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Our
adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
  
Want to hear a funny?
We have friends, Richard and Nancy, who own a couple of villas up in Arapkoy. These have not yet been lived in so Richard is busy doing one up for themselves. We had quoted him for air conditioning and he had asked if we knew a builder who could help out with some things. We took Chris & Bob up there to introduce them.
For some time Richard has been using a couple of guys from Pakistan as sort of labourers to do jobs for him. He told us that he asked them to go up on the roof of one villa and replace two roof tiles, but to get the pigeons out first. When he came back to them they said they had done the job. When he asked if there were many pigeons, they said about 20 in total and as they eat pigeon as part of their diet they had put them in the utility room for safe keeping. You would not believe how many feathers and how much crap you could find in a room in a short time.
I guess these two, whom Richard calls Hinge & Bracket, may not be working for him much longer, or at least only until after they have cleaned the room out.
More about the conflict between the North and the South. According to the press the follow up to the Orams case is a couple who live in Karaman. This obviously required a newspaper journalist to write an article about this typical Greek village which had been stolen from them. The response to this article is the attached letter.
Karmi properties were abandoned before 1974
I read with interest your recent article concerning Karmi village in north Cyprus.
Your choice of Karmi as, apparently, an archetypal Greek Cypriot village now owned by foreigners is simply incorrect.
The great majority of properties within the actual village are leasehold and administered by the Ministry of Tourism. It is true that most of these houses are leased to foreigners as this was the decision of the newly installed administration in the north, post 1974.
The village houses have been substantially renovated and maintained, at the leaseholders’ expense, to standards set by the Ministry of Tourism.
There is, therefore, no conceivable connection between the situation in Karmi and the other well publicised property disputes surrounding the sale of disputed freeholds to foreigners.
Frankly, the most minimal amount of research by your correspondent would have revealed this information. Viewing of widely available photographs from the period would also have shown that there were very few habitable properties in the village in 1974.
The reason for this was that Karmi, along with many isolated villages, had been largely abandoned mainly due to transport difficulties. There was little work in these villages and, quite obviously, few people owned cars at that time.
A nice response and one well justified. We know the couple who are due to be attacked by the dodgy Greek lawyer trying to gain more publicity and if you had seen the amount of work they needed to do to the property to make it in any way habitable, you would have realised how true this is.
Add to this some of the development that is going on in the North, for example see www.portcypriummarina.com, rumoured to be costed at £8 million; and you will realise that all the "Do not buy in TRNC" rubbish that the press is pushing is a load of nonsense. This is a country that is developing rapidly despite the rest of the world.
In this vain I believe that the Tonight program that was delayed will be transmitted on Friday on ITV 1 at 8 p.m. Would anybody like to put money on a rubbish program just like the last one, but maybe it makes good viewing and earns advertising income. Nothing to do with good research and the truth.
Well it's Wednesday again and another midweek Cyprus Today. This paper should really look at what it is doing to the TRNC, they constantly persist in knocking the TRNC, especially where it is related to the property market. TRY THINKING POSITIVE PLEASE EDITOR.
This week the headlines read.
Homeowners targetted over land claims.
Text Hate Attacks on Brits.
Britons with homes in North Cyprus are being targetted in a text message campaign by supporters of Greek Cypriot land claims.
Please note all the "S" = plural in the above written words, because the story then goes on to explain how ONE grandmother in UK received 4 text messages on her UK mobile. Very sad to hear and sad for the grandmother but who can believe the detail in this story when even the headlines are wrong and worst of all this damned newspaper goes out to many who maybe believe the written word.
Mr Tatar, the Finance Minister, has been able to pay out pensioners at the end of the month due to a bail out by Turkey. He has however put a freeze on all government expenditure whilst the cash crisis remains a problem.
The new government has admitted that CTA is on the verge of bankruptcy, something that we have been saying for sometime now. The Prime Minister says that this is a result of excessive recruitment resulting in a bloated staff level. 900 staff to run 6 aircraft is definitely over the top and a major restructuring is required. Well at least the problem is recognised now we need to see if anything is done.
The paper is full of more of the same, the only positive note is the weather forecast and that makes us very happy. Why, because we are having the water gullies around the swimming pool, sealed at this rime, because we were losing water too quickly. This should be finished tonight and then has to dry by Friday and the weekend.
