Kitesurfing is a must-do when visiting Northern Cyprus. The sport has gone from relative public anonymity to unprecedented popularity in recent years. More and more people seek the challenge and let themselves be swayed by the wind. For those who live for the sea and water sports kitesurfing has become a religion. All Ezak, called Alex, is the owner of the surf school Aphrodite Airlines. The surf school was the first ever in Northern Cyprus when it opened three years ago. It lies in the area of Aphrodite Beachfront Resort just outside the city of Güzelyurt where stable winds provide perfect conditions for all kinds of surfing. Kitesurfing differs from conventional wave surfing in that you fly with a small kite sail, steered by several ropes. Your feet are strapped on a small surfboard in order to easily be able to lift off the surface and jump over the waves. Kitesurfing is for everyone, according to Alex and tourists as well as locals come daily to Aphrodite surf school to test the winds. The Surf School offers courses for all levels from beginner to experienced surfers and also organizes surf camps for children. Alex says that kitesurfing is the simplest type of surfing in the world. There were some accidents when the sport was new about 20 years ago, but today’s equipment is so developed and the knowledge so great that the sport has become available to everyone.
Alex is originally from Prague in the Czech Republic but ended up in Northern Cyprus in search of the perfect wave. – I was actually on my way to Morocco, but after three weeks in Cyprus I decided to stay here, says Alex who is an experienced traveler. When we meet, he had just come home from a trip to Israel. In a few days he will go on to the snow-capped Alps, where he will devote himself to his other favorite sport; snowkiting. – Snow Kiting is almost the same as kitesurfing but you go by a sail on the snow instead, he explains. Alex has tried kitesurfing in many places in the world and mentions Tenerife as another good destination. The negative thing with Tenerife is that you always get crowded beaches full of other surfers. – I like the beaches in Northern Cyprus because there is so much space here, says Alex. It is a relatively recently discovered place for surfers. Here you can take the car directly on to the beach, where there are always good waves and in the summer the water temperature reaches 30 ° C. Alex has several surf shops in Europe. In addition to the stores at Aphrodite Beachfront Resort and Kyrenia, he also owns shops in Famagusta on the southern coast and in Greece. The next project is a shop in Germany which opens soon. In the surf shops you can find popular surf brands including Rober Ricci Designs – RRD, which consists of everything from boards to clothing.
Much of Alex’s time consists of running the surf school Aphrodite Airlines and all the surf shops, but he also runs other projects. Four times a year, Alex and his colleagues organize the Cyprus Championship for kitesurfing – a popular race that usually takes place at Aphrodite Beachfront Resort. When we ask Alex about his plans for the immediate future, he smiles at us saying that surfing is not just a sport, it is a spiritual lifestyle that he lives it to the full. – My life is about the mountains and the sea, I do not make any big plans but surf my way through life, he says.
