I was now travelling from Nicosia east to the coastal fort city of Famagusta. It is important to cross to the northern Turkish side of Nicosia and goto the bus terminal from the Turkish side. Mistakenly I was going to take the bus from the southern Greek side to Famagusta. The bus from the Greek side does not cross the border and I would have been stranded on the wrong part of the island.
The Turkish bus terminal (otogar) is north of the walled city gate. Having visited Turkey three times I know bus terminals are a bit disorganized so I had to keep asking Famagusta and they point me in the right direction to the bus.
Bus fare was 11 Lira ($5.50), was a 75 min ride making local stops, picking up roadside passengers, and school kids. There were also Turkish names such as Lefkosia (Nicosia) or Gazimagusta (Famagusta).
The bus terminal was right at the city wall gate so very strategic for arrival and to orient yourself. The gate is now a tourist info office so I asked inside about taking a bus tomorrow to the ancient ruins of Salamis. They suggested to come tomorrow morning and they will arrange a taxi but I could not get a clear answer on price as I wanted to arrange that before.
My hotel was also very close inside the city gates. It seemed to be empty except for a lone Filipino cleaning lady. She then yelled 'BOSS' at the top of her voice to summon the hotel owner.
2025-05-23