Oh Dear, Oh dear, Anybody remember us singing the praises of Haci Ali Restaurant last year, especially when they did such a wonderful job of organising my 70th party.
Well they have been closed for most of the winter, probably because of lack of trade and have now re-opened w.e.f. 1st June. Because they were open again the Layabouts decided to go there this evening.
What a disappointment. The starters were minute, somebody had garlic mushrooms and they turned out to be tinned and costed out at around 50p per mushroom. Bryan and I had three very small pieces of Holoumi cheese grilled in butter; and then the main courses came. Those who had the good fortune to pick steak in some form, said it was very good quality, if a trifle expensive. Three of us picked a traditional shrimp guvec (casserole to you) and this was horrible.
We have since heard of one group walking our after waiting two hours for their meal. Very sad because this place has the most stunning setting and last year was very well run.
The pool is up and running full time again and we are pleased about that because it is very hot today, so here goes with a quick precis of the weekend newspaper to be followed by a dip in cool water.
Headlines. CTA plunges to the brink. Here we go with the negatives again. The government has admitted that both the airline and the Kibtek Electric authority are on the brink of collapse. Is this really so, or is the government trying to blame the outgoing government and get Turkey to open their wallet again. Further in the paper the editorial questions whether a country with a population of only 250,000 really needs a National Airline. Good question I think.
The Lapta municipality has issued a warning, that anybody using domestic water for pools or gardens can be fined up to 1,000 TL and have their water cut off. This is OK, but maybe the locals don't read the letters sent out or read the newspapers, only the Brits worry about water shortages.
Anybody remember when we were all using Getikale airport, whilst Ercan airport was updated. Well now Getikale has been closed for eight months. Why? Because the Electricity Authority has erected high voltage power lines in the area. Now what bright SPARK thought up that idea?
A motorist whose 1972 Ford Escort caught fire, drove in to a petrol station in Lefkosa on Tuesday evening. Another bright spark with a limited amount between the ears. Fortunately the forecourt staff grabbed extinguishers and put the fire out.
Joan and I had a garden cane chair, which came with us from UK and was looking very sad by now so we decided ot put it out with the weekend rubbish. Richard and I wanted to nip up to the top of the village so dropped it off and had a bet on how long it would be there. Don't know who won, but by the time we had got back down the hill, 15 minutes later, it had gone. Hope somebody can make a better job of restoring it than I did last year.
Most of the rest of the paper is repetative UK and World news.
Subject: Petition
Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 08:11:09 +0000
Hello All
Please will you all read this info on the website and sign accordingly. The petition needs 5.000 names before Tuesday. This affects ALL of us who have property in the T.R.N.C.
http:// www.kuzey-kibris.com
Please forward to anyone else you know who has property/land or an interest in the T.R.N.C.
Thank you.
News keeps breaking about the North & South. Everybody has been led to believe that you should not take a risk of buying property here in TRNC because things are not legal. OK, so what about the South and what about all the people waiting 15 years + for deeds etc. Well this extract from the Famagusta paper which is quoting The Cyprus Mail, shows just how much they care on the other side.
FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE 10.JUN.09
The Cyprus government will not help to fix the title deeds fiasco it has been revealed- leaving up to 130,000 people with out their legal documentation.
According to the Cyprus Mail, final confirmation for buyers came after months of speculation that much legislation was non-existent.
The news will anger thousands of people stuck in limbo trying to sell their properties, which is ‘near to impossible’ without deeds according to a leading property adviser, the paper reports.
The news came after British peer Lord Jones of Cheltenham demanded clarification about the much-discussed legislation designed to end the fiasco.
We come in peace they say !!!!!!!!!
Meet Walter. This guy was found staggering around in our garden and one of our cats showed interest which is how we spotted him. He is very tiny and has not even got his eyes open yet. Joan managed to feed him some milk on the end of her finger and then we popped him back in a pile of leaves under the hedge. Let's hope his mother finds him again.
Hedgehogs here on Cyprus are very small in comparison to the big ones we are used to in UK, but this one was clearly very tiny indeed. the internet told us that we should feed goats milk every two hours, Richard designated Joan for that duty but she declined, so he definitely needs his mum.
