About North Cyprus · Nature and agriculture atlas
Nature and agriculture atlas of North Cyprus: guide and glossary
As of 28 October 2026, this atlas is the entry page to NORTHEA's nature and agriculture pages on North Cyprus: olives, citrus, carob and local crops, Kyrenia olive groves, the harvest calendar, flora and fauna, food, native and endemic trees, and Karpaz vegetation. It adds no new facts. It points to the page that holds each statement, lists the Turkish and English local terms those pages source, and shows which statements concern the TRNC and which concern Cyprus as a whole. Every entry names its source.
Checked 28 October 2026 against the sources named in the text and listed below. Positions of parties are attributed to them.
What the cluster covers and how to read it
The cluster has seven core pages: olive groves and olive oil, citrus orchards of Güzelyurt and Lefke, carob, hawthorn and local crops, Kyrenia olive groves, harvest calendar, flora and fauna and traditional food and sweets. Two further published pages, native and endemic trees and Karpaz peninsula vegetation, belong to the same cluster, and the cards below quote one sentence from each.
Each page names the source behind every statement and says whether that source speaks of the TRNC or of Cyprus as a whole. The cards below give one sentence per page, taken from that page's own sourced text; the link on each card goes to the source, and the page path is printed in the card.
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By area: Girne, Güzelyurt and Lefke
This block groups the cluster by area. For the Girne district it points to the Kyrenia olive groves, the native and endemic trees and flora and fauna pages, and to places to see in Girne. For the Güzelyurt and Lefke area it points to the citrus orchards and to places to see in Güzelyurt and Lefke.
Each card gives one sentence taken from that page's own sourced text, with the source named in the sentence. The link on the card goes to that source, and the page path is printed in the card. The cards state no new facts, and the harvest and land cards are pointers to pages that hold the details.
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Glossary: olive and tree terms (TR / EN)
Every term below appears with a source on the sibling page named in its card. Spellings differ between sources, so each card gives the form used by the source it cites; a scientific name is shown only where the sibling page states one with a source.
The link on each card goes to the source used on the sibling page, not to the sibling page itself.
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Glossary: crop, product and kitchen terms (TR / EN)
These cards cover vegetables, fruit, herbs and products named in the carob, citrus, harvest and food pages. A name that two sources spell differently is shown in both spellings.
Where a Turkish name rests on the sibling page's own label rather than on the cited source, the card says so.
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Glossary: wild plant, habitat and animal terms (TR / EN)
The nature, food and harvest pages also use local or Turkish names for wild plants and animals. Only those with a named source on a sibling page are listed here, and the English and Turkish names are given as the source gives them.
Sources describe the Gufi and the Cyprus cyclamen as endemic to the island of Cyprus, not to the north.
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How this cluster is sourced
According to the notes on the olive page, the website of the TRNC Agricultural Research Institute (tae.gov.ct.tr) could not be read when it was checked, so no ministry page is cited there. The carob page notes that the Statistics Institute website (istatistik.gov.ct.tr) blocks automated access, so its price statistics were read as copies hosted by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce. This atlas therefore cites neither official site; for current figures, the citrus page points readers to the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Statistical Institute.
Island-wide and TRNC-specific statements are kept apart on the sibling pages. The Ada Yerlisi and Girne olive studies, the Güzelyurt and Lefke citrus figures, the Kıbrıs Harnup Pekmezi registration and the babutsa selection project concern the TRNC. Olive history (Şenoğlu, 2025), the native status of carob (Department of Forests, Republic of Cyprus), hawthorn (Plants of the World Online), the International Olive Council grades and every harvest entry labelled "island-wide" speak of Cyprus or of general definitions. The June 2023 carob law reported by Cyprus Mail and the "Sotira kolokası-bullezi" registration reported by the TRNC Public Information Office concern the area administered by the Republic of Cyprus. The sources opened do not say whether the harnup pekmezi registration is recognised elsewhere.
Nothing in this cluster is agronomic, legal or investment advice. Research yields, oil contents and harvest months are measurements or statements from named studies and people, not forecasts for any grove, orchard or parcel, and the pages make no statement about price, value or returns. This atlas adds no new factual claim and no new source: each card repeats a statement and source already shown on the sibling page.
Practical notes
- Spellings differ between sources (harnup, harnıp or keçiboynuzu; kolokas, kolakas or gölevez; molehiya or molohiya; gollandro or golyandro; çakıstes or çakısdez). Each glossary card gives the form used by the source it cites.
- Scientific names are shown only where a sibling page states one with a source. Loquat and pomegranate carry none here, and the Turkish name Malta eriği rests on the crops page's own label.
- The sibling pages draw on figures from different years and methods (for example research trials from 2011-2012 and 2016, and statistics from 2017), and they are not directly comparable.
- The cards for the native and endemic trees page and the Karpaz vegetation page each quote one sentence from a source named on that page; the rest of those two pages is not summarised here.
- The glossary explains names, not products. It makes no statement about what is sold, where it is sold or at what price, and it is not agronomic, legal or investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Ada Yerlisi olive?
Karanfiloğlu and colleagues (2025) describe it as the local olive genotype, also called Yerli Zeytin or Kıbrıs Zeytini, widely grown across the TRNC. Their article page gives it as No. 1662 in the Turkish National Variety List, dated 26.04.2024. See the olive page for the measurements.
What are çakıstes or çakısdez?
Visit North Cyprus (page read 28 October 2026) describes them as green olives cracked by hand with special stones, washed, soaked in brine and served with coriander seeds, garlic, olive oil and lemon. Its text spells the name Çakısdez; Hürriyet (2017) writes Çakıstes and Yemek.com (2014) çakıstez.
When does the olive harvest start in North Cyprus?
