyprus is running out of people. This, says our government, is a crisis. It’s a threat to our economy, our pensions, our future. Something must be done! And so, ...

In the years leading up to 1974, Eleni Papademetriou travelled the island. A renowned ethnographer, philologist and photographer, she documented a way of life that has since been reshaped beyond recognition ...

“Last summer our office air conditioning broke! “It was the middle of the worst heatwave; the repairmen were slammed and couldn’t get there for a week. So my boss ...

There’s a fantastic thread on the r/Cyprus subreddit. ‘What Are Your Hobbies?’ it asks. Some of the answers are hilariously tongue-in-cheek. ‘Dreaming of affordable property, cursing idiots who ...

Cyprus sleeps more than most! In the UK, people sleep an average of seven hours a night; in the UAE, it’s 6.8 hours. Albania sleeps the most (almost eight hours), ...

Today Sofia begins her pilgrimage. Over the next several weeks, she’ll cover 1,200 kilometres: tracing an ancient Japanese path through misty mountains, past weathered shrines, along the edge of the ...

A few weeks ago, we ran a news article on the worst-rated Cypriot food: shamishi! But who decided shamishi was bloody awful, and how? Why is it universally detested? And, ...

In Cyprus, we say that love passes through the stomach. That beauty is a gift from the gods. And that feelings of passion has no logic. But, according to the ...

Two hundred years ago, one job in Cyprus outnumbered all others – by miles! According to the Ottoman Property Survey of 1832, 50 people were registered as merchants, 36 were cobblers, and 26 gave their ...

Beyond Protaras lies a tiny harbour, faded boats bobbing in the waves. The surrounding cape curls north. But if you slip into the water and swim out – where the seabed ...