Lefkosia - Ledra Crossing

As we walked through the Dead Zone, the azan is sounded and I am transported through time and space back to the land where my blood hath spilled. The call to the Muslim brothers to perform their Zohor prayers in a place where Cypriots once fought one another was surreal.


Lefkosia, the last divided capital in the world, is partitioned by the Green Line into north Nicosia of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Lefkosia of the Republic of Cyprus.


At the Ledra Crossing, they are merely two minutes walk apart (minus customs) and yet are two distinctly different entitites. One, a thriving city of congested roads with people bustling in and out of shops, restaurants, cafes, bistros etc. The other, an abandoned, dilapidated town where the only people to be seen are scattered tourists perusing the odd souvenir and antique shops or performing their prayers in the mosques as part of their pilgrimage.


Picture the city you live in, with your friend's house just down the road. Now imagine having to show your passport at the crossing checkpoints before crossing a haunted strip of rubble and ruin - the Dead Zone, remnant of the 1974 Turkish invasion - patrolled by Greek and Turkish Cypriot as well as UN peacekeeping forces. Finally, flashing your 'visa' - a mere piece of paper with the unrecognized stamp of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the sour-looking guard on the other side of the crossing just to hang out with your friend. The very thought of it just makes me sick with sadness.