Holidaymakers in Cyprus have captured the moment their relaxing holiday in the sun turned into something terrifying as the sky as they gazed out from their balconies from the eastern Mediterranean island.
With tensions mounting in the Middle East, British TikTok user Sapphire captured the moment she witnessed a series of Iranian missiles illuminating the night sky. “Crazy we can see this,” she penned in a caption alongside her clip.
Sat beside her hotel’s swimming pool, she added of her “POV” [point of view]: “You’re having a nice drink in Cyprus and then you see Iranian missiles heading towards Israel.”
In a similar video, meanwhile, Belgian national Filipe de Almeida took to the same platform to share his perspective after being caught by surprise. “The way I instantly knew what this was, my heart felt so heavy watching this,” he said.
And almost identically to Sapphire, he continued: “Point of view – you are in Cyprus for holidays taking pictures of the moon and see missiles from your hotel balcony.” Indeed, panning has camera above his pool, Filipe picked out more than a dozen flame red dots in the distance travelling towards Israel in a retaliation attack.
Writing in response to Sapphire, one TikTok user admitted: “I’d never considered that people actually see missiles going from one country to another that is terrifying.”
“It was so terrifiying,” Sapphire replied. “Thinking of everyone that has lost loved ones.”
A second confessed: “This would have broken my heart to see.” To which Sapphire concurred: “It did break mine, hate to see all this happening.”
Whilst a third asked Sapphire for advice regarding their own trip: “Hi, I should come on vacation to Cyprus in a few months. How is it there? Is there a concern about the nearby war?” She explained: “No concern at all! Flights are normal and we have been having such a lovely week here. Just sometimes sadly you can see it in the distance.”
Felipe also addressed fears about flying to the island as he told his concerned followers: “If you are worried about the flight, it’s also safe. Flights that cross on that region are cancelled. So the maximum is you’ll have your flight cancelled if you need to cross any of those countries.”
Felipe also addressed fears about flying to the island as he told his concerned followers: “If you are worried about the flight, it’s also safe. Flights that cross on that region are cancelled. So the maximum is you’ll have your flight cancelled if you need to cross any of those countries.
He added: “I’ll be coming back next month, it’s safe here. But if you are coming from a place where you need to cross the countries that are at war, then most likely your flight will be cancelled, if not it’s all good.
“Flights between those countries are the only ones affected, and they issued warnings which stopped the flights. Flight from and to Cyprus are fine.”
On Wednesday (June 18) Iran’s Supreme Leader says his country will show Israel “no mercy” after Donald Trump demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country must deliver a “strong response” as both Israel and Iran exchanged fire overnight, with the conflict entering its sixth day.
As of June 18, the UK government’s travel advice with regards to Cyrpus states: “Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Iran could escalate quickly and pose security risks for the wider region.”
It adds: “Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Iran could escalate quickly and pose security risks for the wider region. You should:
- monitor local and international media for the latest information
- be vigilant and follow the instructions of local authorities.”
Detailed advice on Cyrprus’ safety and security can be found on the government’s website here.