The friend of Northern Cyprus shares its Daily News of Life and Times around the world
Thursday 2nd of November was the start of the walking season for the Roots Ramblers, Kucuk Erenkoy with 27 and a half people plus several dogs walking the ridge trail above Bahceli. After a beautiful walk which allowed people to choose to turn and return whenever they wished, all met back at Roots Bar for a bowl of hot soup and a catch up after the long, hot summer.
By Kathy Martin…
Saturday 14th May 2016 I had the opportunity to go to the Sea Breeze bar in Kuçuk Erenköy, which is a small village on the North coast, east of Girne/Kyrenia. My great friends Gill and Ivor Moon are fortunate enough to live very close by, so I drove to their house and followed them to the Sea Breeze bar.
As you are possibly aware, I have MS and need a stick to walk, but, with a little help, was able to manage the three steps up into the bar area (there are plans to fit a handrail). Apparently, they have been carrying out a great deal of renovation over this last winter and there is a large, covered, area with several tables. Also, as Gill appreciates my walking difficulties, she had reassured me that the Ladies is easily accessible, which is a very clean facility!
The first thing that struck me was the stunning view over the small sheltered harbour area, with a couple of small yachts floating in it! Gill and Ivor pointed out some children swimming in a sheltered corner of the harbour and informed me that on Thursdays, during the summer, when they return hot and sweaty after their Roots Rambles (walks that they and several other friends with dogs take along the coast) they have water aerobics in the sea to help them cool down!
Claire Dermitaş (a beautiful Scottish lady) is married to a very handsome Turkish gentleman called Mehmet. She manages the front of house extremely well, whilst Mehmet is producing the tasty food in the kitchen. They serve Tuborg on draft, plus a variety of bottled beers, along with most other drinks.
Ivor was very pleased with his chilli con carne, he had said he would like it very hot, as when he makes it at home he has to keep it cooler for Gill’s taste! Gill fancied a salad, but unfortunately cannot eat fish or cheese, so her special request for a chicken salad was easily arranged for her! Originally I fancied the prawn salad, but was attracted by the name “Shepherd’s Salad”. Asked Claire what this consisted of and was told lots of chopped up salad with hellim and pomegranate sauce, this intrigued me, so ordered it. This was one of the tastiest salads I have eaten for a long time!
When we first arrived, about 13.15, there were only two other customers. However, as the afternoon went on the tables soon filled up and Gill pointed out that Claire and Mehmet would have a very busy day/night as Chrissy (a local entertainer) was singing “Country” that evening!
When I left, about 16.30, they were still very busy serving meals and drinks.
This is definitely a place I will return to, for newcomers to this part of our wonderful island it is very easy to find. Take the Esentepe road, from Girne. Keep driving along this beautiful coast road, with some wonderful sights of the sea, on your left, next to the road. Eventually, between Esentepe and Tatlisu there will be a sign on the left saying Kuçuk Erenköy and the “Sea Breeze”, which is at the bottom of the road on the left, situated next to the sea!
By Chris Elliott….
Having helped the Luckhurst family at the Roots bar with a few promotional articles in the past about the Roots Ramblers, it was nice recently for Margaret and I to make a detour off the Tatlisu/ Esentepe bypass to have coffee with them at Roots Bar, Küçük Erenköy.
It was nice to get to know Tina and Ian Luckhurst and also admire the wonderful views towards the mountains and of course seawards and we also sat and talked to Hannah Luckhurst & Ashley Webb and they told us about a project they have started to raise public awareness of the need to maintain the beauty and freshness of our coastline by cleaning and preserving beaches and they told us about their following project.
Project aim
Our aim is to clean up North Cyprus’s Coastline! We will focus initially on the collection of man-made waste that has washed up on our shores, restoring the 
land and beaches to their natural (plastic free) state.
About the project
We, at Project Roots, feel very passionately about the Coast of North Cyprus. We have visited Cyprus for the past 6 to 8 years and have now been permanent working residents for the past 3 years. After trying to enjoy Cyprus’s beaches for so long we have decided that something needs to be done about the rubbish that collects on most of the beaches in our area. We are unsure exactly where the plastic bottles and odd flip flops come from but we want to try to make a difference to at least two large bays in Küçük Erenköy (Tatlisu).
Ashley, Hannah, Tina and Ian.
We will remove all waste from the beaches and headland and to do this we need your help. Funds will help to pay for labour, correct disposal of the waste and heavy duty machinery that will be needed in some areas. We also aim to use the funds to encourage the re-growth of indigenous plants and trees to this area and subsequently, create a natural habitat, to encourage Cyprus’s Wildlife to flourish once again.
We want to bring the coast of North Cyprus back to life!
For those readers who would like to help you can either pledge some financial support via Crowdfunder.co.uk by clicking here or email rootsbar@hotmail.com if you would like to offer some other form of help.
Please also visit the Roots Bar Facebook page for their local news click here