Visit North Cyprus (page read 28 October 2026) says the olive harvest usually begins in October. In their 2011-2012 study years, Karanfiloğlu and colleagues (2025) recorded green maturity of Ada Yerlisi in early to mid-October and black maturity in the third week of November. The harvest page shows other crops.
Where is citrus grown in North Cyprus?
Çimen and colleagues (2019) say citrus cultivation in the TRNC is concentrated in the Güzelyurt and Lefke regions. A Lefke European University page, citing 2017 Ministry statistics, says the two together account for over 98% of citrus production.
What is harnup pekmezi and is it registered in North Cyprus?
Visit North Cyprus (Pekmez page, read 28 October 2026) says black carob pods are ground to a powder, boiled in water and reduced to a dark molasses. The TRNC Public Information Office (8 August 2016) reports "Kıbrıs Harnup Pekmezi" registered in the TRNC as a mahreç, effective 6 August 2016. Sources do not say whether it is recognised elsewhere.
Is carob native to Cyprus?
The Department of Forests of the Republic of Cyprus lists Ceratonia siliqua as native (N) in The flora of the forests of Cyprus (P.I.O. 158/2008). Visit North Cyprus (page read 28 October 2026) says it has been grown on the island since the 1st century AD. No source opened calls carob endemic.
What is kolokas, kolakas or gölevez?
Visit North Cyprus (page read 28 October 2026) identifies kolokas as Colocasia esculenta, a plant grown for its starchy corm and cooked much like a potato. Yemek.com (2014) calls it kolakas or gölevez, and Aylin Öney Tan's 2014 glossary adds that it is also known as taro. Visit North Cyprus says skin and roots are toxic until cooked.
What is babutsa?
Aylin Öney Tan's 2014 glossary defines babutsa as cactus fruit, and Politis (19 August 2026) calls prickly pear papoutsosyko. BRTK (7 August 2023) reported a TRNC Agricultural Research Institute project aiming to register 14 types, two of them thornless, a process it said may take 2 to 3 years.
Sources
- Karanfiloğlu et al. (2025), Ada Yerlisi, Mustafa Kemal University Journal of Agricultural Sciences
- Çimen et al. (2019), citrus at the Güzelyurt Agricultural Research Station
- TRNC Public Information Office: Kıbrıs Harnup Pekmezi registered (8 August 2016)
- Girne Municipality: Zeytin Festivali
- Visit North Cyprus: Chakistes
- University of Hohenheim (2019): Cyprus vegetation overview
- Buse Karaer (2022), Eastern Mediterranean University gastronomy thesis
- Şenoğlu (2025), olive history of Cyprus, Kıbrıs journal
- Karanfiloğlu, Mete and Çetin (2017), 47 olive types, Ege University Faculty of Agriculture Journal
- Hürriyet (2017): Gastronomi cenneti Kıbrıs
- Visit North Cyprus: Carob trees
- Visit North Cyprus: Kolokas
- Visit North Cyprus: Molohiya
- Gregoriou (1995), CIHEAM chapter on minor fruit crops in Cyprus
- Hadjipieri (2020), loquat, Cyprus University of Technology thesis record
- Cyprus Food and Nutrition Museum: Pomegranate
- Aylin Öney Tan, Yemek ve Gezmek, Cumhuriyet (2014)
- Lefke European University page on citrus (citing 2017 Ministry statistics)
- İstiklal (2 February 2023): citrus in the TRNC
- Plants of the World Online (Kew): Crataegus azarolus
- University of Hohenheim (2019): The Beşparmak mountains
- Cyprus Center for Environmental Research and Education (2017): Cyprus cyclamen
- Kıbrıs Postası (2019): ÇEKOVA statement on the Gufi
- Yemek.com (19 November 2014): Kıbrıslıların bildiği lezzetler
- Politis (19 August 2026): Prickly pear, Cyprus' thorny summer favourite
- BRTK (7 August 2023): Babutsa on the road to registration
- Kıbrıs Manşet (5 August 2016): Kıbrıs harnup pekmezi tescillendi
- Karadağ and Aylanç, Millî Folklor 126 (2020): Kıbrıs Türk Halk Kültüründe Harnup ve Kullanım Alanları
- Visit North Cyprus: Pekmez
- Cyprus Mail (13 August 2024): Love them or loathe them, carobs making a comeback
- Department of Forests, Republic of Cyprus: The flora of the forests of Cyprus (P.I.O. 158/2008)
- Plants of the World Online: Crataegus monogyna
- Plants of the World Online: Crataegus × sinaica
- FreshPlaza: Northern Cyprus' citrus sector expanding (20 September 2017)
- One Earth / UNEP-WCMC: Cyprus Mediterranean Forests ecoregion (2020)
- Turkish Wikipedia: Maki (secondary)
- Turkish Wikipedia: Menengiç (secondary)
- Gündem Kıbrıs: 'Gufi' hakkında bilinmesi gerekenler (Taşkent Doğa Parkı, 25 May 2024, updated 4 April 2025)
- TRNC State Planning Organization, CPI release of 6 November 2012 (copy hosted by KTTO)
- TRNC Statistics Institute, CPI release of 6 April 2020 (copy hosted by KTTO)
- TRNC Statistics Institute, CPI release of 2 October 2020 (copy hosted by KTTO)
- International Olive Council: Olive oil
- Karpaz SEPA management plan (2010), Environmental Protection Department (Turkish)
- Güzelyurt Municipality: Güzelyurt
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Botany: The pines of Cyprus (seminar, January 2019)
- Department of Antiquities and Museums: Soli
- Visit North Cyprus: Kyrenia Harbour
- Karanfiloğlu et al. (2025): Ada Yerlisi olive, full text (DergiPark)
- NORTHEA guide: Agricultural land and fields in North Cyprus
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