Divide Land

Steeped in tradition and plenty of foreign influences, Cyprus continues to beguile visitors to this day.

- Lee Yu Kit

Divided Land

Cyprus has the world’s only divided capital city, because in Nicosia, smack in the middle of Ledra Street is a makeshift barrier with immigration authorities. They mark the line between the Republic of Cyprus and the entity called Turkish Cyprus, which is sometimes referred to as Northern Cyprus.

Peeking through a peephole in the cement barrier, one sees overgrown grass and shuttered, abandoned buildings in the narrow strip of no man’s land that rests between the two entities. Visiting Turkish Cyprus from the Republic of Cyprus is as easy as presenting your passport on the Cyprus side, and walking across the aforementioned strip of land to the Turkish side, where you present your passport again for formality. A small slip of paper is stamped as the only evidence of your visit, so your passport doesn’t bear any permanent mark.

Turkish Cyprus

Turkish Cyprus is recognised by only one country in the world, namely Turkey. Its occupation of the northern part of the small island nation is a continual thorn in its application to become part of the EU, and something of a political liability.

Visiting Turkish Cyprus is like stepping into another part of the world, because the currency used here is the Turkish lira, not the Euro. The Turkish alphabet is far more prominent, and the goods on sale – such as Turkish delight – are reminiscent of Turkey. There are imitation goods on sale, which will be seized if they were brought back to the Cyprus side. The shops here are small businesses, as opposed to larger, glitzier, international chain stores that sit on the Cyprus side.