A black wreath was laid at the gates of the British High Commission as part of a public show of feeling about the Orams case and of course the whole situation here in TRNC. The petition which has been going the rounds was also presented with 10,000 signatures on it, to a Mr David Reed, the High Commission representative. Several hundred people then marched to the Saray Hotel and presented copies of the petition to UN and EU officials there. Finally a show of anger here to both the EU and the UN about their failing to recognise the human rights of people here in TRNC. This march and everything associated with it is being organised by a lawyer here and is I hope the start of a protest at the British Government in particular, who have a special responsibility to ensure political equality and to stop the Greeks from claiming that they alone represent Cyprus.
The two presidents are at loggerheads again according to the press. This time it is because of Mr Christofias's attitude to Turkey wanting to join the EU. At the same time it would appear that Hilary Clinton has suggested US backing to Turkey wanting to join the union. Don't you just love politicians? What chance a solution to this divided island!
Just this minute had some really bad news. Anybody who has bought a car from Tasas in Nicosia or had dealings with the new Tigra company that is being set up, will know Bob very well.
I have just had a call from Tony to say that Bob's cleaner went in to his villa in Camlibel this morning and found him dead on the floor. This is a big shock for all who knew him. He could talk the hind leg off a donkey but was a very genuine guy who would do anything for anybody. He will be sorely missed in the community and particularly by his good friend and business partner, Tony.
Will keep you posted when we know more, but clearly there will need to be a postmortem. If anybody needs to get information from Tony he can be contacted on 0533 861 0657.
We are going through a really hot period right now with humidity levels on the up. Not really very pleasant during the day, but very relaxing in the evening when you can sit out either at home or in a restaurant.
Sit out in a restaurant is exactly what Joan and I did last evening, with Atay and Akile, at the Chinese near The Ship Hotel. We had a lovely evening, good food and a particular change from kebabs and doners, good company and a nice garden setting.
According to the press, now that the new government has had a real opportunity to study the finances on TRNC, left in such a sorry state by the outgoing government, they have gone to official meetings with Turkey to discuss the situation and officially request financial support. The suggestions coming out of Turkey linked to any rescue are: CTA to be privatised as it is struggling with annual debts of 50 million TL. A "radical" restructuring of the debt ridden Kibtek electricity authority and the Eastern Mediterranean University, which also has debts of 40 Million TL. They are also suggesting that the 13th salary and annual overtime bill for TRNC government employees could be sacrificed. Government staffing levels to be reduced, which could cause some unrest amongst to locals, who have been feather bedded for so long now that they consider it their right. Maybe a rude awakening is on the way.
An interesting letter from one disgruntled expat as a result of our lovely village mayor threatening to fine us for the misuse of domestic water for garden watering or filling pools etc. We are billed every month for 10 tons of water, whether we use it or not and will be fined if we misuse this water. The letter writer wishes he had bought a "Cyp" pool instead of a "Brit" pool. Why, because whilst his "Brit" pool requires filling with expensive tanker water every couple of weeks, his next door neighbours "Cyp" pool has not needed one single tanker in 4 years. It is a known fact that only we Brits worry about water usage, the locals just hose down everything without thought, but never get fined.
After reading all this newspaper stuff, which is sometimes a bit repetitive we went to John and Sandy's villa, across the field from us as they were having a little get together for their wedding anniversary, which was in fact last week. They had delayed to do until their son Chris arrived with his wife Kristina. It was very hot over there but Joan managed to find a way of keeping cool and I noticed that she was later joined by others who felt it was a good idea. A few beers and some nice food from the cold buffet, made for a very pleasant afternoon. As usual there was lots of discussion about lots of ways to put the world to rights, but that is part of the joy of it all. Don't know what John was actually talking about, but it must have been important because all hands were listening intently.
FUNERAL NOTICE.
BOB FROM TASAS MOTORS IS BEING BURIED TOMORROW AT 11 A.M. THE PLACE THE BRITISH CEMETERY OPPOSITE THE PIA BELLA HOTEL, GIRNE.
