Shopping and Bargaining in North Cyprus

Shopping and Bargaining in North Cyprus

It is customary to tip the staff of hotels in recognition of special services, despite the 100 per cent service charge. Taxi drivers, also, should be tipped, the scale varying in relation to the fare. Fifty mils would be generous for a minimum fare. Personal service of other kinds, from messengers or guides, for instance, should be rewarded, but if these services have been extended by way of hospitality, it is sometimes better to suggest that the recompense be passed on to a child or a dependant. Thus honour is satisfied. There are no rules for bargaining, which must be left to the individual purchaser's discretion. The distinction between what is an eastern Mediterranean game but can also be an occasional cause for offence is a fine drawn one. The best policy, if the asking price seems unreasonable, is to mention a lower figure, and if this is firmly refused to abandon the purchase or else submit.

A great many shops are small, and their proprietors choose to serve their customers themselves, with the result that they provide individual attention unknown in larger stores. The requirements of foreigners are well understood because of the presence in Cyprus of members of the Armed Forces and their families. Narrow Ledra Street in Nicosia and Kyrenia Main Street has a great many shops specializing in the tourist trade. In addition, each town has a municipal market patronized by local people, where native products in general command prices lower than those of the souvenir shops. These markets, of course, specialize in food, and their displays of fruit and vegetables are spectacular. The municipal market in Famagusta is especially showy, with each stall built up as for a horticultural exhibition. Souvenir shops should not be despised, because they retail the adaptations which fit into the pattern of continental, transatlantic and British living. The chief things to look out for are Lefkaritiki lace, pottery from the North Cyprus Kyrenia, Turkish Delight, woven linen and pottery from Phiti in the Paphos district, embroidery from Atheniou in the Larnaca district, baskets from Dhavlos and Phlamoudhi, and silver and brassware.

	Price: 54950 GBP Apartment/Flat in Kyrenia North Cyprus