A Tale Of Two Cities

Middle East » Cyprus » Nicosia
October 28th 2018

Published: November 18th 2018

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Delek Delek

The Green Line

The incongruous sight of a park bench in front of a barrier on the Greek Cypriot side.

It has been five months since I last wrote, which naturally and obviously, was the last time I travelled. Back then, I took a sneaky trip to Leipzigbefore starting my new job – five months later, it was time to get away for my first holiday since starting work again; the first time I have worked for almost three-and-a-half years.

The holiday was well and truly deserved.

About a month after I had started, I was put on a big project and the long hours, combined with the stress of delivering the project on-time and performing my job to high enough a level to pass my probation period, left me absolutely exhausted. This was on top of getting used to working life again, remembering how to do my job, settling into a new city, establishing new routines and learning a new language.
By the time my holiday came around, I was really looking forward to the time off - although not necessarily going away. To have to up sticks again – however temporarily – seemed like a hassle I could do without. I guess I had coveted a normal working life again so badly during the last period of

Archbishop's Palace

Where the administration of the Cypriot archdiocese is housed.

my two-years-plus on the road that with the hardships of travelling still fresh in my mind, I was loathed to have to give up the life I had just re-established. Having seen so much already, what could Cyprus and Lebanon offer that would be worth seeing?
Just like when I was living in London, it wasn’t until I had got onto the plane that I started to feel any semblance of excitement.

As we touched down at Larnaca International Airport, almost the whole plane burst into spontaneous applause, something I had curiously encountered for the first time in Lithuania. I mean, is this really necessary? The pilot is just doing his job. What would he have to do to disqualify himself from a round of applause? Crash the plane? I don’t get colleagues clapping me at the office for every email I send.
Another travel peeve I now had to re-encounter was the restriction on packing liquids into your carry-on luggage. Throughout my two years on the road, I always had my big backpack so I always had luggage in the hold of the plane; this would be where I would store my toiletries. I hadn’t travelled with only carry-on luggage for more than four years so I

Selmiye Mosque

This former French Gothic church was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans arrived in 1571.

suddenly found myself with a toiletries conundrum I hadn’t had to deal with for a long time. When I was living in London, I had always stolen the little bottles of shower gel and shampoo that you always find in hotel bathrooms because they are perfect for putting into carry-on luggage; I didn’t do this during my big trip because I didn’t have to. The backpacker mentality is so ingrained within me now that I found the act of having to find a supermarket while on holiday, specifically to buy toiletries – with only regular-sized shampoo bottles available that I knew I wouldn’t be able to take back with me thanks to this stupid liquids-in-carry-on-luggage rule – a colossal hassle (which it is). Thanks for nothing, Osama (although an actual and annoying problem, this is tongue-in-cheek for those of you about to accuse me of being precious).

On first impressions (especially in terms of architecture), Cyprus’s capital of Nicosia seemed to be a mix of Corfu Town and Mdina/Valletta, Greece and Malta; from the narrow, pedestrian alleys and protruding bay windows of the charming buildings that flanked them – right down to the ugly, worn, 60s and 70s-era commercial buildings

Venetian Walls

Looking down onto the former moat which is backed by a section of the old Venetian Walls.

within the old city walls, and the newer, non-descript builds outside them.
The temperature however, was unlike what I remembered from Greece and Malta as I was forced to wear the only jacket I had brought with me in the evenings!
Ledra Street, the main pedestrian shopping artery that cuts right through the heart of the old city, was a hive of activity and was lined with all the usual fashion brands.

My trips away from London always followed a pretty set routine on the night of arrival; dump our bags at the hostel, go out and get some food and then have a few drinks. How times have changed. This time, we had booked an entire two-bedroom apartment between the two of us and I was far too tired to go out for drinks; we simply smashed two massive portions of souvlaki and went straight to bed.
The apartment itself left a bit to be desired; the wifi was terrible, the shower door was wonky, it wasn’t the cleanest, the water pump was ridiculously loud, there was a noisy bar downstairs and there was a shortage of soap, shampoo and toilet paper. Maybe a hostel might have been

Ledra Street

The main pedestrian artery that runs through the heart of Nicosia on the Greek Cypriot side.

