Dionne Warwick – Live @ the Rocks27 Jul 2010Yet again The Rocks Hotel brought international entertainment to North Cyprus. Mehmet Ali Erbil, a leading comedian on Star TV in Turkey, opened the show and had the audience in the palm of his hands, well the Turkish speaking element anyway! He was opening for Dionne Warwick who, despite her ‘plane from Malta landing 4 hours late, took to the stage, a little late admittedly, and wowed the audience with her laid back manner and well loved, easy listening songs.
She may be pushing 70 but this popular diva can still fill the seats and get the audience on its feet. She began, accompanied by her 6-piece band, with the song Walk on By, which she recorded in 1964. She followed with Anyone Who Had a Heart, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, a cover version of which became a UK number one hit for Cilla Black, in 1964. Hit after hit followed, You’ll Never Get to Heaven; I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Kentucky Bluebird and I Need Your Love. Perhaps feeling the strain of touring and finding the heat a little debilitating, she introduced a song which she described as “dear to my heart” and brought on her eldest son, David Elliott, to sing a duet. David is a musician, singer-songwriter and actor and has an uncanny likeness to his mother in her younger days. They sang I Say A Little Prayer (theme from Valley of the Dolls) and it was quite breathtaking. David has an amazing voice and I cannot think why I have never heard of him before. Ms Warwick continued with her 1967 hit Alfie, then her 1982 single, Heartbreaker, written for her by the Bee Gees. Another Burt Bacharach and Hall David song followed, Do You Know the Way to San Jose. By now, the audience was on its feet as she continued with I Know I’ll Never Love this Way Again and What the World Needs Now. Ms Warwick leaves North Cyprus and travels to Italy where she will perform 5 shows in various cities. We thank you for coming and if you enjoyed your welcome, spread the word. North Cyprus is a friendly place and you will always receive a “’Hosgeldiniz” here despite what others might say. Marsha Marlowe Click on the thumbnails below to see more pictures from the evening. 
Posted in: Events|Live Music
Famagosta at Salamis Bay Conti Hotel26 Jul 2010Here are some great events happening at the Salamis Bay Conti Hotel over the coming weeks – from 9th to 30th August: 16- 23 August -Energyweek: during this week we organise courses of: salsa cubana, new york style, los angeles style, bachata, reggaeton , jive, latino americano, cha cha cha, rumba, fitness and spinning (with GroupCyclig)……………. with a lot of international artists such as Cuba Rumba, Lucio Cocchi, Energydance, David Stauffer, Alessandro Oliveri………………………and many more. 23- 30 August – Tangoweek: during this week we organise courses of tango with a lot of international artists such as Roberta Beccarini, Pablo Garcia, Roberta Fersino, Daniele Pierantozzi, Giorgio Proserpio e Monica Gallarate. During all these events, at night you can enjoy latin music (the first week), dance and latin music (the second week) and milonga (the third week). If you are interested in taking part in these events, please contact us to receive more information and the special prices. If you are a dancing school and you would like to collaborate with us, just let us know. Please do not hesitate to contact us. Posted in: Events Esentepe Honours Mukhtar26 Jul 2010
Mukhtar Özkay Naziboglu is a farmer who also runs the Corner Shop next to the Tumba Restaurant, which is run by his son, Sevki and his wife Serif. “Özkay has been a good friend to the villagers in Esentepe” said Peter, “and so we presented him with an inscribed photograph, made by Peter and Susie Hassan, to show our appreciation for all the hard work he has done and all he has achieved, not only over his 8 years as Mukhtar but also prior to that when he was a Council member for 4 years”. Özkay’s wife, Nayle was not forgotten and she was presented with a beautiful potted plant. The presentations were made by Paul and Marilyn Lee. On receiving his presentation Özkay responded, through his interpreter Gunay, not to be confused with the new Mukhtar, by saying he was very pleased and proud the way the night had turned out and it had always been his intention to help and provide a service to the people of Esentepe. He said North Cyprus would always welcome new people and he concluded by saying he apologised if he had made any mistakes, but he really didn’t think he had made any! The incumbent Mukhtar, Gunay Takatuka thanked Özkay for his hard work and promised to continue to help the people of Esentepe and said he would be available to help in any way he could. About 70 people turned up for the presentation but sadly, local Cypriots were thin on the ground as the audience was mainly ex-pats. A light buffet was served, courtesy of Sevki and Serif of the Tumba Restaurant, and music was provided by Sapphire and Steel, all for the princely price of TL5. The Esentepe Mukhtar’s office is opposite the Belideyre and Gunay can be contacted on 05338401395. He will be in the office Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and Sat 0900-1200. Traditionally, the Mukhtar is available to register births and deaths, will sign official documents i.e. Residency forms and he can also help with translations as he speaks very good English. Whilst the Mukhtar’s post is voluntary and unpaid, there is usually a small charge for any of his services. Posted in: Events By the pool in North Cyprus12 Jul 2010Each month Rosy Glow shares her news, personal thoughts and intimate letters on her new life living in Northern Cyprus. Dear Sis, What an interesting couple of weeks it has been though, not least that new people are moving onto our estate. It is really exciting now that we are getting Turkish Cypriots moving in and making the estate more of a community and it gives us an opportunity to practice our limited Turkish. Another good thing to happen is that, after waiting for 18 months, our next door neighbours are finally getting their swimming pool. They were supposed to be getting a larger pool than us but the developer has reneged and they are only getting an 8×4 pool which I suppose is better than no pool at all. It has been fascinating to watch it being built and it is almost ready for the tiling stage. It should be finished in about 4 to 6 week apparently. We are delighted for them.