Richard, Joan and I were invited out to dinner last night by Tom & June Howarth. They had unfortunately bought some land around four years ago and had been seriously ripped off both with the price and deeds of ownership which never materialised. well with the aid of a good aggressive lawyer we were able to help them out and they had come over to get their deeds and see once again the piece of land they now own.
They had asked us to select the restaurant so we came up with one of the newest places on the island Number 14 in the old town of Girne. The people who have restored this villa; and it is beautifully done, used to own Efendi House restaurant. They have just opened up their gardens as a summer restaurant and the quality of the food, the ambiance etc justified everything that people have been saying about it. We sat on a table with Tom & June and ate a very scrumptious meal. Be warned you will need to book this place for that special evening out, many days or weeks in advance. Word will spread and it will be fully booked.
That was last evening, but today was the sad day of Bob's funeral. It is difficult to believe that the man we all knew has passed away so suddenly and still we have no knowledge of how or why it happened, the post mortem results have not been released yet. The funeral was very well attended and his ex-wife and son had come over from UK.
I have received this article that has appeared in Cyprus Mail and is written by a Greek Cypriot journalist.
Remember that I had said about the comment made by our President Talat, who said that God should help the President and his cronies in the south. Well this article, from their own side, expresses the crass stupidity of the lot of them.
God help every one of our naive crusaders
By Loucas Charalambous
“GOD HELP Christofias” was the response of Mehmet Ali Talat to the president’s declaration that “Turkey will continuously find us in her way in every step taken.”
Talat added: “What I mean is that if Christofias has decided to take on Turkey he will also need the help of God. And I hope he will have it.”
The president had invited this put-down – but he was not the only one engaging in grandstanding. We heard a lot of similarly idiotic statements by our newly elected MEPs who immediately started competing in the demagoguery stakes over who would cause the biggest damage to Turkey at the European Parliament.
Christofias seems to confirm on a daily basis what this column wrote a few weeks ago – he is not much different from the late Tassos Papadopoulos. He is leading things to the same result through a different route. He pretends to be working day and night for a settlement but in reality he refuses to take any meaningful step in this direction. He is taking us for a ride.
Now he wants to persuade us that he will solve the Cyprus problem by placing obstacles in Turkey’s way. Yet not so long ago he was telling us that using a veto against Turkey at the EU was pointless.
His latest statement is just another demonstration of the abject lack of self-awareness that blights our politics: we behave like giants while the rest of the world can see that we are as Glafcos Clerides used to say“a small mosquito on the international political stage”.
Turkey is a state 100 times bigger than the Cyprus state and has no enemy in the world – it is currently in the process of normalising relations with Armenia. Turkey is currently chairing the UN Security Council to which she was elected with an overwhelming number of votes. The US considers the country one of its closest allies. She has the third biggest army in the world and is currently involved in accession talks with the EU after a unanimous decision of the leaders of all the Union’s member-states.
All the above are in danger of being shattered by the modest village boy from Dikomowho is president of 700,000 Cypriots and it is questionable whether more than 200 people outside the island had ever heard of him. This is how serious our politicians are.
Of course Christofias is not the only one involved in the efforts to bring about the demise of Turkey. He will be assisted by our six MEPs. I nearly passed out when I heard them talking on television last weekend – it was a competition over who would cause the most damage to Turkey at the European Parliament.
The one who came up with the most ideas was former presidential candidate Ioannis Kasoulides who belongs to DISY a party set up in order to promote rationality. As he stared at the studio ceiling Kasoulides listed several measures he would take but the last one took the biscuit.
“I will see whether we can secure a majority so we can cut the EU funds given to Turkey.”
I was left speechless. Turkey must be terrified at the prospect of Kasoulides cutting her EU funds.
When I a write about the political lunatic asylum I am not exaggerating. These people are not just naïve they are dangerous which is why I am inclined to copy Talat. I pray that God will help all of them – Christofias, Kasoulides, Antigone and Theocharous. As they are determined to destroy Turkey they will need His help.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009
Yesterday evening, the gang went to the Cabin restaurant here in Lapta. Have to say that it is a fairly new venture for the current owners and they did a super job. Quality food at a good price and all served up on time. We shall go back.
This morning, Joan, Richard and I went over to the South side. Richard wanted to go to Debenhams for some new shirts etc and we decided to get some foodstuff at the same time. We also had a bit of a route around Ikea as we are currently thinking seriously about selling this place fully furnished. When you see the cost of transport you will realise why.