better after all…

I should probably at this point introduce my partner-in-crime for this particular trip.
This isn’t actually Scott’s first time appearing in this blog; that was when I met up with my old primary school friend and former cricket teammate in Skopje of all places, over two years ago. I found out then that he was living in Berlin and knowing someone already living in the city was one factor in deciding to move there. He has since put me up in the spare room of his apartment and has helped me settle in, for which I owe him quite a lot!
Randomly meeting up for the first time this century in a place like Skopje also confirmed a shared interest in travelling and collecting countries; Cyprus was a country that neither of us had yet to visit, so we thought we might as well collect this particular one together – this now means that Scott as completed the entire European set, while I still have one more to go; the pesky obsession that is Belarus.

Strategically located in the Mediterranean Sea amid warring empires, Cyprus’s history is a long and tumultuous one. Over the past three thousand years,

Border Station

An empty border station on the Green Line.

Cyprus has been ruled by Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the French, the Venetians, the Ottomans and the British, before finally gaining their own independence in 1959. But even that wasn’t the end of it in terms of conflict.
Though the island was mainly populated by Greeks, there was still a sizeable Turkish minority leftover from Ottoman times and sectarian violence flared. The UN sent in a peacekeeping force in 1964 and a line was drawn across the island separating the two communities; the “Green Line”. A Greek-led coup (which was supported by the British and the Americans) in 1974 was the pretext for a Turkish invasion of the island. The conflict was brutal and many residents from both sides were displaced by the time things had settled down, some three weeks after the Turks had originally landed. Although the original government was eventually restored, the Turks could not be persuaded to end their occupation and in 1983, Northern Cyprus declared itself the Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus, which to this day, is only recognised by Turkey.

This has left Nicosia (Lefkosia in Greek, Lefkosa in Turkish) as the last remaining divided capital in Europe; I had gone from

Chrysaliniotissa Quarter

Charming, restored neighbourhood right on the Green Line on the Greek Cypriot side of Nicosia.

a city that was once divided, to visit one that still is. The Green Line runs right through the heart of the city and quiet meandering lanes often end abruptly at dead ends of empty oil barrels, sandbags and barbed wire. Beyond the barriers is the UN-patrolled buffer zone between the South (Greek Cypriot) and North (Turkish) sides of the city. In this no- man’s land, lie crumbling, derelict, bombed-out buildings that serve as a sad reminder of a dark period in Cyprus’s history.

Speaking of history, we made a stop at the free Leventis Municipal Museum where I learned much of what I have written above; just south of the museum is a lovely, restored, winding alley of al-fresco restaurants called Laiki Yitonia, which is full of package tourists and accompanying tacky souvenir stores with hawkers shouting ”ni hao” at any Asian that walks by and “my friend” at anyone else, attempting to lure them in. Also in the Greek section of Nicosia is the Byzantine-era Church of Archangelos Michail and the Omeriye Mosque – which was originally a church – which signifies that both sides were once living amongst each other.
Further along our walking tour of South Nicosia, we dropped into

Plateia Faneromeni

One of many outdoor cafe scenes in an area absolutely buzzing with cafes and people in South Nicosia.

the old Ottoman mansion of the former Dragoman of Cyprus, which reminded me of a similar house in Mostar; we then walked past the relatively grand Archbishop’s Palace to perhaps Nicosia’s most famous feature – its Venetian walls.
The walls were built in 1567 and encloses the old town, where anything of interest from a tourist’s point of view is located. Ever since visiting my first-ever walled city in Dubrovnik, I have been excited by every walled city I have visited since, only to be disappointed as none of them ever matched Dubrovnik’s setting and splendour. Nicosia’s walls don’t blow you away either – the most striking thing about them is the bird’s eye view of which shows the old city enclosed within a structure the shape of a circular saw; this shape is used as a motif on many of Nicosia’s tourist brochures. The walls are about 5km in circumference and about 15m-high; its deep, wide moat is used as park space, car parks and for outdoor events. Running east-to-west right through the middle of the circular saw is another wall – the Green Line.
After a stroll through the narrow alleys of the pleasantly restored Chrysaliniotissa Quarter, we

Streets Of South Nicosa

Typically pretty pedestrian street on the Greek Cypriot side of Nicosia.

stop for spot of coffee and people-watching on in the charming square of Plateia Faneromenis, which is packed with outdoor cafes, people and little kids kicking a football around. While it gets a bit chilly at night, the mid-20s temperatures during the day under blues skies were perfect for donning shorts and t-shirts again.
We finish our tour of South Nicosia atop the city’s tallest building, the Shacolas Tower, where there is an observatory. You are stuck inside up there unfortunately and the views are so-so.

