Mountain village Karaman: a beautiful village with a strange concept

After the conflict in the 1970s, the village of Karaman, like so many others, stood empty and fell into disrepair. The Northern Cypriot Ministry of Tourism is counteracting this by leasing the houses for 49 years, and in rare cases also selling them, with the requirement that they be restored. However, this option was and is only available to foreigners. No Cypriot has the right to rent or buy a house here. The result is a beautiful village with magnificent houses and gardens, but one that seems pretty dead. Only 50 houses are inhabited all year round, otherwise the residents come and go like swallows.

We were invited by the Finnish owner of a house to look at the ground floor. It was a former olive mill that had been lovingly renovated and restored. And what is this likeable older lady doing who lives in a wonderful house on the sunny island of Cyprus? She is flying back to Finland in two weeks.

It's great how the Cypriots take care of dogs and cats. There are many initiatives that care for stray cats and dogs and many people who adopt animals. You can tell that too. There are homeless cats and dogs running around everywhere, looking very well-groomed and well-fed and extremely relaxed and peaceful.