In August 1959 Cyprus was declared an independent republic and five years later, Nicosia, capital of Cyprus and the largest city on the island, was devided when Turkish Cypriots, after a brief intercummunal conflict, barricaded themselves into their neighbourhoods.
This devision line was called the Green line, named after the colour of the pen a UN official used to draw it on a city map.
But also in a cultural level, the city combines many different racial, social, political and cultural elements, merged together in a crucible of eastern, western, traditional and modern ideas. Greek Orthodox, Sunni Muslims, Armenians, Roman Catholics, Protestands, Anglicans ect. vindicate their own part in the city’s unique cultural mixture.
About the author:
John Stratoudakis studied Photography at the School of Applied Arts of Volos, Greece (2002) and he holds a Specialization in Photography from Michigan State University / Dept. of Art, Art History & Design (2016). Also he is undergraduate in Hellenic Open University / School of Humanities, Department of European Studies. His work on documentary and post-documentary photography has been published in major Greek magazines and abroad.