This evening was the date for the BRS Summer Dance. An annual event that we always enjoy. Sandy is involved in the organisation so gathers a table of 10 together each year. This year their son Chris and his wife of almost 1 year, Kristina, were also here on holiday, so joined us for the evening.
The event is held at The Denizkizi Hotel each year and the do a good job laying on some superb food. There was a local group to entertain us for some of the time and then dancing to The Steam Machine, our sort of music. You know what I mean, smoochy Rod Stewart and then stuff like YMCA go get the blood moving through the old veins. It must have been good to dance to, because according to Christopher a big event was getting his father up on the dance floor. A few glasses of wine were consumed and we were able to talk to many acquaintances that one always finds at these events. Joan must have been startled on one occasion because she was clearly heard to be saying what? and just for once it wasn't directed at me.
All in all a very enjoyable evening in good company.
Hot, hot and very hot. The temperature has been over 100 F on a couple of days this past week and the forecast for the coming week is more of the same according to the newspaper.
The headlines are about the new Foreign Minister saying that the Oram's battle is lost. So suddenly a newly appointed government minister has become an expert on UK law. I think not. But it gives our newspaper another opportunity to do more damage to the economy here on the island.
The government is also drawing up plans to prevent anybody else having the same problems as Linda & David Orams. Apparently these plans will be published in next Wednesdays newspaper so we will have to wait and see.
The police have now held a sixth man accused of the break-ins which have occurred in expat properties over the last few months. All praise to them for the capture of these guys, means we can all rest more comfortably now as they are suggesting that this sudden surge in robberies is all down to this group. Meanwhile three Turkish women were held at the Girne ferry port with a bag full of gold jewellery and 10,500 TL in cash. They said they found the bag on a beach when they were going for a swim. A likely story.
The PM is saying "I have never seen money wasted like this" as he continues to accuse the former government of bankrupting the TRNC. Is he going to expose these wrong doings or is it part of his ploy to get Turkey to bail us out?
OK time to get some preparation done for the gannets who are descending around 7 p.m. tonight to eat.
Seven of us had a really great evening yesterday. When our friend Bob and his wife came over last, they sneaked in a 5KG rib of best Angus beef. Well the shrink wrap said eat before end June 2009 so we did just that. We would have got this out of the freezer much sooner but many of our friends like their beef done until it is almost cinder. That would have been absolute sacrilege, So today was the day.
Stewart and Barbara came to tell us about their French adventures, Anne Lloyd likes her beef rare and succulent and David was here because his wife Liz had gone to a wedding in Beirut. I was in charge of starters, Joan did the beef with all that went with it and Richard made some scrumptious puds. All in all a lovey evening and a lot of chat.
Joan, Richard and I are going to be eating beef for the next two nights at least, but Bob & Gitta, thanks, a lovely piece of beef. Come again soon!!!!
Well the Wednesday paper is out and the proposals are also being told by journalists.
NEW LAWS TO STOP GREEKS. The Government is "considering" introducing laws to thwart people from the South presenting writs to current owners here in the North. The Foreign Minister urges people not to accept writs but to call the police immediately. He says it is a crime to try to deliver writs here and impose their regulations on a country they don't profess to recognise. Everybody knows my feelings about the Orams attending court in the South, after being advised not to, but that horse has bolted and it is too late to shut the gate, so we will live with the consequences.
The governments proposal to stop more cases like this is to Nationalise the Land. Interesting proposal, what does that mean, lease our land back to us? I am not sure that many of us would want that, it could have an effect on the property values. Maybe just keep on shouting in Europe and try to win the case back, would be a better line of action. They do at last seem to be taking some sort of action and are starting to state the case of the Turkish Cypriots. I suppose we have to wait until the government comes up with the final plan before jumping to conclusions.
There was uproar in the parliament this week as the new government is blaming the outgoing for the TRNC financial situation and claiming that there were more and more people employed by the old government in various jobs, which they could not possibly afford to pay. The outgoing are claiming that the PMs figures are all wrong and he is telling lies. Guess we will be getting more of this as they get to grips with the actual situation. A bit like the fight over expenses for you all over there, great fun, but serious all the same.
