Explore every episode of the podcast Talking Round North Cyprus

Little did Gary Pearce know that, when he was offered a week’s trip in the early 1990s to the TRNC to see if he wanted a job in the betting industry, he’d still be there today. But he is, and he tells us all about it.

What do an international music festival, Barcelona FC academy and Coronation Street all have in common? Listen to this episode to find out and we want your thoughts on it all. Plus, our thoughts are with those involved in the maritime disaster off the coast of Girne.

Did you fill in a survey about what it is like to live, as a foreigner, in the TRNC? It was put together by TFR and the results are out. Roger chatted with acting chairman of the TFR Caroline Houghton and Welfare and Cemetery coordinator, Jessy Ben-Dov to find out what the survey says..

Paul Bennett is keen to make a permanent move from the UK to the TRNC so he's putting it to the test with a year's trial - building his business and making new friends before bringing his family over. He tells us how his trial is going and whether he thinks he might stay....

Claire Morley (The Action Woman One) and Julie Freeland didn't just walk 33.5 km (20.8 miles) in 13 and a half hours - they played 4 rounds of golf - 72 holes. They tell us how their challenge went and how much they raised for local charities.

Our friend Peter Wills sadly died in North Cyprus a short time ago and so we wanted to pay tribute to him and replay the interview we did with him in 2023 where he tells us of his extraordinary and varied life. Rest in peace Peter.

Everyone knows Issy - from his translations of government policies during covid to his tireless fundraising. But if you didn’t know him before, this is your chance as he chats to us about what he’s up to after leaving Heartbeat charity.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are winners of the 2026 CONIFA European football Championship. Roger explains what this means for the TRNC who don’t often get the chance to play internationally.

What's a well known chef, who's worked in Michelin starred kitchens, doing foraging in the North Cyprus countryside? Joe Bartlett has moved to the TRNC and has brought with him his passion for using local, natural ingredients in his supper parties. We caught up with him to find out how life is treating him?

What do children from a primary school in Leicester have to do with North Cyprus? Well, their incredible headteacher is a proud Turkish Cypriot and took them to the semi finals of Britain's Got Talent on live TV. Hear from Halil Tamgumus - affectionately known as Mr T - about his Turkish Cypriot roots.

From Scotland to North Cyprus via journalism, wedding planning and becoming an author, Claire Morley seems to relish a challenge. She went to the Philippines to help with disaster relief and wrote a book about her time there. She is now the first lady Club Captain of Korenieum golf club and is embarking on yet another challenge.

From behind a Post Office counter via insurance, David Hillier now runs a very popular bakery in Alsancak near Girne (Kyrenia). He tells Roger and Sara about running a business in North Cyprus and how his goods are Baked with Love.

Tucked in the hills between Çamlıbel and Güzelyurt in North Cyprus lies one of the island’s most mysterious and eccentric landmarks: The Blue House, or Mavi Köşk.

This striking 1957 villa wasn’t just a summer retreat—it was the private hideaway of Paulo “Byron” Pavlides, a Greek Cypriot lawyer, businessman, and alleged arms smuggler with deep political connections and an even deeper love for luxury.

Author NK Chavush returns with a great thriller based on this notorious place. Listen here to his interview with Roger and Sara

Vicki Karaca ran the well known Black Olive venue for a few years but has decided to give it up. But, as Roger found out when he finally managed to chat with her, she is still a very busy lady in the local community. Hear what she is up to now in this latest episode of our podcast.

As scary and unprecedent events erupt in Iran, and across the Middle East, we hear in this episode from an Iranian student, based in North Cyprus with his family, about how they are struggling and his hopes for the future of his country. WARNING: This episode contains graphic descriptions.

This episode is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Talking Round North Cyprus podcast. It's our 124th episode and in that time we've chatted with some great people - all of whom have a link to the TRNC. Roger and Sara pick out just a couple of their personal highlights but there are so many. Thank you so much to all of you who have been on or who regularly listen and support us. Hopefully we're breaking down a few misconceptions of this forgotten corner of the eastern Mediterranean.

Barry Miller retired to the TRNC ten years ago and is a big supporter of local football team Iskele. He travelled all the way to Lapta to watch them play only for it to be rained off. But, every cloud has a silver lining, and he spent time with co-host of this podcast Roger Bara who chatted to him about his love of the local game.

Podcast host Sara gives you a tour of The Gillham Vineyard hotel - an exclusive boutique hotel and winery nestled in the hills above Girne (Kyrenia) in North Cyprus. Hear from the manager, about the unusual wine spa and the excellent wine tasting on offer.

https://gillhamvineyard.com/

Hosts Roger and Sara are together in North Cyprus bringing you this episode. They chat about Christmas and New Year in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus - what they've been up to as expats - Roger is living the good life as a retiree near Kyrenia and Sara has an holiday apartment in Iskele.

Teresa Cefa is a busy lady. She has been running a wedding planning business in the TRNC for a few years but is now also an event coordinator for Heartbeat - that raises thousands of TL to help those with cancer. Roger caught up with her in a bar.... of course he did!

How tough is it to run a popular restaurant business in the TRNC with the cost of living rising all the time? Roger went along to chat with Emma Elmaz, who runs the Wild Duck near Lapta with her husband, to find out.

Roger and Sara catch up after Roger’s trip to the UK. Did he have to run through Istanbul airport again?! And how much did Kurt Duffield raise for the local cancer charity? Listen to find out!

Roger chats with the amazing Kurt Duffield at the finish line of his epic 1000 km run and cycle for Tulips cancer charity to find out how it’s gone - and what he might have planned next.

