Kyrenia

Uh, but he's been in the industry, do you know, Sarah, since leaving school, and he's got a cracking tale of how he came to be living and working here in the TRNC.

So, uh, I went to his imposing office in central Girne that has extraordinary views of the Med and indeed the mountains, you know, a wonderful 360-degree vista.

I'm amazed he gets any work done.

I'd just be staring out the window the whole time.

Following the maritime disaster in Kyrenia, which turned into a mass murder, there are issues that need to be addressed.

Foremost among these is an objective investigation into all aspects of the causes of this disaster.

However, there are steps that must be taken to ensure this is handled properly.

Another serious maritime disaster unfolded just a few days later, this time off the coast of northern Cyprus.

On August 30th, the passenger ferry Filojet capsized shortly after leaving Kyrenia, or Gern, bound for Talsuka in Turkey.

There were 267 passengers and crew on board, and at least eight people died while approximately 20 others remained missing as rescue teams searched the wreck.

Survivors described the vessel taking on water and suddenly tilting, leaving passengers scrambling to escape.

A tourist boat carrying more than 270 souls capsized off the coast of Kyrenia.

Hundreds of people are in the water.

Seven deaths have been confirmed, and dozens are missing.

And how did the proud, patriotic Greek Cypriot online community react? With the classic digital cesspool, ranging from relatively mild reactions that criticized the media outlets reporting the news for not writing, occupied Kyrenia, yes, that is their problem, all the way to hardcore Greek Christian hate speech that includes death threats, wishes for everyone reach the depths, and poetry confirming that we have culture coming out of our ears.

Good bulgur wheat, let not a single nostril be left intact.

And queries about the crying emojis the website posted, since they're Turks, not even the sea can stand them anymore.

In spite of the tortured logistics of it all, how could I ever have wished to leave a home where tiny toads had invited me into their world with some of the most magical swims of my life? Magical even compared to my swims in Cyprus, where we lived inland in Nicosia, but often journeyed to the glass-clear waters of the coast.

To Salamis, Kyrenia, Ionapa, Akamas, Psori and Paphos.

Aged 15, I snorkelled off the coast of the Salamis ruins alone and, in what looked like an aquarium, dived down to flooded ancient harbour walls, where, by wafting the sand with my flippers, I time-travelled in my discoveries, finding clay amphorae, metal ingots, and gold-plated copper bowls.

Cody, as an unassuming Irish teenager with a tropical tan, I could have passed Eliza in Singapore's streets without remark, without her knowing that I was planning my days, weeks, and months around her daily schedule.

Authorities say at least twenty-two people are still missing.

The ferry had just left the northern Cyprus port of Kyrenia, headed for the Turkish port of Taşucu.

Search and rescue efforts are underway.

[short musical tune] Icelanders have voted against resuming accession talks with the European Union.