Limassol is undoubtedly the most popular and attractive city in Cyprus for immigration. It is located right by the sea. Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is, on the contrary, located in the center of the island and has no access to the sea. However, I know several people who think that Nicosia is a better place to live. When asked why, they say that Nicosia is more like a European city. And one of the reasons is the rich (and preserved!) architectural historical heritage.
Founding
The city was founded around the 7th century BC. At first it was called Ledra, then Lefkoteon, and the name Nicosia appeared around the 13th century. It was originally a city-state. In 1191, the legendary English crusader king Richard I Lionheart conquered the city and made it the capital of the Kingdom of Cyprus. It was during this period that the city was given the name Nicosia.
From 1489-1571, the city was under the rule of the Venetians. From 1571-1878 under the rule of the Turks. From 1878-1960 under the rule of the British. In 1960 Nicosia became the capital of the independent Republic of Cyprus. Nicosia has preserved many historical buildings of varying degrees of antiquity. The most famous are the huge Venetian walls surrounding the Old Town.
The Venetian walls had a total length of about 5 kilometers. Together with eleven bastions, they were supposed to serve as a defense of the city. The bastions and walls were created by advanced technology, as it seemed at the time. This did not save the city from being conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The new owners, fortunately, left the bastions almost unchanged until the British era of the rule on the island, and survived to this day. Within the walls are many ancient temples.
When the authorities of the British Empire occupied Cyprus in 1878, the city was still completely within the boundaries of the old walls. A year later, a passage was made near the Paphos Gate to facilitate access to nearby settlements. Several more such passageways were made during the 19th century.
Partition
A dramatic fate befell Nicosia in 1974. As a result of the Turkish invasion and the subsequent proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the city was divided into Turkish and Greek parts. Moreover, the border between them, guarded by UN troops, runs right through the historic center of the city and through the main shopping street Ledra, thus dividing the city in half. The northern (occupied) part of Nicosia is the capital of the self-proclaimed TRNC and is called Lefkosha. They built a concrete wall in the center of the city, equipped it with barbed wire and immediately dubbed it "Berlin-2". In the northern part of Nicosia, on the side of a mountain, the Turkish-Cypriots put up a Turkish flag visible from anywhere in Nicosia as a slap in the face to the Greek-Cypriots.
Nicosia is the last divided capital in Europe.
Since 2008, Cyprus has seen a thaw in relations between the northern and southern parts of the capital. Traveling in both directions is now relatively free. There is a checkpoint on Ledra Street, where I was let through in two minutes without even having my passport stamped.
On the occupied side of Ledra Street you enter a different world. The signs are in Turkish and the people look different. Not far away is a market where jewelry and clothes are sold at a much better price than in the South. You can pay in euros and in the currency that is in use in the Turkish part of Cyprus - lira. Orthodox and Catholic churches have been converted into mosques, and the singing of muezzins reverberates far beyond the separation wall.
Unification is not yet in sight
The wall is guarded by UN peacekeepers. 860 "blue helmets" and a few dozen civil servants should not only ensure the military status quo of 1974, but also take care of the unification of Cyprus, because this is the task set before us by the UN Security Council. The UN headquarters is located on the grounds of the old Nicosia airport, just west of the city. The tower and terminal building have not been used by anyone for almost 40 years. Taken captive by time, abandoned airplanes rust on the runway.
Many Turkish-Cypriots work in southern Nicosia, and cars from the south can be seen in the north. In the last two years a large number of emigrants from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have moved to Cyprus. Moreover, they choose both North and South for their new residence.
Almost 50 years have passed since the division of Cyprus, two new generations have grown up, but Cyprus is far from unification. Many Greek-Cypriots who witnessed the dramatic events still adamantly refuse to travel to the Northern part. Several attempts have been made over the past decades to settle the issue. But all without success. As far as is known, one of the main stumbling blocks is private property, which has been seized, resold and no one is going to return it. Given the situation in the world, we should not hope for unification yet. Rather, we should at least rejoice in the fact that there is peace and relative calm in the region now and hope that this will continue to be the case.
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