Dipkarpaz is a small town located at the northeastern tip of the island of Cyprus. The town, which is also known as Rizokarpaso, is part of the Karpas Peninsula, a beautiful area that is home to some of the most unspoiled natural beauty in Cyprus. Dipkarpaz is not a very famous destination, but it is a great place to visit for those who love nature, history, and culture.
Some weeks ago, I went there for the first time with some friends living in Cyrpus like me and a friend of mine who came to visit me from London. We stopped there randomly because we were hungry, and it was one of the few places where we could find a restaurant. The streets were empty, except from one caffè surrounded by old men smoking cigarettes, drinking Cypriot coffee, playing Tavli and ready to gaze at the few cars driving by and us, strangers.
We found an open tavern in the main square. We entered and the owner warmly welcomed us with the few words he could say in English. He looked happy and surprised to see tourists and he brought us around for a tour of his tavern. In addition to the wonderful view we could enjoy from the long and narrow balcony leading to the toilet and the old family pictures, he showed us the kitchen, with a stone oven, a long wooden board and two old ladies who were cooking meat for an army. We were wandering who would have eaten all that food since the residents of the village weren’t many and the presence of tourists didn’t seem ordinary. Once we sat at the table, we kindly asked for some vegetarian dishes as the half of us didn’t eat meat. We hoped not to bother him with our requests, but the owner started to find many creative ways to satisfy our needs and, once he finished to take our order, he smiled and left. After only ten minutes, the owner came back followed by three young men bringing our food. Suddenly our table was completely full of salads, dip sauces, pita bread, lahmajun and one big plate with baked lamb and potatoes. We ate as much as we could not to disappoint the kind owner, but we were totally full after the lunch.
While we were trying to digest before leaving and continuing our trip, two big busses parked on one side of the main street. We saw a dozen of families whose members belonged to at least three different generations coming towards the tavern. When they arrived, they sat as everybody knew her/his place. In few minutes and without ordering, ten waiters came out of the kitchen and served food on the tables. People started eating, drinking and chatting out loud. Some of them had brought tupperwares from home to fill them with the food that they probably wanted to eat for dinner.
We were particularly surprised by the situation we found ourselves in because at first, we couldn’t understand if they were Turkish or Greek Cypriots. We asked the owner who explained us that the two communities live together in Dipkarpaz because some Greek Cypriots chose to remain there after 1974, when the island was divided. This is the reason why you can see both the Yeni Cami mosque and the Ayios Synesios church one next to the other.
Even though we could have sat there staring at these families for the whole afternoon, we drank our Cypriot coffee and continued our day trip to the Golden beach.
Dipkarpaz turned out to be a nice discovery, rich of history, delicious cuisine and perfect for those who want to experience the traditional Cypriot way of life. I definitely recommend having lunch in the tavern in the main square.
