Lefke - Cyprus
The approach to the town is heralded by an incongruously stately stretch of dual carriageway with well-tended gardens at the side and a cloaked AtatУјrk on horseback rearing up as the centerpiece. This ceremonial entry lasts about 500m, and the town proper then begins as the road winds first down and then up again to reach the core of the town.Predominantly Turkish since well before 1974, its 3,800 inhabitants have suffered no displacement or uprooting. Lefke today remains a relaxed and friendly place, sprawling over several hillsides.
The best way to see it is therefore by car; arriving at the centre you come to a fine colonnaded building on the right, then a curious circular stone monument, a British storehouse in fact, built to commemorate the coronation of King George VI in 1937.
By turning off the main street to the left just opposite this monument, you can wiggle down through a whole maze of narrow lanes lined with picturesque old houses. One lane passes a fine old aqueduct some 4m high. Water is everywhere in Lefke, and gurgles in little water channels that run beside the streets.Returning to the main street, you will see, as you begin to drive out of the village, an old mosque in sandy-coloured stone surrounded by colourful gardens, its minaret topped with an aluminium cone.
This is LefkeтЂ™s main mosque, and in its garden lies one of the loveliest Turkish tombs in Cyprus, the tomb of Piri Osman Pasha who died in 1839.Northern Cyprus Hotels Т Built of white, elaborately carved marble in the dervish style with tall turbaned top, its centre is blackened from the smoke of candles, for every time the women of the village ask a favour of the local saint-a husband, a male child, a cure for illness тЂ“ they leave a lighted candle on the tomb.Taking the time to drive a little further afield in Lefke, especially down in the valley, you will cross a wide river тЂ“ bed beside which stands a derelict small Greek chapel, raised up next to a grand and excellently maintained house, evidently the seat of the local landowner.