North’s airport not on many Turks’ radar

Many Turks seem unaware of the location of Ercan (Tymbou) airport, after neither the contestant of a television game show nor a section of the audience knew it was in the north.

There was criticism in the media and social networks after a contestant in Who Wants to be a Millionaire on ATV did not know that Ercan, as Tymbou is called, was located in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north of Cyprus.

The 7,500 (€535) Turkish lira question was “Where is Ercan airport located?” with the choices being Batumi, Thessaloniki, Nicosia and Baku.

The contestant did not know the answer and sought help from the audience whose majority, 37 per cent, voted for Baku. Thirty-two per cent opted for Nicosia but the player chose the majority response and lost.

A few days earlier, a Turkish state television presenter had said that people in the north lived in comfort and were given a cost-of-living allowance and 13th salary, which also raised eyebrows in the north.