Campus Life >> Information for Prospective Staff

Accommodations for Staff and Guests

Our faculty and staff housing facilities consist of fully furnished detached and semi-detached houses with two, three and four rooms. Currently almost all faculty prefer to live on the campus. METU NCC Guest House has 40 hotel-style rooms. It offers comfortable on-campus accommodations that feature private bathrooms, televisions, telephones and seasonal heating and cooling controls in each room. Use of the rooms is available for visiting METU Faculty, University-sponsored conferences, individuals attending University events and Alums. Daily housekeeping service is provided. Click for more pictures.

               

Around the Campus

Food Shopping:

There is a Saturday morning Bazaar in Güzelyurt in the main square area near the museum. It is most convenient to park near the Oyak Bank  at the first round-about as you enter the town coming from the university. The fresh fish on sale in the parking lot on the right hand side of the bazaar are priced about the same as in Turkey and may otherwise be difficult to find. The bananas, both the small ones grown locally and the large ones imported from South America are much cheaper than in Turkey. It might be good to buy them when they are a bit green as they ripen quickly. The grapefruit and other citrus fruits are also good buys. The oranges are best for making fresh squeezed juice. Non-food items are priced the same as the small shops in Guzelyurt.

If you miss the Saturday morning Bazar, the supermarkets at Kalkanlı Village Center offer a variety of fresh vegetable choices, which are typically restocked on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights.

There is a Military Canteen (‘Askeri Kantin’) on the left corner at the first round-about as you enter Guzelyurt coming from METU-NCC.  This market is open for long hours to the general public as a service by the army. It is very crowded on Saturdays because of the nearby bazaar. There is a well stocked fruit and vegetable section on the left as you enter the market. There is another ‘Askeri Kantin’ on an army base on the main road just west of Girne. It is on the left side of the road when driving from METU-NCC towards Girne.

Lemar is the most popular modern retail store in TRNC. The one in Güzelyurt is located in the newer part of the town near the road to Bostancı. It is one block past the road that splits off to Bostancı on the left side. There is a slightly larger Lemar on the main road just to the west of Girne. There is a large Lemar in Lefkoşa just past the tourist information office in the main shopping area inside the city walls.

For the international food, Fresco and Tempo on Güzelyurt-Girne road have good selection. Both markets are located past Alsancak on the left hand side (it is 30-40 min drive from the campus).

Shopping for Clothing:

Güzelyurt downtown has few shops for immediate needs. Lefkoşa has a larger number of shops that carry known brands. Lefkoşa Dereboyu Caddesi (Dereboyu Street) has many clothing stores, and is one of the nice spots on the island for shopping and dining.

Restaurants Around:

In Güzelyurt area there are very few restaurants. Pizza Vira is a good choice for  Pizza and Turkish Pides. Salih Usta offers Turkish Kebabs. Şah Restaurant and Lara Restaurant is a bit nicer to for enjoying a nice dinner of Cyprus kebabs.

In Girne there are many more options, including very nice restaurants with ambiance. The Archways, Address, and Ambiance are good choices for Cyprus kebabs. For different variety of well priced dinners in a friendly atmosphere Café Dükkan and Eziç are good.

Swimming

METU-NCC swimming pool is open in summer. It is four lanes, twenty five meters long, and costs 5 YTL to enter.

There are several nice beaches between Lapta and Girne but most are owned by hotels and may charge admission. Most of the larger hotels have swimming pools. The beaches just to the west of Güzelyurt are tragically being used as unofficial trash dumps and are accessible only by four wheel drive vehicles. Also beware that there are sometimes deadly ocean currents especially on windy days so it is safest to swim in the sheltered inlets which are run by hotels. It is said that many of the finest beaches and least spoiled natural areas are on the northeastern peninsula.

Tourist Information Offices

Free maps, a bilingual English/Turkish monthly magazine, and other useful information can be acquired at the tourist information offices. In Lefkoşa the office is in the gatehouse in the middle of the road just as you enter the main old shopping district. In Girne it is located near the old castle. METU-NCC P&R Department on campus also has a variety of helpful brochures and is more than willing to help with any inquiries.

Outstanding Historic Sites:

Some of the must-see sites are Salamis, an ancient Roman city just north of Mağusa, Bufaveto Castle, Girne castle with one of the world’s most ancient ship wrecks, Guzelyurt museum, Soli and Vuni ancient sites to the west of Lefke. There are a great number of castles and old monasteries scattered about Cyprus.

Hiking:

The Kalkanlı Hiking trails are right next to the campus. Bufavento is another nice spot for hiking. Take the main road that leads from Kyrenia over the mountains via the Besparmak mountain pass. As the road reaches its highest point and before descending the southern slopes there is a turning to the right. The road is accessible by car but the first 800 yards (730m) is rough, driving with care is recommended. It is a 4.2 mile (6.8km) drive along a road which is a military access route. There are red signs that forbid entrance strategically placed along the track. According to the signs you should not deviate from the route, but follow strictly.

Private & Public Schools

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