Nicosia feels good - A reflection

A KFC billboard next to the highway tells us that we are approaching Nicosia – “Nicosia Feels Good…”, followed by a second one “KFC – It’s Finger likin’ good”. This not so subtle introduction to the city reflects something very essential about where we are going: that it is fundamentally different from Paphos where we come from.

Once in the city center, the bus drops us off and we check in to the hotel, right at the heart of the southern part of the walled city. We are only given one day to soak in as much of this place and its history as possible. On the program is therefore a visit to the Home for Cooperation, a community center located in the UN Buffer Zone, and a walking tour by the Cypriot scholar Yiannis Papadakis.

Our expedition into the Buffer Zone and to the Home for Cooperation is unsettling and harmonious at the same time. Unsettling is the constantly noticeable military presence. The intimidating barbed wire, the surveillance cameras installed at every street corner, and the UN “no photos allowed” signs create a panopticon-esque aura of anxiety that constantly makes me question, “Am I allowed to do this? Am I allowed to look here?” What it really comes down to, is that I am no way used to being surrounded by visible signs of a (past) military conflict, which is why the Buffer Zone is far out of my comfort zone. Harmonious and somehow reassuring however, is what we learn about the Home for Cooperation and their efforts to bridge the divide between what is south and what is north of the Buffer Zone. We have heard about this place and we have learned about the conflict, yet spending a week in Paphos, far away from guns, and UN forces, and barbed wire has made this seem so much less real, which is why its sudden presence is all the more confronting.

The walking tour with Yiannis Papadakis through the southern part of the walled city represents an equally fascinating experience. His research has allowed him to gain an incredible amount of historical knowledge and insight about both sides of the city and its people that he conveys to us in a captivating manner. What strikes me is once again the realization that I have been spending time in Paphos, and have over Pafos2017’s cultural events and other purely touristic activities, forgotten about the historical specificity of this country.

Eventually, despite all the differences that set Nicosia apart from Paphos, there is one thing that the two have in common, namely the way in which in both places the cultural and artistic community defines itself at the hand of, and through their efforts against a certain cultural conflict or issue. Where in Nicosia the Home for Cooperation uses art, music, and festivals of all sorts, in order to create a dialogue and build peace between what is north and what is south, events in Paphos as part of Pafos2017 address more local issues, such as the influence of tourism on the city itself.

What I ask myself at the end of the day is, why is there so little of Nicosia in Paphos?