Transition in Nicosia: Reopening the Ledra / Lokmaci Crossing - Lefkos Kyriacou

The natural topography of the Pentadaktylos mountain range on the Turkish-Cypriot side of the city forms the backdrop to the north-south axis of Ledra/Lokmaci Street. From GreekCypriot Ledra Street looking north, one can see imprinted on the mountain face the flags of mainland Turkey and the TRNC. These form an unavoidable daily reminder for the Greek-Cypriots of not only the presence but also ‘threat’ of those they perceive as illegal occupiers of ‘their’ city.

Transition in Nicosia: Reopening the Ledra / Lokmaci Crossing - Lefkos Kyriacou

Published on Mar 3, 2014

Centre for Urban Conflicts Research

About

The limits of the Turkish military advance in 1974 continue to segregate the island and Nicosia today: Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north, both with Nicosia as their capital. The Buffer Zone, within Nicosia, was the hardening of a much older line in the heart of the city that was once a common ground between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities that developed into a frontier during the second half of the 20th Century. Streets that abut the Buffer Zone come to dead-ends against concrete walls, barbed-wire fences, sand-bags and military observation points, forming a ‘no-man’s land’ that stretches across the entire island.

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