During our walk around South Nicosia, I made a few observations.
Firstly, the local populace generally have a darker complexion than I was expecting; secondly, this is a cat town and there are strays everywhere; and thirdly, there are a lot of dilapidated buildings and shops out of business all over the city - a sign of the economic times in Cyprus, perhaps?

Like everywhere else I travel to, I always want to try the local food and in Zanettos Taverna, we found the perfect place to sample Cypriot cuisine.
In fact, the place was so popular we were turned away on our first night!
There is no menu at Zanettos -

Meze

Just a sample of the many 'small' plates we ate at Zanettos Tavern in South Nicosia.

they just simply bring out a conveyor belt of meze, basically a Balkans / Near East version of tapas. Included in the twenty (!) or so small (and not-so small) plates we had were a Greek salad, hummus, tahini, beetroot, grilled halloumi, koupepia (mincemeat sausages wrapped in vine leaves), rosemary & lemon rice, chicken souvlaki, veggie fries, normal fries, roast potatoes, grilled pork belly, bulgur wheat cous-cous, calf liver, Cypriot ravioli, pita bread, Cypriot scrambled eggs and snails. It was honestly the most I have eaten for years, to the point where I was struggling to breathe and had to keep my back straight to keep down all the food. It was at this point our adorable waitress told us; "now I bring out cake!"
Despite having no notches left on my belt, I simply had to sample the wet nutty cake, fresh fruit and mahalepi (a delicious rice pudding with rosewater and pistachios). We did the Cypriot meze and we did it well.

There is some decent nightlife in Nicosia, which is frequented by a young, energetic, university crowd, so despite not being able to fit in a beer into our bursting bellies, we thought it would be

Nicosia Nightlife

There are lots of chic bars and restaurants in South Nicosia's old town.

a shame not to test out some of the cool and chic bars Nicosia had to offer. We decided to head outside the walls into the New City where we came across a place called New Division, which was a pretty cool place to hang out. Walking through the New City, we really could've been in any city in the world given the relatively modern buildings around us, but for some reason the New City reminded me of Tel Aviv. Despite drinking whiskey as a much-needed digestif, it was still a struggle getting the liquid down. We weren't really enjoying it so we decided to cut our losses and head back.
It was on the way home that Scott insisted we had to have a drink at a dive bar he spotted that morning. As we walk outside "Aphrodite", a middle-aged lady dressed in a black mini-skirt, black garters, high heels and a black top beckons us in. It really is a dive bar and we're the only customers in there; multi-coloured fairy lights adorn the shelves of the bar and 80s classics are playing on the jukebox. I order another whiskey from the lady while Scott takes a local Keo

Buyuk Han

A former traveller's inn now converted into a shopping complex in North Nicosia.

beer. The lady then walks around to our side of the bar and sits between us, making small talk.
"Do you want to buy me a beer?" asks the bartender.
Typically, cheekily and slightly sardonically, Scott replies, "well, it's your bar, you can do what you want!"
"For ladies, it costs 20€ a beer."
20€?! Jesus. We both so badly wanted to ask the question, but we bit our lips and resisted. Scott sort-of-politely-but-fairly-bluntly declines the offer of paying 20€ for a beer that we wouldn't even drink. We did wonder what else we would've got for our 20€, however. Company and an ear? Was this some sort of charitable donation? Would we have got...something else? We could understand the appeal though; if you were a lonely male down on your luck, entering a dark dive bar to drown your sorrows, hearing U2’s "With Or Without You" on the jukebox...I’d see why you might buy a 20€ beer.
As we were leaving, we were then eagerly invited into Havana Bar, another dive bar across the street, by a group of well-dressed girls. The posse of girls were young and attractive and perhaps if we had gone into Havana Bar instead,

Streets Of North Nicosa

The bazaar-like streets of North Nicosia with a minaret from the Selmiye Mosque in the background.

maybe we would've ended up buying some 20€ beers. We had concluded however, that we had probably stumbled upon Nicosia’s red light district and so we politely declined the offer again. Besides, I was getting some mad indigestion by this stage...

