Having been present at the birth of the North Cyprus forum four years ago on Holiday Truths, it has given me enormous pleasure to see how well it has grown.
Almost 77,000 visitors have been drawn to the site since, and I can but hope that the advice given by the likes of myself and others has been a help to any would-be traveller.
I fell in love with the place when I first visited in the summer of 2002, finding the beauty and serenity of the Karpaz Peninsular overwhelming, then, just a week later, was smitten by the charm of Kyrenia.
Almost a year on I returned to Kyrenia, wondering if my passion for that part of the island might have waned. It hadn't. The day my wife and I drove west, all the way to Yesilirmak, stopping off at the wondrous Vouni Palace en route, was, truly, a voyage of discovery and the memory will live long with me.
I said then that North Cyprus was the land that forgot time, such was the unhurried pace of those who lived there.
Graham Durrell - he of Bitter Lemons fame - wrote "Could one ever do any work with such scenery to wonder at?"
Well, I was captivated by it, too. Staying there for any length of time can develop a lethargic kind of lifestyle you'll easily get in step with.
Three years after that last visit, the opportunity to visit North Cyprus again came my way, and I was quick to seize it.
I flew out on the maiden AtlasJet flight from Stansted to Ercan on March 22, basing myself at the Altinkaya Hotel (hotel review posted) in Kyrenia.
It was a curate's egg of a journey - good in parts - but my overwhelming recollection of it will be the friendliness of the red-suited cabin crew.
It's nice to be greeted by a smiling face when you head out on holiday, and the AtlasJet girls did not disappoint. Long may that continue.
Kyrenia had grown bigger and fatter since my last visit, such was the level of new housing either constructed or at the bricks-and-bulldozer stage.
Bargains can still be had there, such as a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with terrace for just £59,000.
As far as tourist spending went, however, I reckon that prices had all but doubled since 2003.
My beloved Efes (beer) was now commonly costing four or five Turkish Lira a half-litre bottle, although bargains were to be had if you looked about.
At the Window Cafe Bar, on the headland near St Andrew's Church, a pint of draught cost only two and a half turkish lira, while at the cosy Me-N-U bar/restaurant, on the street running above the Dome Hotel, just beyond Villa Swallow, an Efes was three TL.
Here, a Turkish coffee cost oneTL, a Nescafe three, a vodka, gin, or glass of wine four, and a brandy sour five.
Just about everywhere, the going rate for a bottle of Villa Doluca wine was 20 TL (£9) when dining out, but, again, that could be beaten if you shopped around.
At Kyrenia Harbour, the cheapest lunch/dinner menu I saw was 17TL, while a street or two back, in the Turkish Quarter, you might pay half that for as much.
I had lots of great food on my travels, notably at the Pia Bella Hotel, the Riverside and the Bogaz Hotel.
The Pia Bella did not have a vacancy when I arrived at Altinkaya, and a visit there revealed why.
Friendly service, good, quality accommodation and splendid repast. No wonder it is consistently the most popular casino-free hotel in the village.
The Ozbirim Family gave me a warm welcome to the Riverside. I have written many times of the complex without visiting it, so I felt this was the time to remedy that.
Suma, Harper and the gang were delighted to show me round what they had to offer, and I was mightily impressed.
The Riverside was upgrading much of its accommodation for the summer season, and pick of the bunch were the five-star King Suites, complete with jacuzzi.
I discovered a special offer existed for clients there an all-inclusive package offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as FREE use of the in-room bar.
Now, think of the money that might save you if you enjoy a tipple on holiday!
The Ozbirims were about to start a new jeep safari trip, which would lead into the hills and include a lunch stop, and I reckon further enhance the reputation of the resort.
Although the Riverside is perhaps a mile back from the Mediterranean, every day over the summer it offers free transport to Sunset Beach (and return) for those seeking sea and sand.
With indoor and outdoor swimming pools, water slides, mini-market, choice of restaurant, baby-sitting service and tennis courts, the complex lacks little for those travelling with a young family. I wish the friendly Ozbirims well in the weeks and months to come.
A drive to the Bogaz Hotel was meant to be a precursor to visiting the Karpaz Peninsular again, but such was the quality of lunch there (calamari, swordfish, and a glass too many of wine), I never made it!
I got as far as Bafra Beach before darkness started to close in. On my first visit there I was astonished that such a magnificent swathe of sand had no other buildings on it apart from a few beach bars.
How time has changed that tale. Now, alas, it is a concrete jungle, with flats and villas being erected on both sides of the roadway as you approach, and, horror of horrors, what appears to be a multi-pillored "Parthenon" springing up on the headland.
I hate to think that the rest of the Karpaz might be going the same way, and can only hope my magnificent turtles and wild donkeys escape the advance of commercialisation for as many years as is possible.
For those who may have cast and eye on earlier essays, the Green Jacket book shop in Kyrenia is no more, but one of major "finds", the Kervan Terrace Bar at Kervansary, was still there and just as alluring.
I have to say that if you are visiting Kyrenia at any time, and looking for somewhere nice to go for lunch, the Kervan is pretty much unmissable. The food may be only five or six out of ten, but the view from the terrace is a definite top marks.
My return there on the sunny 27th of March, 2006, was one of the highlights of my holiday.
Lest I forget, if you are looking for the best currency deals in Kyrenia, I suggest going to the exchange directly opposite the Dome Hotel. There is only one, so you can't miss it, and there was never a day I saw its sterling/Turkish lira rate beaten elsewhere in the village.
I looked for the new golf course being built at Esentepe, but never found it. My fault, not its, however.
A proper course IS being built there, but my understanding is that government funding for the project has slowed. An Easter opening had been promised, but I suspect the lay-out will not swing into action until next year at the earliest.
A return to Bellapais led me past the lovely abbey, upwards and onwards beyond Lawrence Durrell's residence to the Gardens of Irini.
Fellow Scot Deirdre Guthrie runs the show here, and can offer a cool drink or light lunch as well as gourmet dinners by appointment. She has a studio and one-bedroom apartment available for rental in a magnificent setting. Worth having a look at her website.
My last full day in Kyrenia saw me climb to the top of St Hilarion Castle - all 732 metres of it. An unforgettable ascent, given that it was done without oxygen.
On a clear day (no, I missed out) I'm told you can see all the way to Turkey, some 60 miles distant. This is the castle said to be the basis for the one seen in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
A definite must-do of any visit, but very demanding if you are in any way short of fitness.
My return to Kyrenia was bitter-sweet. The bricks and bulldozers may be bringing increasing prosperity to the area, but the cost of that is clear to see. Unspoiled paradise? That's gone forever, sad to say.
The island stronghold I saw and loved in 2002-03 may be slowly vanishing from the map, but there are days like that sun-kissed day on the Kervan Terrace when there can be few better places on earth.
In my mind's eye, THAT will always remain the TRUE North Cyprus!
http://www.gardensofirini.com/
http://www.riversideholidayvillage.com
http://www.piabella.com/
http://www.bogazhotel.com/
http://www.flytwi.co.uk/
http://www.altinkaya-cyprus.com/