Lefkosia, the way locals call Nicosia, means “white city”. Contrary to the widespread propaganda on the networks, it is a city with much to offer the traveler.
We will find some perfect corners to get lost walking leisurely, a spectacular walled town and if we decide to cross to the Turkish area, which we strongly recommend, we will be able to appreciate that strange sensation that makes adventurers feel so alive.
This half is a paradise for lovers of shopping for replicas of the best brands in a totally different environment from the Cypriot part. However, Nicosia retains the sad title of being the world’s last divided capital by a physical barrier.
Why is he still in this situation?
In the fifteenth century BC, the Greeks arrived on the island, settling there and believing that it was the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Many towns passed through it due to its strategic position in the Mediterranean, becoming part of the Republic of Venice in 1489.
Less than 100 years later, in 1571, it fell to the Ottoman Empire. During this period the island went into decline and in the 19th century a nationalist movement emerged motivated by poverty, with the aim and desire of reunifying with Greece.
In 1878 the island fell under British rule until 1960, when Cyprus signed its independence led by two leaders: a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot. Unfortunately, the agreement between the two did nothing more than highlight their differences and the population experienced a constant situation of undeclared civil war, some wanting to reunite with Greece and the others wanting to divide the island into two completely separate countries.
In July 1974 the Greeks staged a coup at the insistence of Makarios III, the Greek Cypriot leader, to continue as an independent country. It was then that Turkey landed in the north of the island and without any opposition seized the northern third of the island, drawing what is known to date as the “green line”.
This wall forced some 180,000 people to move south of the strip, thus abandoning their homes. After 56 years, this situation has not changed and the island and its capital remain divided.
Ledras Street is the nerve and commercial center of the old city and leads directly to the Check Point where you can cross into the Republic of Northern Cyprus, a country only recognized by Turkey worldwide.
As we had anticipated, as soon as you cross this pass you feel that something has changed, it is an environment much more similar to that of the Middle East, similar to that of a souk in a Muslim country. Along the way you will find many restaurants, shops, the Selimiye Mosque and other monuments that will reveal the reason for your visit; however, it is impossible to ignore the shocking and sad wall that divides the city and its people into two sides.
Whether from a cultural, historical or purely tourist point of view, Nicosia is an interesting and peculiar destination for a visit. Before arriving, it will be wise to know your past and intelligent to know your present. Their future is somewhat uncertain, but a growing trust between their peoples is expected to consolidate their union.
“In unity there is strength. We can move mountains when we are united.”