Well it is here again the dreaded birthday. This time the 71st and still enjoying it. As has sort of become tradition, we gathered the gang together and went out on a boat trip from Girne harbour.
We had a call early from the captain of Sakki, the boat we always use, to say that the forecast was not that brilliant, so we would be maybe restricted to going west and having only one stop. But the forecast for tomorrow was no better so we decided to just go for it. The problem off this coast is the wind which creates some heavy waves and swell, the forecast was for 3.6 to 4.2, that's height in meters of the swell.
We all got down to the harbour nice and early so were preparing to leave port at 10 a.m. exactly. We were the first boat to leave harbour and when we had been sailing for about 20 minutes, other ships captains were contacting our man to find out what it was really like outside the harbour. We were beginning to bounce around a lot but but our man was happy with his boat and it's reliability so we headed off towards one of the western bays which were sheltered. After about half an hour we could see 5 other boats following us now that they had found out that it was OK.
At the beginning of this season our regular guy on Sakki had produced a whole load of new brochures and we had supplied a lot of our old photos on a CD for him, which is why Joan was explaining to Paul how so many of us appeared in the publicity shots.
We did just have the one stop for a swim and then for lunch and the boat was rolling quite a bit on the swell, so all praise to Tania for her efforts in the kitchen. We had lots of meze, some fried fish, prawns and crab claws, washed down of course by things from the bar. Scrumptious stuff, but then that is why we always go back with the same guy and his wife.
On the return we had to go out some way off the coast and then make the turn, across the swell. Now we had the wind and the waves on our stern so the journey was interesting but uneventful. One or two got quite wet up front but it was a very enjoyable day. Joan just loves the sea air so was very happy sitting in the sun until we reached harbour.
Yesterday's newspaper suggests that shopping bills will be cut. The government has reduced some taxes in order to try to boost the economy and the suggestion is that there will be cheaper prices and more BOGOF deals. The government want people to shop more here locally rather than in the south so that is one of their reasons for cutting VAT and some advanced taxes at import time. Time will tell if this gets passed on to us at the till.
The row over the suggested over recruitment by the previous government, which is supposedly adding to the deficit problem, continues to brew. Now the previous prime minister is threatening to sue if the figures can't be proved. This sort of mud slinging really does not get to the root of the problem and will just take up parliament time needed to resolve the financial problems, but then that is the nature of the people here.
At last the insurance companies here have suggested that a no-claims discount scheme might benefit careful drivers and penalise the rest. However to cover this, the basic price of premiums will rise by 50TL per year. If in the end you can get up to 45% discount after three years then it has to worth it.
For some time now, Joan and I have been using 3G as our internet access provider, through the Turkcell phone company. We have recently had a slowing down and sometimes a cut off during the day. Finally the company has admitted that it is the victim of it's own success. They put the blame on the many users who are downloading large files for their own use. Generally speaking though we find the service OK, you cant really expect the sort of service you can get in Europe were there are sophisticated communications available.
Eight pilot cases to test the TRNC's Immovable Property Commission as a remedy to resolve the matter of land previously owned by Greek Cypriots, are to be heard in November. The European Court of Human Rights can then assess if this is the right way to deal with this issue over land. If the ECHR court rules that the ICP decisions give a suitable result then it could refuse to take any more cases.
On Wednesday there was a suggestion that nationalising land and leasing it back for 99 year periods, would be far too expensive, so the government has got it's thinking cap back on again. At least it is giving serious thought to this huge problem, something which has been swept under the carpet for years. An alternative suggestion was to give land deeds a unique reference and hide a list of who owns what under lock and key in the TRNC Treasury. Uummmm, I think not.
President Talat has this week briefed the new parliament on the progress of talks between himself and the Greek Cypriot leader. He apparently still played his cards close to the chest and this leads of course to accusations that he might be giving too much away, on a peace at all costs basis. He does say that gaps remain but they are narrower and he confirmed that property ownership and government issues are areas were lots more negotiation was needed.
There is a long way to go yet before the problems of this island are resolved and that does not even take in to consideration the economic problems which can only be solved by a very courageous government biting the bullet and forcing through some very unwelcome cut-backs.
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