How will the next five years shape up for North Cyprus with a new President? We are joined by the Editor-in-Chief of Cyprus Today - Eltan Halil - who gives us his insight and commentary on Tufan Erhurman and his policies going forward.

From a children's home in England to finding his real home in North Cyprus, Mems tells us about growing up in England with his Turkish Cypriot parents and why his future lies in the TRNC.

Kurt Duffield is at it again. Raising money for Tulips cancer charity in the TRNC by walking a half marathon followed by rowing on a machine every day through October. By the end of the month he’ll have done 1000 kms and hopefully raised money for a charity close to his heart.

Author Martina Cole used to own the Best Seller bookshop in Karakum. It's now run by Deborah Burdess. Sara stopped by to chat with her about what it's like owning the only completely English book shop in the TRNC.

More and more turtles are returning to North Cyprus every year to lay eggs and see their hatchlings go back into the sea. Helping them on their long journey are SPOT (Society for the protection of turtles) and the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute. We hear from people working hard for these organisations protecting turtles in the TRNC.

Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute - VRMCyprus Turtles

Cyprus Turtles

Metin Murat has been on a book tour promoting his new book “Meeting Sister”. It follows his first novel “The Crescent Moon Fox”. Sara caught up with him at the Best Seller bookstore in Karakum and heard his views on the future of the Turkish Cypriots.

We explore the cost and treatments of going to the dentist in North Cyprus. We’re not taking “Turkey teeth” which is, of course, an option but for two young lads living in the UK and Jersey, the cost and treatment in the TRNC was so much better than at home.

Levent Soyer is a well known and well respected cardiologist in the TRNC. He is also a highly accomplished musician. Roger managed to chat with him to find out more, during a break in Levent’s busy schedule.

Given the uncertainty across the Middle East, how are people in the TRNC feeling about being so close to the Israel/Iran conflict? Sara and Roger find out from some expats.

Constantinos Emmanuelle has Greek Cypriot heritage and lives in Melbourne Australia. He has been gathering stories from Cypriots, both Greek and Turkish, born before 1940 for his project “Tales of Cyprus”. It provides a factual, historic and fascinating look into a bygone era of life in Cyprus.

Sue Tilt has been with the Tulips cancer charity for over 13 years. She’s decided it’s time to hand the reins to others while she cycles off into the sunset with her guitar! She chats with Roger about the legacy she’s leaving behind and the future of this important charity to the TRNC community.

Martin Derbyshire loves to cycle now he’s retired to the TRNC from the army, with his wife. He’s cycled around the whole island of Cyprus but didn’t count on being hit by a car and spending 3 months in traction. But he’s back on his bike as he’s been telling us.

From rehoming a donkey and two miniature goats on his father's land in Taskent, Kemal Basat has gone on to set up the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute. They are currently running twenty programmes from donkeys in the Karpaz to turtles to collecting seeds for the seed bank. He chatted with Sara about the work the Institute does on very little money.

Don't worry - you've not gone through a time port hole, we're re-publishing this episode as there was a copyright issue with the very small bit of Christmas music we put at the end of the episode! They would have deleted the whole episode otherwise. Merry Christmas!!!

Former army officer, Steve Heap, and his wife have just moved to North Cyprus - even though he could have lived anywhere in the world. Despite rules changing regularly, they still like it especially as his former boss in the Army - John Scott - happens to live down the road.

The fantastic documentary film about the “Cyprus Problem” - The Divided Island - is now available to view on Amazon Prime Video. Roger and Sara chat with director Cey Sesiguzel about its popularity

This episode isn’t about god but we do hear from someone who started singing in church in Botswana and, since moving to the TRNC, has entertained many people with her beautiful voice. Divine shares her story of combining electrical engineering with singing.

We celebrated our 100th episode, and our four year anniversary, with guests from our podcast at a party in North Cyprus. Thank you to all who came to celebrate with us and to all our listeners over these past four years.

From Rioja to relocation, Laura Özkerimler and her husband shut down their popular wine bar to set up a business helping expats with their immigration and residency. Laura tells us why they did this and how they managing their busy workload.

We catch up with Dean Lewis, an American living in the TRNC, to get his views on what a second Trump term might look like and how it could affect the TRNC.

Our good friend Eltan Halil, Editor in Chief of Cyprus Today, joins us to look back at the big stories that made the news in 2024 and what to look out for in 2025.

Kate Taylor would love to spend all her time in the TRNC but can’t just at the moment. Hear what she loves about the place and how she can beat Roger at table tennis!

Roger and Sara chat about the latest North Cyprus news, the cost of potatoes and being careful about meeting Roger in a bar!!

Darren Stout moved from supporting his beloved Gillingham football club to North Cyprus to support his author wife Kerry-Lee (listen to The After Luke One). Roger met Darren in a bar and got chatting about how life has been for them both after a year in the TRNC.

It’s cool to run one marathon in a day but amazing to run 7 in 7 days. That’s what Kurt Duffield has done, raising money for Tulips cancer charity. We’ll hear from Kurt and also from Roger about how he feels being back in a BBC studio after 12 years!

Sara chats about her first time diving. It was at the only 5 star PADI dive centre in heart of Iskele. Once she surfaced she chatted with owner Mansour Hosseini - an Iranian, living in Sweden, and working in North Cyprus.

https://www.instagram.com/scuba_pulse?igsh=MWptdmxxZWthYWhwcQ==

There can be few things worse in life than losing a child. Gulay and Jay Uzun lost their daughter Tanyel to cancer. From a place of darkness comes light as they now help other youngsters in the TRNC who have cancer. Jay tells us how he copes and about his cycle from London to the TRNC.