Crossing the Border in the Divided Capital of Nicosia, Cyprus

16 Geographica Helvetica Jg. 62 2007/Heft 1 «The shadows of no man's land». Crossing the border in the divided capital of Nicosia, Cyprus Freerk Boedeltje, Henk van Houtum, Olivier Thomas flict, adaptation and exchange between a putative Kramsch, Nijmegen «east» and «west» as in Nicosia. This fact is exploited in countless tourist brochures and related Public¬ ity, with Nicosia referring to itself somewhat self- «[I]n spite ot progress made in cross-cultural scholar- confidently as «the last divided capital in Europe». ship in the past few decades. there remains a tendency to Despite its current partitioning, Nicosia today may view the non-West either as a residual category or as an be understood as a «palimpsest» (Grundy-Warr exotic organism resisting comparison. A perspective that 2002: 219), whereby older spatial patterns of colo¬ can advance such categories as <oriental despotism> and nial rule have entered into complex and multi-lay- <oriental mode of production» can equally well embrace ered discourse with the Cypriot present. This is par¬ the notion of an «oriental city> existing beyond history and ticularly evident on both sides of the Green Line analysis» (Brown 1973:18). in contemporary attempts at economic reform, EU membership, adaptation and modernization. In this article, the Nicosian palimpsest is explored through 1 Introduction a description of the daily irregularities of a contem¬ porary city border in this last divided capital of the The Republic of Cyprus has been a member-state European Union. of the European Union (EU) since May 2004. Since 1974 it is divided by a UN patrolled buffer zone running from west to east, straight through the city 2 A «lie» called Cyprus centre of its capital, Nicosia. Greek and Turkish Cyp- riots have lived here in a tenuous State of cease-fire Cyprus is a clearly defined entity located squarely on since the UN stepped in to settle the conflict that had the crossroads between Europe and Asia. between arisen due to an attempted coup to unite the island, the western and non-western world. The coastline on which led to the subsequent invasion of the northern Greek Cyprus embraces everything that is connected half of the island by Greece and Turkey. From that to the European, to that which is international, «turbo- point on, contact between Greek and Turkish Cyp- capitalistic» and touristic, while siphoning out capi¬ riot communities was almost impossible. In April tal and knowledge. The coastline on Turkish Cyprus 2003, the buffer zone (or Green Line) was unexpecl- receives «invisible» people and products, invisible edly opened, propelled by the prospect of EU acces- in the sense that in the north, there is no agreement sion of Cyprus. On May 1,2004, however, only Greek about what the political space should be referred to as Cyprus joined the EU. As the EU regards the Greek Turkish, Northern Cyprian (legal title) or as the Turk¬ Cyprus authority as the sole authority on the island, ish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) (inofficial the EU accession papers were settled and ratified in title). Nonetheless, this invisible territory is accessible the name of the Republic of Cyprus only. After two to everyone. It is a confusing space, and although phys- years of EU membership, the Republic of Cyprus is ically constructed of the same minerals as the south, seen as a positive construct by the people of Northern it has a totally different meaning on this part of the Cyprus, however, perhaps not in a manner Europe island. or the Greek Cypriot authorities originally planned. Northern Cyprus has been able to benefit from the O'Toole (1997: 4) writes about «the lie of the land; European Common Market through the grey zone in the sense that the people and the land are no that the aceptis communautaire allows for. After longer co-terminous». In the case of Cyprus, it is nearly three years of free movement, people interact; suggested here that its history of division has had more specifically, they mainly work and shop on the a similar effect on it. Postcolonial independence «other» side. However, in official discourse, Nicosia is and the evolving conflict and division detached the still seen as a divided city and with the deadlock on people from their physical and mental land. Cyprus Turkish EU accession talks it will probably remain so never managed to create a national consciousness in the near future. as an expression of a national culture. it turned towards the past, resulting in current events being Within the EU today, there is no other urban area experienced differently within the two civil societies that offers as vivid an example of inter-cultural con¬ (Fanon 1961). «The shadows of no man's land» Freerk Boedeltje, Henk van Houtum, Olivier Thomas Kramsch 17 3 No man's