GUZELYURT AND LEFKE IN NORTH CYPRUS

Guzelyurt and Lefke are two places that are a little off the beaten track but reward visitors with an assault on the senses. Freshly squeezed into the compact coastal plain to the west are the dense citrus groves around Guzelyurt - the word means 'beautiful place' in Turkish and lives up to its name in the colour and energy of the oranges and orange blossom, lemons, strawberries and pomegranates and much, much more.

This area makes a great tour out from Girne with the window wound right down to capture the aroma of the citrus. You'll almost certainly pull up on the ridge by the village of Kalkanh to gaze over a vista that has the long sweep of Guzelyurt Bay to the right with the fertile fruit-growing valleys in the foreground and the drama of the Trodos Mountains as backdrop.

Guzelyurt itself is a busy market town built around the fruit business and further along the coast road, a short diversion to Lefke is rewarded with the discovery of an unspoilt town of truly Turkish character with many fine old buildings, three mosques and, surprisingly, a curious circular British storehouse built to mark the coronation of King George VI in 1937 - North Cyprus is that kind of place.

The gems of true antiquity along this coast are the uniquely Persian palace of Vouni and the Roman remains of Soli. Vouni, perched high up on a spectacular mount overlooking the sea, has the foundations of a once-magnificent royal palace where you can trace the paths, grand stairways and rooms of the rich lifestyles lived here until 380BC. For the men there's some very old plumbing to marvel at!

Soli has some of the best-preserved mosaics including swans, ducks and dolphins which decorate the Roman remains of what was once a major town of Cyprus. The basilica, a 3,500-seat Odeon and the remains of the temple to Aphrodite and Isis await discovery. When your thirst for knowledge is exhausted in the heat, your thirst for a local fresh orange juice or a cold beer can be satisfied at the nearby restaurant on the beach.