Nicosia – the world’s only divided city. Both halves with vibrant, unique atmospheres. Both halves offering loads to see and do.  Last weekend I spent a fun couple of days enjoying both sides of Nicosia with a group of friends.

Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus and is its largest city. It sits roughly in the middle of the island and can be reached by the A1 motorway. As you approach, the suburbs turn into the modern commercial district full of large shops, offices and department stores. In the centre is the old city, still enclosed in parts by the original city wall with bastions at intervals around it.

Nicosia is the site of the ancient city kingdom of Ledra and it has a rich history. The old city is full of remnants of the past; both distant and recent history. Buildings riddled with bullet holes and covered with political graffiti, a stark reminder of the war in the 70s that divided the island. And of course, there’s the impenetrable wall itself – the Green Line. It was only possible to cross the Green Line into northern Nicosia in 2003. Until then people could climb to the top of the Shakolas Tower Building and sneak a peek at the north part of the city from the observatory.

However, the city blends its historical past with a modern, bubbling charm. Ledra Street and the narrow roads around it form the main shopping area of the old city; filled with a mix of tourist shops, international chains like H&M, Tiger and McDonalds, and small independents. Coffee shops and restaurants are dotted along the street, where weary shoppers can sit down for a rest. Big sail shades protect shoppers from the sun. The streets running parallel to Ledra Street are filled with restaurants and bars. It was this aspect of Nicosia that we’d come to enjoy on our girls’ weekend.

We all congregated by the Ledra Street Crossing to visit the north part of the city first. Crossing into the north is straightforward – just queue by the kiosks and show your passports and you are waved through. The north and south are divided by the Buffer Zone. On Ledra Street it’s just a few metres wide, but make sure you have a look at the abandoned buildings inside the Buffer Zone as you cross. You can’t get near to them, but you are close enough to make out the bullet holes.

I love the main shopping area in North Nicosia. It has a totally different atmosphere from the South. Instead of department stores and restaurant chains, there are cafes and small shops selling fake designer goods, rolls of material, gorgeous Turkish lamps and more fake designer goods. It has the feel of a Turkish bazaar. The people are friendly (as they are on the South side) and well cared-for stray cats roam the streets. I’m always impressed to see that the strays in the North are generally looked after.

We stopped for lunch at the striking Bibliotheque restaurant with its multi-coloured roof of umbrellas offering shade to the tables outside. Bibliotheque is on the right hand-side of the street that leads to the Büyük Han, just before you reach the Selimiye Mosque. I loved this restaurant. The food was delicious and affordable, the staff were friendly. It was a warm day, so we ate outside, but inside looked impressive too. Though the freaky mannequins beneath the floor on the way to the loos could give you a fright!

Stuffed after our big lunch, we headed to the Bazaar, which is found to the right of Selimiye Mosque. There are some great tourist shops in there, selling scarves, tea sets, table runners, cushions etc etc. Make sure you haggle.

We wandered into the Selimiye Mosque. This was formally a Christian church, built in the 13^th century. It was converted to a mosque in the 16^th century when the Ottomans arrived. Apparently, there are four marble columns in the apse that were relocated from Ancient Salamis.

Just to the right of the mosque is the Bedesten, which was once a church. It is now a venue for regular Whirling Dervish performances. We didn’t go during our girls’ weekend, but I saw a performance last year and highly recommend it. The music is utterly beautiful.

Next we walked around the old Büyüt Han. This was built in the 14^th century by the Ottomans and used as an inn, where travellers could trade goods and stable their animals. It has a real old-world charm with a tiny Islamic chapel in the centre, surrounded by craft workshops selling some ideal Christmas presents.

We were heading back to the border crossing when we spotted a shop selling evening gowns. It was daylight when we entered that shop and dark by the time we left. One of my friends actually bought three gowns, haggling down the price so she could get a good deal for the three. The shops in the north accept Turkish lira or Euros and there are cash points there to draw out money if you haven’t got any lira. I bought a gown too for a Christmas function. I got it for €140, which I’m assured is good-going for a gown, but I still get heart palpitations even thinking about it. My last two gowns cost €5 each from the local charity shop. Shopping with friends is such fun. My bank balance would beg to differ.

Exhausted from lengthy gown shopping, we returned to our hotel in South Nicosia for a rest.

We stayed in the Centrum Hotel, which is literally a one-minute walk from Ledra Street and a 10-second walk to the nearest restaurant. The location was perfect. The hotel was also perfect for a weekend away. It was fairly basic, but the rooms were clean and had good facilities. €87 a night was a fair price. The breakfast wasn’t great – there wasn’t much there, but you could easily nip across the road to have breakfast in the restaurant opposite.

