Nicosia. 1963. Days of inter-communal unrest. The story of the Green Line began on December 21, 1963, when, after an incident, inter-communal unrest of great intensity and extent broke out, with Turkey threatening to intervene in Cyprus. “Damn Christmas”, as it is commonly called, that period. And the historical record of the events is shocking. Thus, we know it today as the “Green Line”. Its purpose was to prevent escalation of tensions between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and its custody was entrusted to the UN blue helmets.
The “Green Line” originally extended to Nicosia and divided the capital of Cyprus into two sectors. It then expanded and demarcated the six Turkish Cypriot enclaves created after the bloody December incidents. Tensions eased greatly in 1968, when bi-communal talks between Glafkos Clerides and Rauf Denktash began to resolve the Cyprus problem. On this occasion, Ledra and Ermou streets were opened to serve the Turkish Cypriots working in the Greek Cypriot sector.
With a ladder & # 8230;
At the end of Ledra Street & # 8211; and today in front of Kykkou Street -, the first outpost will be built by the Greek Cypriots. Outpost 216, which until the opening of the roadblocks, will be a place of deposit for Greek Cypriots and foreigners, who daily rush to get to know the other side, the invisible face of Nicosia, the only divided – to date – city in Europe./p>
The outpost before opening of roadblocks
With a ladder, that as you climbed your breath was taken away & # 8230; And a small hole & # 8230; Suddenly as a visitor & # 8230; you could see the dead zone behind the outpost. Students, families, children & # 8230; Foreign visitors gazing at the other side of Nicosia. And when the then mayor Lellos Dimitriadis, when another official, to explain the facts & # 8230;
How many times have we been there and heard stories about Nicosia before it was divided? How many stories from another era? This outpost is located a stone's throw from the historic long road of the capital, the long road of Ledra, and just a few meters from Metaxa Square – later Eleftherias Square. So on this ladder, children and we were climbing in fear of what we would see opposite and just a few meters away. A soldier in the watchtower, barrels painted in white and blue and the time that stopped years ago at that point & # 8230;
Today, after the opening of the roadblocks in 2003, the visitors do not exist, only a few foreign tourists who are lost in the alleys of the city, but they also speaking on our website will say that it is strange that the city within the walls has so many outposts. “Are you afraid; Is there a case of war? Why is almost everything painted white and white? ” These are some of the questions you will hear from strangers if you go to this outpost.
The outpost 216, after years, changes its appearance again, since according to our website, it was demolished to renovate a new watchtower at the same point, mainly for security reasons, as has been pointed out to us.
