Some months ago, we took a 5-day trip to the nearby island of Cyprus, an EU country and the third largest island in the Mediterranean. Unlike my other postings, this one focusses a little more on the political situation in Cyprus which in the end was the factor that seemed to intrigue us most about the island.

Having been ruled by numerous major powers throughout history, the island has been under dispute between the Turks and Greeks since the 1950's. According to international law, the Republic of Cyprus has sovereignty over the island and its surrounding waters. The Turkish-controlled area in the north of the island (calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and recognised only by Turkey), covers about 36% of the island's area but the international community considers the northern part as illegally occupied by Turkish forces.

Today, the island is partitioned via a UN created Buffer Zone which has been patrolled by UN peacekeeping forces since the 1970's, the longest deployment of UN Peacekeepers.


We didn't think about the political situation when we booked our flights to the north side of the island and later realized flights are not permitted into the south from Turkey.

We read various things on the internet and actually called the Greek Cypriot authorities to inquire about flying into the north and crossing to the south. Technically if you land on the northern side (Turkish Cypriot side) you have not legally entered the country as the Greek Cypriots do not recognize the Turkish Cypriot entry points as legal points of entry. Since Cyprus is part of the EU, for EU passport holders this doesn't present much concern but we were a little weary as non-EU passport holders. So, we weren't sure what to expect when we attempted to cross from the Turkish side to the Greek side in the capital city of Nicosia.

NOTE: We requested that our passports not be stamped upon arrival at the Turkish Cyprus airport as it could present problems for us upon entering Greece later on. Instead, they gave us paperwork that was stamped in and out of our later entry to South Cyprus and surrendered when we flew back out of Turkish Cyprus.



However, as it turned out, as we walked down Ledra Street through the border/buffer zone, we checked out of the North side via the Turkish authorities (they did not stamp our passports but the separate paperwork we requested upon our initial arrival) and a few feet later were waved through by the Greek authorities with no formalities at all.


LEDRA STREET

Walking down Ledra Street and across the buffer zone reminded us of something like a time capsule. If you look off to the side of the walk-through, you can see the actual UN Buffer Zone. Buildings and the road within the zone sit unchanged since it was created in the 1970's. Barbed wire, sandbags and signs warning not to take photos, capture the feeling that time really has stood still in this narrow corridor.



Arriving on the south side, café signs highlight the dispute still exists today.





coffee shop on south side



We also learned that renting a car on the North side to take to the South side is very cumbersome and expensive. It's complicated by the fact that liability insurance is not valid once you travel to the south so it must be repurchased upon entry and a mechanical breakdown or accident once you are in the south also becomes complicated to get back to the North.

So we took the bus from the airport to the border town of Nicosia, walked across at Ledra Street and then travelled on a shared shuttle to the south shore city of Limassol where we then rented a car at a fraction of the cost. It sounds a little complicated and certainly is not as straight forward as your usual entry to a country and car rental!

Photo of Cyprus south coast


For the next few days we drove along the south coast to the western end of the island to the town of Paphos and up into the Trodos Mountains where there was a little snow on the ground. We saw small chapels and monasteries that are scattered all over the countryside, sometimes with beautiful open views down to the blue sea below.

Mountain view



















small chapels and monasteries





Returning to the North
On the return to the North for our flight back to Turkey, there were no Greek authorities at the crossing point, only Turkish authorities who stamped our paperwork upon re-entry to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus".
But before we crossed, it didn't seem we were able to escape the obvious signs reminding us of the ongoing dispute.









Also, there was a very obvious difference between the north and south side of the town of Nicosia. The south has all the hotels, tourist shops, pedestrianized shopping streets. The northern side of the town has none of the above. In fact, most of the buildings near the north side of Ledra Street looked deserted however we realized they weren't when signs of everyday life sprung up with laundry hanging outside an entrance to a building or when we saw this large coffee grinder sitting in what we would think of as an old garage.










We were surprised as we talked to locals that they asked us about our experiences having just arrived from the north side. Both in the car rental office and in restaurants, we met locals who have not travelled from the south side to the north side in the last 40 years. One person told us, as Cypriots, they do not feel they should have to show their passport to the Turkish authorities to cross to the north. Also when the island was divided in the 70's and Greeks from the north had to leave their land and move to the south, and Turks vice versa, hence people's property (real estate) is now left in limbo in "foreign" land.

So although the island has a rich history with historical ruins etc., it was the current ongoing conflict that interested us most. Of all the Mediterranean Islands we have visited, it is likely our least favourite and would recommend many others ahead of Cyprus. However, it did remind us first hand of the personal toil that hangs over people's lives many years after a dispute seems to have "settled down". At least to us.