"The Capital of Cyprus - twice..." a Nicosia Travel Page by easyoar

This page has the potential to get political, so I will try and state only facts and keep well away from politics. As most people know, Cyprus is a divided island. The Turks live in the North, the Greeks live in the South, and the UN peacekeepers live inbetween them in an area known as the Green Line. The South is also known as the Republic of Cyprus, and is recognised around the world. The North is also known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and is only recognised by Turkey.

The upshot of this all is, that if you want to go to Cyprus, and fly direct from a European country, you can only fly to the Greek South. It is possible to fly to the North, but you must fly via Turkey. It is also possible to travel from the South to the North on a day trip. Until recently this was only possible provided you weren't Greek. It was not possible to travel the other way (unless returning from your day trip). However in the last year or so, tensions between the two sides have reduced, and there is now some flow (for a limited time period) between both sides.

Not only is Cyprus a divided country, but the capital city is also divided between North and South. For foreigners it can get confusing as one place can have several different names, as Greeks Turks and the British have all given the same place (Britain did at one point have sovereign territory over Cyprus). The capital city is a fine example of this. The Greeks call it Lefkosia, The Turks call it Lefkosa, and the British call it Nicosia.

The picture at the top shows part of the Green Line as viewed from the South.

The smaller picture here shows a road sign that to me at anyrate symbolises the conflict. It is riddled with bullet holes, and has had destinations painted out (and even roundabout exits painted out) as at the time the picture was taken, they had become inaccessible due to the conflict.