Tucked away in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the island of Cyprus has been a place fought over and over by various regional powers ever since the times of the Crusaders. In contemporary world, the power struggles between Christians and Muslims takes on a different twist, with a dose of ethnic-nationalism thrown into the fray.
Since the division of the island in 1974 into two separate administrative zones following the failed coup by Greek military junta and the subsequent military occupation of the northern part of the island by Turkey's armed forces, Northern Cyprus ( since 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) has become a state that virtually disappeared off the political map of the world. To 99% of the international community, the country known as TRNC never exists, as the only country that recognizes Northern Cyprus as an independent country is Turkey. As a result of the international trade embargo and political sanctions imposed by the United Nations against Northern Cyprus in the aftermath of Turkish Cypriots' unilateral declaration of independence in 1983, the economy of Northern Cyprus becomes totally reliant upon Turkey for survival.
Decades of political isolation affects no just the international status of Northern Cyprus, but virtually all aspects of life of ordinary Turkish-Cypriots. Until now, Lefkosa (Nicosia in Greek), the capital of Northerno Cyprus, still does not have any direct air link to any places on earth except Turkey, because neither Northern Cyprus's Ercan Airport, nor its flag-carrier, Cyprus Turkish Airlines, is a member of the IATA. Therefore, all flights in and out of Lefkosa's Ercan International airport have to make a technical fuelling stop at one of the Turkish airports before the aircraft is allowed to continue onwards to its final destination. Hence although Cyprus Turkish Airlines do fly to major European cities such as London, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, none of the flights is direct, i.e. passengers who fly with Cyprus Turkish Airlines from Lefkosa to London will have remain on board for an hour or so at a random airport in Turkey, during what is called a 'technical stop'. To make things more complicated for Turkish-Cypriots, Northern Cyprus also do not have its own international prefix dialling code, which means all calls to and from the country will have to be routed via Turkey (hence the Turkish prefix +90 392 when calling Northern Cyprus phone numbers). Even postal mail service to Northern Cyprus need to be addressed and processed via postal agency in Turkey.
This state of almost total isolation from other countries means that all necessities have to be imported via Turkey, which result in disproportionately high price levels in Northern Cyprus. With the exception of alcohol and petrol (no tax is levied on alcoholic drinks as part of Northern Cyprus's effort to attract tourists from both Turkey and overseas, while petrol is heavily subsidized by the Turkish government to keep things going in Northern Cyprus), everything else cost at least twice as much in Northern Cyprus compared to Turkey.
With limited natural resources and handicapped by its political impasse, tourism is among the most important foreign exchange earners for Northern Cyrpus. The presence of numerous casinos and licenced gambling houses in Lefkosa and Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish) help to attract a continuously stream of weekend visitors from mainland Turkey, who spend most of their time on the island in casinos and bars. Since the re-opening in 2004 of the Green Line in central Nicosia/Lefkosa to both residents of Southern Cyprus and tourists of all nationalities, an inreasing number of day-trippers from Greek Cypriots-controlled Nicosia cross the Green Line (which is open 24 hours) for a shopping or gambling spree in Turkish-Cypriot controlled part of the town. A more seedy tourism-related industry in Northern Cyprus is the presence of many 'night clubs' or hostess bars which double as semi-legal brothels. Most of these 'night clubs' are situated not in the urban areas, but quite a distance away from main towns on isolated farmlands near the main Lefkosa - Kyrenia highway. According to human rights groups, Northern Cyprus has become a hotspot in the international human trade. The trafficking of women from the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia and their forced employment as 'hostess' in one of the night clubs on the island is a widespread problem in both Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus, yet the extent of the issue has been swept under the carpet by both administrations.
Above: The Ledra Street/Arasta Street Crossing on the Green Line in the UN buffer zone that cuts across the centre of Nicosia's old town and divides the city into two halves. The road blocks on the Greek-Cypriot side of Ledra Street Crossing were removed as late as 2008, 44 years after the former main throughfare had been blockaded and sealed off during ethnic struggles between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots in the 1960s. Nowadays Ledra Street Crossing is open 24 hours to pedestrians only, and is one of the most frequently used Green Line crossings between the two sections of the city.
With the political negotiations between the North and the South now again at an impasse, and with no immediate settlement in sight, it is hard to foresee what the future holds for residents in the northern part of the island. For the time being, Northern Cyprus's unfortunate status as the world's invisible country will continue until the rest of the global community might one day come to its sense and realise the absurdity of the whole situation.
Copyrights 2010. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
Since the division of the island in 1974 into two separate administrative zones following the failed coup by Greek military junta and the subsequent military occupation of the northern part of the island by Turkey's armed forces, Northern Cyprus ( since 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) has become a state that virtually disappeared off the political map of the world. To 99% of the international community, the country known as TRNC never exists, as the only country that recognizes Northern Cyprus as an independent country is Turkey. As a result of the international trade embargo and political sanctions imposed by the United Nations against Northern Cyprus in the aftermath of Turkish Cypriots' unilateral declaration of independence in 1983, the economy of Northern Cyprus becomes totally reliant upon Turkey for survival.
With limited natural resources and handicapped by its political impasse, tourism is among the most important foreign exchange earners for Northern Cyrpus. The presence of numerous casinos and licenced gambling houses in Lefkosa and Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish) help to attract a continuously stream of weekend visitors from mainland Turkey, who spend most of their time on the island in casinos and bars. Since the re-opening in 2004 of the Green Line in central Nicosia/Lefkosa to both residents of Southern Cyprus and tourists of all nationalities, an inreasing number of day-trippers from Greek Cypriots-controlled Nicosia cross the Green Line (which is open 24 hours) for a shopping or gambling spree in Turkish-Cypriot controlled part of the town. A more seedy tourism-related industry in Northern Cyprus is the presence of many 'night clubs' or hostess bars which double as semi-legal brothels. Most of these 'night clubs' are situated not in the urban areas, but quite a distance away from main towns on isolated farmlands near the main Lefkosa - Kyrenia highway. According to human rights groups, Northern Cyprus has become a hotspot in the international human trade. The trafficking of women from the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia and their forced employment as 'hostess' in one of the night clubs on the island is a widespread problem in both Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus, yet the extent of the issue has been swept under the carpet by both administrations.
Above: The Ledra Street/Arasta Street Crossing on the Green Line in the UN buffer zone that cuts across the centre of Nicosia's old town and divides the city into two halves. The road blocks on the Greek-Cypriot side of Ledra Street Crossing were removed as late as 2008, 44 years after the former main throughfare had been blockaded and sealed off during ethnic struggles between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots in the 1960s. Nowadays Ledra Street Crossing is open 24 hours to pedestrians only, and is one of the most frequently used Green Line crossings between the two sections of the city.
With the political negotiations between the North and the South now again at an impasse, and with no immediate settlement in sight, it is hard to foresee what the future holds for residents in the northern part of the island. For the time being, Northern Cyprus's unfortunate status as the world's invisible country will continue until the rest of the global community might one day come to its sense and realise the absurdity of the whole situation.
Copyrights 2010. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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