Christmas in Kyrenia

When I first came to North Cyprus 9 years ago, I didn’t expect to see the festive season of Christmas all lit up everywhere as in the UK.   Of course, North Cyprus is a Muslim country and the celebrations are for the New Year but in December there is an abundance of festive lights, Santa Claus and reindeer and all of the things the expatriate community recognises as Christmas.  Over the years many of the shops and hotels have displayed festive lights and the Belediyesi make a spectacular show in the streets, so the approach of Christmas and the New Year has got better and better.

2012 is no exception, in fact this year there is a wonderful display of festive lights in the streets and we couldn’t resist taking some photographs, in both Kyrenia and Lefkosa, which are shown below in a slideshow.

There may not be quite as much festive decoration as in the UK but Christmas in Kyrenia is lovely as are  the New Year celebrations with a superb firework display and crowds of people there to witness the bringing in of the New Year.

By Margaret Sheard

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