After a lie-down, we got dressed for our evening out. We had dinner at the Piatsa Gourounaki restaurant on Onasagorou Street. The food was delicious! We had various dips to start and a very tasty honey/cheese dish. Then there were the ENORMOUS platters –filled with meat, pitta, veggies, chips, bruschetta, you name it. Three platters were more than enough for the seven of us. The restaurant manager refused to let us order four platters because he didn’t want to take our money for something he knew we couldn’t eat – and he was right.

I loved this restaurant. The atmosphere was so warm and friendly – and it was filled with locals. Always a good sign. We were given complimentary desserts, wine and shots of some earthy, Cypriot liqueur at the end. When the bill arrived, we actually thought they’d made a mistake because it was so cheap. This place is a must if you want to explore Mediterranean food and hospitality.

We left the restaurant with full stomachs and headed off in search of a bar and booze. Nicosia at night had a busy but laid-back feel. Within minutes we’d stumbled across a bar called The Gym. It’s the kind of bar that I love and Matt hates. It’s stylish and pretentious. In my opinion, the very best bars are stylish, pretentious and welcoming. Having just come from the warmth of Piatsa Gourounaki, The Gym had a more aloof atmosphere and the staff weren’t welcoming. However, their cocktail list persuaded us to spend a good chunk of the evening there.

We all tried different cocktails. I can’t remember what I had, but my drinks were delicious – and strong. One cocktail came in a gorgeous goblet that I was desperate to accidentally steal. But sadly for me, I have an annoying conscience.

I can’t remember what we all talked about, but there were a lot of laughs. It was great, laid-back fun with a lovely group of ladies. And two cocktails in, the fun got a bit more funny when we discovered a bizarre gallery at the back of The Gym. Dotted between artistic-looking vases and jewellery, there were willy statues. One willy was even wearing a hat. Another had a pair of boobs. And then there were the books . . . I nearly wet myself laughing.

Ribs hurting, we moved on to another restaurant for a night-cap or three (I can’t remember). We ended up in my hippie boho café, Pieto. It’s called ‘my’ because whenever we go to Nicosia I always bang on about eating there – then realise there aren’t any veggie options I can eat (I’m allergic to peppers). But that never stops me from walking past the boho décor, stuffed with books, cooing about how this place is just ‘so me.’

Anyway, we ended up there. I remember having a Peach Daiquiri. Try one. They are nice.

We got to bed at 2am. My room was absolutely silent and I had a great night’s sleep. My friends’ room looked onto the main street and they were kept awake half the night by the club across the road. If you’re going to stay at the Centrum, check which way your room faces.

The next morning, after a meagre breakfast (see above) and lots of tea, we set off for more shopping to take our minds off our fuzzy heads. This time, our focus was South Nicosia. It felt a little unadventurous to go into H&M when there are billions of them in the UK, but actually I felt a guilty pleasure. I don’t shop much in Cyprus because there’s usually far more interesting things to do, but it was nice to be in a familiar store that I knew my way around – particularly with a hangover. Still suffering from heart palpitations due to the gown-purchase the day before, I bought a load of clothes for Goobie to ease my guilt.

Since we were all a tad ‘tired’, a trip to a hamam for some pampering seemed sensible and necessary. We wondered over to Omerye Hamam, a restored 16^th century Ottoman hamam, ready to do nothing for an hour or two. Except we hadn’t booked and they were full. Duh. If you are planning to visit the hamam, book!

The receptionist was welcoming and said we could chill out there, even if we couldn’t have a treatment. She even said I could take photos. We decided to return to Nicosia another time and do the hamam properly.

Instead, we gate-crashed Sunday School in the mosque next door.

We thought the mosque was abandoned because of some ruined walls around it. But Omeriye Mosque was very much still in use. When we poked our heads through the door, a group of cute children looked up from reciting the Koran. I was mortified to disturb them and didn’t go in.

Our time in Nicosia was drawing to a close. We’d had a fun weekend and a successful shopping trip. I swear one of my friends was carrying her body-weight in shopping bags! We collected our suitcases from the hotel and got in the car home.

But obviously, it’s almost impossible to visit Nicosia without resisting the pull of Ikea on the way home. It’s just off the motorway on the way to Limassol and I’m ashamed to say I’ve spent many a happy hour there buying a few necessary things for the house – and a lot of totally unnecessary things that somehow made their way into the shopping trolley. We’ve got the Ikea run well sorted. We spend approximately 10 hours in Ikea, nip next door to Super Home Centre, then on to Leroy Merlin down the road – just in case there’s a spare inch of space left in the car that needs filling.

But on this occasion, we were tired and hung-over and set an all-time record for being in and out of Ikea AND Leroy Merlin in under an hour.

We got home at the perfect time – just after our husbands had finished cooking dinner and getting the children ready for bed.

Planned with precision.