land every attempt taken to resolve the Situation, a Solu¬ tion seems further away and the institutionalisation From the Greek Cypriot airport in Larnaca, it takes of a culture of denial one step closer (OToole 1990). less than an hour to complete the 56-kilometre ride This culture of denial may be seen today in official to downtown Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, a city geopolitical disputes.The Cyprus problem has become with nearly 200'000 inhabitants. The Greek Cypriot a breakpoint issue for EU accession talks with Turkey. urban milieu may be cosmopolitan, yet at a micro- On the one hand, Turkey is not willing to ratify the scale, society is still essentially colonial, reflecting EU customs' treaty and open its ports and airports to the impact made by Cyprus' last colonial empire, the Republic of Cyprus, because it does not recognize Great-Britain. Life in Nicosia is busy. trendy and in the Cypriot administration. On the other hand, it is a systematic rush.The atmosphere in this part of the insisting that international sanctions against North¬ city is international. The uniform-styled shops and ern Cyprus be loosened. Today, at least. if judging by restaurants of the main Shopping street, Ledra Street, official discourse, unification seems further away then within the walls of the old city, end suddenly and sur- ever before. really at a barbed-wire military wall: Nicosia's Green Line. This in-between zone, dead zone, or no man's Mr Talat, Prime Minister of the Turkish Cypriot land has led to a peculiar Situation: two cities with authority, for example, recently claimed that their main centres in the outskirts and the outskirts «[t]he Greek Cypriots are not acting like an EU country. in the centre snuffed out by a ceasefire line. When They are not trying to compromise or give any rights to observing the fragments of Nicosia, it becomes clear the Turkish Cypriots. Unfortunately. the EU is not acting that it is impossible to put all the pieces together in an in a proper way to preclude these ill intentions» (Bahceli attempt to grasp the whole picture, as there is none. 2005). Nicosia is not one but two, as much as there are now According to the Turkish Cypriots, the assistance also two versions of Cyprus. and aid promised after the accession of the Republic of Cyprus has not ended their isolated position. This The old city of Nicosia is promoted in the tourist appears to be particularly apparent in aid package dis¬ brochures as a beautiful district with many historical cussions and in the dissatisfactory results ofthe Green relics. Although the adverts mention its unique Vene- Line Regulations agreement (Bahceli 2005). On the tian Walls, built in 1570 to protect the city from the other hand, the Greek Cypriot authorities repeatedly Ottomans, no mention is made of the UN buffer zone accuse their Turkish Cypriot counterparts for not con- dividing the old town in two, nor of the Community tributing towards finding a satisfactory Solution for the existing on the other side. This disregard of the current Cyprus problem, as is exemplified in the press release wall of Separation, or of the Cyprus conflict as a whole, of June 19,2006: is not something peculiar to hotel brochures, tourist «If there is a justification for MrTalal's weakness to con¬ information, maps and travel agencies alone. In the trol his political actions. there is no justification for his southern part of the city, every Single official map of weakness to control his political speech. His latest remarks the city stops at the Green Line. To its north, a whole about an <insane and comical policy of President Papa- part of the city is denied contemporary existence. It dopoulos on the Cyprus issue> have exceeded every limit. is a place where the streets have no name. an area If these Statements are not a result of embarrassment and denoted as «non-accessible because of Turkish occu¬ confusion on his part. then they are simply a reaffirmation pation». For the official Greek Cypriot authorities, the of his inlransigence and his unwillingness to cooperate on occupied territory ultimately represents a denial of finding a mutually acceptable Solution to the Cyprus prob¬ Turkish Cypriot civil society as an integrated territo¬ lem» (Republic of Cyprus 2006). rial part on the island. As a commentator of the Cyprus Mail wrote: This form of denial seems completely illogical, even «Unfortunately. it's 40 years down the line and we are still absurd for tourists, foreigners and researchers, who behaving with the same narrow-mindedness that led us lo find it impossible to ignore the presence of a dead this sad slate of affairs in the first place. Instead of looking space that exists and is tangible, both physically and to the future and seeking to escape this dead end.

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