Travel time between Türkiye and Turkish Cyprus drops down to 1.5 hours

Traveling to Turkish Cyprus from Türkiye received important updates on Thursday as a new pier built in southern Türkiye’s Mersin province is set to reduce the travel time to the island to 1.5 hours.

The pier built in Mersin’s Anamur district, which is Türkiye’s closest point to the island of Cyprus, has been made ready for ferry services. A 450-passenger ferry has been rented to provide transportation from the pier, which is ready with its customs facilities. Mersin Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan, who visited Anamur and examined the pier on site, announced that the ferry rides would start in June.

“This is our closest point to Cyprus. A 450-passenger ferry has been prepared. Services will start in June. In 1.5 hours, it will be possible to travel to the Kyrenia port of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) from here,” Pehlivan said.

“In 2019, this place was built as a ferry and seaplane pier. In 2021, the building where the (ferry and customs) units will be located was built… Last year, we took over (operations) with the approval of the ministry. Institutions and the business world in the district also organized a formation and established a company.”

Stating that the customs gate at the pier was not functional, Governor Pehlivan said: “We have a port authority, we are creating our security units. Arrangements have been made here until passenger entry and exit, and they continue to be made.”

Pehlivan said that he hoped ferry services from the pier would start in June as he stated that touristic activities and boat rides would rise after the pier became operational.

“Anamur is a district with tourism potential… Road works that will increase touristic activity, along with a positive step related in terms of sea transportation will serve not only Anamur, but also the surrounding districts, as well as other provinces of central Anatolia from Antalya to Karaman, from Konya to Adana and Niğde,” he said. “This is only a start.”