ASAP ALL STARS

Thoughts for the week

“North Cyprus”

Christine

Since arriving here in Northern Cyprus it’s been somewhat of a whirlwind experience! I am singing every night of the week at various venues and loving it!

I have done interviews with Can Gazi for his twice weekly TV show ‘A Cup of Conversation’ on BTR2 and Engin Dervişağa for his show Vox Pop which were broadcast 3 times on BRT1, BRTHD and BRT2.

The locals and expats have received me with open arms and I have had such positive feedback from all whether British or Cypriot which makes what I do worth every single moment – Music has always been my life and as long as the people want to hear me, it will always be my pleasure to sing for them.`

Dawn

I fell in love with Cyprus when I came on holiday and saw the very laid back way of life here, plus of course the weather and spectacular views. I bought a holiday home, and continued to use it just for that purpose, but something was pulling me back here each time I returned to the UK.

It’s a very small island, but saying that I still haven’t seen all of it.!!

The expat community is very strong and I can quite honestly say that I have more friends here than I ever had in the UK.

I love my life here, and although there are problems (I think everywhere has their own good and bad), I wouldn’t change my mind and go back to my roots. Now there’s a song !!!!

Rachel

I first came to North Cyprus in 2004 and fell in love with the island and also with one of the locals!!! Originally I came from London and up until the time I met my partner, I was living in a place called South Woodford on the outskirts of North London with my son Joshua.

Returning to North Cyprus about 4 or 5 times a year I would never want to leave, so when I had a chance in 2011 to leave the UK, I got a one way ticket and have been here ever since.

I love the beautiful scenery and the people who are very friendly and I’m trying to learn Turkish too, it’s a very hard language, but as they say over here yavaş yavaş. For me it’s a dream come true to be in the country that I love and doing the job that I love. I never thought I would become a professional singer at my time of life, but it proves anything is possible.

Col Coleman

After leaving England, and spending many years in Egypt, I decided to bring my wife and young daughter to North Cyprus.

It was easy for me as I had travelled, around the world performing as an entertainer, but my wife and daughter had never left Egypt so it was a difficult time for them. When we arrived in North Cyprus we were welcomed with open arms and received a lot of help from some great people. Ahmet Aşik of ASAP, for one, really helped us overcome many of the difficulties we faced and I owe him a special vote of thanks.

Now after 2 years we are settled and happy here in North Cyprus and I am performing regularly and getting to meet you all slowly and looking forward to meeting more of you at future venues.

Jamie Vincent

My wife Teresa and I moved to Northern Cyprus about a year and a half ago having lived in Turkey for about 3 years. The main reason for the move was as a musician I was not able to obtain a work permit in Turkey, but through All Stars Agency Promotions I was able to obtain the necessary work permit in Northern Cyprus.

Once here I found the locals and the other Expats to be a friendly crowd and most willing to help where they could to get us settled in. The local Cypriot community made us feel at home as soon as we arrived.

We are proud to call the TRNC our home and invite our friends and family in the UK to come and stay with us so we can show them this beautiful place.

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