Each month Rosy Glow shares her news, personal thoughts and intimate letters on her (not so) new life living in Northern Cyprus.

Dear Sis,
Despite my assurances that I would write more often…I have failed…miserably. I am not sure why but time passes so quickly here, or is it just my age, so that I find myself on my way back before I have even left.

North Cyprus continues to delight and we all look forward to the summer months, which will soon be upon us.
Christmas and New Year, for us, were quiet but we did invite friends over for a buffet lunch on December 28th. It was quite funny as our good friends Mustafa and Semiya got the date wrong and did not turn up….they thought it was the following day! Never mind, these things happen.

Recently, James and I had to renew our residency and whilst they impose more hoops to jump through, it was surprisingly quick and relatively easy this year but I have just heard they have put up the cost of one year’s residency to TL216 per person and to TL433 for two years.

Add that to blood test, mukhtar letter, photocopying of documents and you can add on another TL150 and you will see it is getting ridiculous but we have no say in it so we just have to go with the flow.

Earlier this month Rob and I went to Istanbul for a few days. We had a great time even though it was cold and wet (what can you expect in January?). Our hotel, in Sultanahmet, the old district, was very good (Hotel Sapphire) as all the important sights were easily accessible to us. We had a full day tour, taking in such sights as the Blue Mosque, Dolmabahçe Palace, Grand Bazaar, Spice Market plus a wonderful trip on the Bosphorus.

We met some really lovely people, including a mother and daughter from Norway and a couple from Canada transiting Istanbul on their way to visit friends in Ethiopia. We had such a good time; we will definitely go back again.

Sad news from here is that Mr Rauf Denkta? died after a long, bravely fought, battle after his stroke last year. Mr Denkta? was the founding President of North Cyprus from 1895 to 2005 when he chose to retire. That said, this wonderful man wrote over 50 books in Turkish and English and was a great advocate for the ex-pats. His funeral was attended by thousands and he will be greatly missed indeed.

Finally, a letter to you would not be complete if I did not include a weather update. At the moment, we are basking in sunshine but boy oh boy, is it cold! Compared to our summer temperatures it is positively freezing but at 11° I suppose you would say I was mad but we are experiencing a cold wind blowing from the snow laden hills Turkey. Still, another 6 weeks or so and we should be realizing better temperatures.

I leave you with this thought: If “I am” is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language, could it be that “I do” is the longest?

Rosy xx