These pictures were taken during the Karpaz Medos Lalesi (Tulipa Cypria - Cyprus Tulip) Festival organized by the "Friends of Karpaz" association and held at the village of Avtepe(Agios Symeon) at the Karpaz peninsula in North Cyprus in March 2007. The festivities included folk dancing, a slide show about the Cyprus Tulip and other plants of North Cyprus, and a concert by a bi-communal chorus made up of performers from North and South Cyprus. This was followed by a refreshing trip to the area where wild tulips grow in abundance. Many of us took lots of pictures; everybody enjoyed the bright Mediterranean sun and the captivating beauty of the Karpaz landscape.
While driving back home to Gazimagusa(Famagusta), I stopped by to take some pictures of the well-known Panayia Kanakaria Church at Boltasli(Lythragkomi) which was originally built in the 6th century A.D. and destroyed several times. The present church was rebuilt in the 14th century.
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Tulipa Cypria - locally known as Medos Lalesi - is endemic to Cyprus; in other words, it is found only in Cyprus. The cup or the solitary head, has 6 oval petals with pointed tips, the black basal blotch on each petal being only slightly bordered by yellow; stamens thick and sturdy, with bright yellow pollen borne on dark red oblong anthers; stigmas creamy, conspicuous on top of the ovary. Stalk 30 cm high,pale yellow-green. Leaves at bases spreading sideways, about 20 cm long, grey-green with undulating margins; those part-way up the stem smaller, narrower and sharply-pointed. Habitat: Mostly in cereal fields, hidden below the level of the wheat, but in great numbers; 400-900 ft alt. Flowers March to April.

From: Halliday, S., & Lushington, L., (1988), Flowers of Northern Cyprus.