The underwater world of the North Cyprus Karpaz Peninsula

Do you ever wonder what life was like for the beings that we were before we evolved into homo sapiens! I mean in a time long, long ago when we were still marine creatures, before we learned to come out of the water and stand on the fertile earth of our beautiful blue planet, a time when we lived and swam the length of our days in the vastness of the seas and the oceans that cover this world.

During your holiday in North Cyprus, you can travel back into the environment of human origins with a visit to the underwater world of the sea turtles, and where better to indulge this fantasy than on the North Cyprus Karpaz peninsula. You won't require an entry ticket or a time machine to make this journey, a hire car will take you there in a couple of hours. Just put on a mask and snorkel and perhaps some flippers and walk down over the soft white Karpaz sand dunes and into the warm sea. Wade out into the shallows and immerse yourself in another world. Become a sea turtle. The first thing that will invade your senses as you gaze down through the crystal-clear water is the quality of the colour blue. Of course there are other places in the world where this particular blue can also be found, but the name given to it suggests that it belongs here in the Turkish corner of the Mediterranean. Turkuaz, Turquoise, spell it how you may, this has to be the source. It is hard to believe that so many shades and nuances of blue exist, from the palest of eggshell through to the deepest cobalt. The whiteness of the sands on the sea bed seems to be the element that sets off this wonderful colour show, and this comes from the large quantity of sea-shell fragments mixed in with the sand. Then there is the tranquillity, the peaceful quiet of the underwater, only the sound of your breathing in the snorkel and the tinkling of the shells on the sea floor. The mood is relaxation as you abandon yourself to the warm buoyancy of the salty water. Floating on the surface you can see beds of seaweed waving lazily with the rhythm of the waves coming from afar to break on the shores of the peninsula. Fishes of all sorts dart to and fro among the rocks, feeding, hunting or being hunted. You may even see, browsing along among the beds of sea-weed, a loggerhead turtle. The movement of this creature is the definition of the expression ' 'just cruising''.

Powered by gentle undulations of its strong front flippers and guided by the rear pair, the streamlined form moves slowly and effortlessly, the neck and head protruding from under the front of the huge saucer-shaped shell, but when it needs to it has a most amazing turn of speed. The turtles gather off the beaches during the summer months to breed and nest in the natural unspoiled surroundings of the peninsula. Further round the bay, amongst a tumbled confusion of rocks, you may come across a very orderly line of square-shaped blocks on the sea bed. This turns out to be the remains of a man-made sea wall, part of a harbour built in Roman times. Focussing on the debris scattered below, you can see here a long cylindrical column, perhaps part of a guiding light from the end of the sea wall, and there something resembling a mooring bollard. The action of the waves and storms of two thousand years have caused extensive demolition, but for the most part the pieces have remained where they have fallen, the sea acting as a natural museum curator. Embedded in the sand below the area where the small wooden ships would have moored, you can make out shards of terra-cotta, the handle of an amphora, fragments of jars, pots, plates and bowls, presumably thrown overboard by the sailors, after breakages during a stormy crossing.

The Roman settlement of Karpasia North Cyprus and the church at Ayios Philon were built around a natural rock harbour on the beautiful sandy Krikos bay on the north coast of the peninsula. Follow the signs to the seven landmark palm trees of the "Oasis" and explore the remains of this world from another era. You can spend the night at the rooms on the beach close to the turtle beach if you wish to observe the night-time turtle nesting with the help of the turtle conservation group or explore the archaeological remains of Karpasia North Cyprus, You can rent the snorkels at the "Oasis".

	Price: 85000 GBP Villa in Esentepe North Cyprus