The next day, we ventured through the Ledra Street checkpoint - where we had to have our passports checked by both Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus border officers - and walked down a street for 50m through no man's land and into North Nicosia.
The vibe is immediately and noticeably different; much more North African or Middle Eastern in feel, as if you have just entered a Turkish outdoor bazaar. The language is different - all the signs are in Turkish and there is much less English visible - and the people look different. It is unfortunately, noticeably poorer too.
Yet there are sights here that are arguably grander than anything on the south side.
Selimiye Mosque is quite incongruous with its French Gothic exterior with minarets bolted on to it. It was in a previous life, the soaring St Sophia’s Cathedral; like its namesake in Istanbul, it too was converted into a mosque.
The Buyuk Han

Arabahmet Quarter

Beautifully restored neighbourhood in North Nicosia.

is a beautifully preserved caravanserai - an old traveller's inn where merchants would park up for the night during the 16th and 17th centuries - which has been converted into market of boutique shops and arts and crafts stalls. It reminded me of the Hanu' Lui Manuc in Bucharest.
Towards the south of the old town, hugging the Green Line, is the wonderfully quaint and quiet neighbourhood of the Arabahmet Quarter. Chock full of Ottoman apartment buildings in various states of disrepair, the older buildings evoked Havana while the newly restored ones evoked Panama City's Casco Viejo. There are crosses carved into some of the houses - this used to be the city's Armenian quarter before the Green Line divided the city. The most stunning architecture is on a road built right on-top of the Venetian wall - with the sun shining right onto some wonderfully colourful town-houses, the street resembles a seaside promenade as it perches on top of the wall, looking down upon the old city moat.
Just south of Arabahmet Quarter is perhaps the oddest park I have ever visited. Yigitler Park sits atop the Roccas Bastion which forms part of the Venetian Walls and looks down upon a street

Yigitler Park

A man looks through a fence down into the Republic of Cyprus from the Turkish side.

in South Nicosia, where you can see people in the Republic go about their daily lives. While people can now freely cross the border between north and south, the minimal buffer zone between the park and street here meant that this was the only place in Cyprus where citizens of both sides could see their counterparts close up when the borders were still closed. A barbed-wire fence separated people from both sides as they looked on forlornly. Comparisons to the Berlin Wall are unavoidable - hopefully one day, Nicosia will share the same fate as Berlin.

We walked a little around the New City outside of the walls on the north side and I have to say that the neighbourhood west of the wall looked pretty well-off. Still on the west side of the city, we took the Ledra Palace Hotel border crossing back into South Nicosia where you walk right past what used to be one of the most luxurious hotels in Cyprus before the Green Line was drawn. It now sits in the UN buffer zone and is home to UN soldiers and staff. Back on the south side, the buildings and houses there were pretty nice

UN Buffer Zone

A message of defiance in front of derelict buildings in the UN Buffer Zone.

too. We assume that the west side of the city was where the movers and shakers of the day must have lived.
Apart from eating the best Syrian kofte kebab I have ever eaten, we didn't get up to much on our last night in Nicosia.

I've been to my fair share of cities all over the world and I have to say that I have never been to any city quite like Nicosia. The division and the stark differences between the two sides means Nicosia is about as close as you can get to getting a real feeling of what it must've felt like when the Berlin Wall was still up; this feeling felt especially pertinent to me considering I now live in the German capital. It was an absolutely fascinating experience.

An ongoing dispute is the main reason why Nicosia is so intriguing and having been to a few disputed territories, I can say that they are always an interesting experience. This is why Scott and I are now heading north for further exploration of the disputed territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Τα λέμε σύντομα (Ta leme syntoma),
Derek

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