Picturesque Island Nation of Cyprus Yet a Victim of Partition

August 08, 2023

Picturesque Island Nation of Cyprus

Yet a Victim of Partition

Sachi (Sabyasachi) Ghosh Dastidar

We had thought of visiting an independent island nation of Cyprus for a long time, and its result succeeded in the summer of 2023. We took a flight from the Greek city of Athens to its airport at Lanaca in the in the southern coast. It was a 40-minute ride in a shuttle bus to the city of Nicosia. The infrastructure was great in a partition affected Island.

After Turkey invaded and forced a partition, making the north as North Cyprus run by Turkish-speaking Islamic peoples, cleansing Greek-speaking people there. It also partitioned its main city, Nicosia, at the center of the island. Luckily, the city’s main bus terminal and our hotel were barely 100 meters from the partition border in the city. City in the southern part, a part of European Uinion has attracted large number of migrants from developing countries of Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Africa.

Recently, border through the middle of the built-in city has opened for border crossing helping the Turkish side. Although the southern area of independent republic if thriving attracting investments, the northern Turkish part is full od abandoned or confiscated buildings and businesses. Luckily, we didn’t need any visa in either side. We visited the free region in public and private transportation. Even in a island we faced high temperature and heat in the summer of 2023. We also toured the city of Limassol known for its wonderful beeches and relaxation.