The conference will be held in the northern part of Cyprus which gives you a great opportunity to visit this part of the island. The northern part of Cyprus offers the perfect escape from the stresses of everyday life. Enjoying more than half of the island's 480 miles of spectacular coastline, the northern part of Cyprus boasts a myriad of picturesque coves and beautiful broad bays backed by historical harbours and citrus groves. Whether it's swimming on secluded stretches of sandy beaches in the Karpaz, enjoying the excellent facilities and activities of private hotel beaches or scuba-diving in one of the region’s spectacular dive sites, there's a great choice for beach-lovers. Here we give you some highlights about the northern part of Cyprus.
Visa regulations apply to crossings from the Southern part of Cyprus.
Note: The nationals of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Armenia are under obligation to apply in person to a TRNC Representative Office abroad to obtain a visa prior to travelling.
Further along the East coast, at the foot of the Karpaz peninsula in the Yeni Iskele district is Bogaz, a sleepy fishing village in an utterly tranquil location. Here, you are within easy reach of the Karpaz itself which boasts some of the island's most deserted sandy beaches. The highlight of this area is the Golden Beach, one of the world's finest and longest beaches, with magnificent sands that stretch for more than 3 kilometres. The beach is fringed with magnificent sand dunes and it is here that turtles roam and make their nurseries.
The northern part of Cyprus is still relatively undiscovered so wildlife flourishes, with some 250 species of birds touching down on the island every year on the passage from East to West. There is also an abundance of lizards, wild donkeys and butterflies, including species which are unique to the region, such as the strangely-shaped festoon and Cleopatra butterflies adorned with the colors of sunshine. They are all part of a rich natural heritage on an island of contrasts that spans from the top of Mount Selvilis 3000 feet to the gentle slopes of the coastal waters, where the famous loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.
The warm climate in Cyprus also means visitors can enjoy beautiful flowers all year-round, making it a veritable botanic haven. In the autumn and winter golden-yellow oleanders swathe the hills, whilst multi-colored anemones and crocuses appear before Christmas. But it is in late winter and spring that the island blooms into a rhapsody of color with the orchid family and cherry-red poppies taking centre stage.
The culture of a place is always reflected in its kitchen, and northern part of Cyprus is no exception. Cypriot cooking, like its people, is unique. Eating out is popular amongst locals and the choice of cuisine reflects this, combining many wonderful tastes from the Mediterranean, Turkey and the Middle East. In larger towns, a range of international restaurants also offer dishes from around the world. Typical Turkish Cypriot restaurant meal consists of meze, kebabs (lamb or chicken) or fish, followed by fruit and coffee. Meze is a selection of hot and cold appetizers - the Turkish Cypriot equivalent of Tapas - such as kofte (meatballs), hummus dips, mint yogurt, hellim (goat's milk cheese).
A Turkish Cypriot specialty is the seftali kebab (peach kebab), made with minced meat, chopped onion and spices, wrapped in lamb fat and grilled. Other mouth-watering dishes include marinated fish and squid - and for dessert, lokma (small doughnuts in syrup), Ekmek Kadayif with Cream or baklava, as well as freshly-picked fruit such as sweet melon, oranges and figs. Wash your meal down with a glass of raki (alcoholic aniseed drink), or there are also many good wines, beers and spirits, including the famous brandy sour drink a cocktail made with brandy, lemon juice and angostura bitters. If you have room, you may want to finish off with a fix of thick Turkish coffee or tea.
You can get to the northern part of Cyprus by air either by flying to Ercan Airport which is the main airport in the northern part or to Larnaca Airport in the southern part of Cyprus. Flights to Ercan Airport have to touchdown at an airport in Turkey due to international requirements. Ercan Airport is well connected with frequent flights operated by nine airlines to Turkish airports in Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Ankara and Dalaman which offer international scheduled and charter flights. There are also several scheduled and charter airlines that offer flights that are almost direct to Ercan with your plane literally pit-stopping for 45-60 mins at an airport in Turkey on its way from several European cities such as London, Manchester, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Zurich and so on. If a plane change is involved in such connections, it is like any other regular connecting flight where your luggage will usually be checked in straight through to Ercan Airport.
Larnaca Airport in the southern part of Cyprus is an international airport with direct flights from many European cities and connecting ones to the rest of the world. Although Larnaca Airport compared to Ercan is a little bit away from the conference venue, you can reach the venue in about an hour and a half drive. There are no longer any restrictions on border crossings in Cyprus, as of 2003. People are free to cross and spend as much time as they wish on either side of the border by producing their ID cards or passports at crossing points any time of the day (24 hrs). At present, there are seven crossing points where pedestrians can cross at the Ledra Palace and Lokmaci border gates are in Lefkosa (Nicosia), whilst those who intend to cross by vehicle can use the Metehan (Kermia) border gate in Lefkosa, Beyarmudu (Pile) near the British Sovereign bases at Dhekelia and the Akyar border gates near Gazimausa (Famagusta) on the Larnaca-Famagusta road, Bostanci near Guzelyurt and Yesilirmak west of Lefke.
For transfers between airports and/or off-campus accommodations please visit the sidetour page.
13 March 2015: Workshops and Tutorials proposals deadline
23 March 2015: Workshops and Tutorials notifications
3 April 2015 10 April 2015: Main paper submission deadline
29 May 2015: Main paper notifications
12 June 2015 19 June 2015: Extended proceedings deadline
19 June 2015 8 July 2015: Camera ready deadline
30 June 2015: LBR deadline
10 July 2015: Extended proceedings and LBR notifications
22 July 2015: Extended proceedings and LBR camera ready deadline
1-4 September: Hypertext 2015 conference