Soli
One of the ten ancient city kingdoms of Cyprus, with a Roman theatre cut into the hillside facing the sea and a basilica floor covered in mosaics. The swan mosaic is the one people photograph.
Lefke
Water, shade and oranges. Lefke is the green corner of a dry island, and it is the one place where land is still measured in groves rather than square metres.
100+Years on some of the plane trees in town
5th c BCVouni Palace, on the hill above the coast
LowestLand prices of the five regions
Older than most of the island
Vouni Palace
A palace from the 5th century BC on a hilltop with a view over the whole western coast. Barely a wall stands above knee height, and it is still one of the best places on the island to sit for an hour.
The Ottoman town
Lefke grew around its water. Old stone channels still run through the town, the mosque and the plane trees date back centuries, and the whole place is a few degrees cooler than the coast.
A slow day
The citrus plain
Oranges, lemons and grapefruit run from Lefke across towards Güzelyurt. In winter the whole road smells of blossom and the fruit is sold from tables at the roadside.
The west coast
Gemikonağı and the shore south of it are quiet, shallow and almost empty. This is the coast for people who find Kyrenia in August too much.
Sunset side of the island
Lefke faces west, which sounds small until you have watched the sun go down into the sea from a terrace here every evening for a week.
What to order
Fruit off the tree
Buy oranges by the sack in winter for less than a coffee costs. The juice is the reason people from Kyrenia drive over on a Sunday.
Village cooking
Kolokas, the island's own root vegetable, slow cooked with pork or chicken. Bulgur pilaf. Bean stews. Home food, in places with six tables.
Walnut macun
Green walnuts boiled in syrup, served on a saucer with coffee. Lefke is where people say the good ones come from.
Life here
Space, for the price of a flat
What buys a small apartment on the north coast buys a house and a plot of land here. For anyone who wants a garden, olive trees or room for horses, this is the answer.
A university in a small town
Lefke European University keeps the town younger than it would otherwise be, and provides a steady long term rental market that has nothing to do with tourism.
Buying in Lefke
The cheapest land in North Cyprus, largely village houses, plots and small farms rather than projects. It suits people buying a life rather than a yield.