We have recently contacted our developer with a view to getting our Deeds (Kocan) by the 1st August but as usual, they fail to respond. We will visit our solicitor next week to try and get him to push it for us but to be honest, he is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard so we are between a rock and a hard place but we shall continue to plug away. We are not alone in these frustrations as it is happening to many, many people here and whilst the government promise they will make this process easier, we have no idea of when! On a brighter note, we recently went, with friends, to a little known restaurant close by called Sinya’s We were the only people there but we had an excellent meal for 4, 8 drinks, coffee and brandy and it all came to TL99 which is a bargain in anyone’s language. We will certainly go there again. Whilst the dogs amuse themselves with T-bone steak bones given to them by our friends, I must go and cool off in the pool which has reached highs of 35°s so far… it’s warmer than our shower but I am not complaining.
Posted in: Out of the loop
Summer in Cyprus Heart and Soul7 Jul 2010
This eclipse was not visible in Cyprus, but what a beautiful full moon to be seen during the evening and night. If you are interested in these things then you might want to visit www.astrologyzone.com. Talking of Heart and Soul Expo a wonderful weekend was had by all May 8th and 9th. Over 500 visitors during the weekend, in spite of it being Mothers’ Day on the Sunday! Over 40 exhibitors and a full lecture schedule at the Acapulco Hotel Conference Centre. If you missed the event you can experience some of the weekend by watching the video on the home page www.heartandsoulexpo.com . This year’s photos can be found by clicking on the ‘Photo’ tab. There were a wide range of practitioners to meet including Drumming, Dowsing, Pranic Healing, Qigong, Tai Chi, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy, Reflexology, Reiki, Massage, Yoga, Portrait Painting, Spiritual/Medium Readings, Beauty Centre, Natural Health Clinic, clothing, jewellery, traditional Cypriot products, Organic herbal products and much more. For practitioner information go to www.heartandsoulexpo.com and click on the practitioner tab. ‘The Intention Experiment’ by Lynne McTaggart author of ‘The Field’ ‘The Biology of Belief’ by Bruce H Lipton Ph.D’ Stay up to date with Northern Cyprus latest news, events, competitions and articles from Lincguide, by subscribing to our free service. Click here to activate
Cocktail Party to re-launch the Cyprus Star4 Jul 2010
And so it was that about 60 people gathered outside The Star offices in Karaoglanolou for the re-launch of The Cyprus Star on Saturday 3rd July. With ADA TV broadcasting a live link the Cocktail party began with Kerem Hasan, the Sub-Editor, welcoming everyone, including Mr Ersin Tatar, the Finance Minister, to the gathering. He handed over to Ali Ozmen Safa, Owner and Chairman of the Star Media Group. Ali Ozmen Safa started his empire with the humble take-away doner and the pre-packed sandwich and so began the building of a fortune that has made him arguably one of the biggest names in North Cyprus encompassing, TV, Radio, Property, Media and so much more. Handing over to Nick Hudson who welcomed everyone to “the TRNCs most exciting summer event”, Nick said the newspaper was “the best read under the sun in Cyprus” and the image he was trying to create was that of a 3* Michelin restaurant but substituting the stars for 3 letter Fs -Facts a plenty, Freedom of Information, which Nick was totally committed to, and Fun. He said Mr Ali Ozmen Safa was “an enlightened boss to work for” and “the most approachable boss he had worked for in almost 40 years”. As a special incentive Nick told potential advertisers present that if they took a 3 month advertising slot immediately, they would get one month free. Nick introduced Mr Ersin Tatar, the Finance Minister, who immediately referred to an article in The Cyprus Star indicating Mr Tatar had said he would like to have his picture taken with J-Lo when she visits North Cyprus later this month. A smiling Mr Tatar said “thank you very much I wouldn’t mind that actually”. Mr Tatar referred to his good friend, Mr Safa saying he had created a media empire of newspapers, TV, radio and that he was soon to launch an English paper in Turkey.
The re-launch was a resounding success and let us hope, as the Cyprus Star goes from strength to strength, it will continue to report the news in an unfettered, unbiased manner, taking on contentious issues and not shying away from the truth. It is what North Cyprus needs and it is what North Cyprus wants. Marsha Marlowe Posted in: Art & Culture|Events|Going out
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