Nicosia is the last divided capital in Europe, and you feel it as soon as you reach the old city. A great ring of Venetian walls, built in the 1560s in the shape of a star with eleven bastions, encloses the centre, and across the middle runs the Green Line, the buffer zone created after the Turkish invasion of 1974. Barbed wire, sandbags and shuttered buildings mark the line in places, and a few crossing points allow pedestrians to pass between the two halves of the city, which is a strangely routine business, with passport checks and a walk down a pedestrian street.
On both sides, the old town is a muddle of lanes, workshops and churches, with Venetian, Ottoman and British layers. A Gothic cathedral built by the Lusignan kings was converted to a mosque, and the Selimiye now dominates the northern side, while the south has Byzantine churches full of icons, a decent archaeological museum, and cafés in restored houses. Food is Mediterranean with a local twist: halloumi grilled or fried, souvla, which is skewered charcoal-grilled meat, stuffed vine leaves, and sweets soaked in syrup. Coffee is Cypriot, strong and sweet, served in tiny cups with the grounds in the bottom.
Cyprus drives on the left, a legacy of British rule, so riders from the continent need to adapt. Nicosia's traffic is intense and fast, with complex roundabouts and little patience, and in the heat of summer it can reach forty degrees by midday. Leaving town is the reward: to the south-west the road rises into the Troodos Mountains, where pine forests, cool air and tight bends lead to villages and painted churches, ten of which are listed by UNESCO for their medieval frescoes. Mount Olympus, the island's highest point at just under two thousand metres, is the summit, and in winter it carries snow and a small ski area.
Fuel is easily found, with stations around the ring road and on every main highway, and prices are moderate. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with mild weather and wildflowers in March and April. Summers are very hot, and rain is rare between June and September. Take water on every ride, wear ventilated gear and keep to the shade at midday. The old city is a pleasure on foot in the early evening, when shops reopen and the smell of grilled meat drifts through the lanes.