today, my last day in Cyprus, i had a deluding trip to Pila, a village in the buffer zone famous for the cohabitation of greek cypriots and turkish cypriots.
I saw mainly british tourists though, mainly as Pila is fairly close to the sea and a build up area of holidays villas and detached houses for tourists. Quite a soul-less landscape.
I didn't find the place interesting and i photographed little.
The only interesting part was the main square, where photography is not permitted. There is a building used by the UN, where UN soldiers where hanging their laundry to dry on the roof. Also 2 cafes, one greek and one turkish. As the turkish was closed (i got there very early) I sat in the greek one, where I was alone with a waitress that was from the Philippines. It was quite surreal: so much is said by the cohabitation of the two sides of cyprus in this place, yet the only people i spoke to where foreigners.
There was an interesting conversation with the waitress: as i was in the greek cafe i asked for a greek coffe. Which is the same as a turkish coffe, only that depending on where in the planet I am drinking coffe, it may cause offence which geographical connotation I use to order it. The waitress didn't understand so i repeated " i would like a greek coffe" and she replied "do you mean a cypriot coffe?"
So. On the turkish side it is a turkish coffe. On the greek side it is a greek coffe ("hellenica coffe").
In Pila, in the buffer zone, where the two sides cohabit, they have met in the middle: it's cyprus coffe.
That made me smile.
Tomorrow heading back to London.
Bye bye borders, i will see you again soon.
Friday, 7 September 2012
Thursday, 6 September 2012
borders are.
"Borders Are" a song by Serj Tankian.
Very appropriate for my project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k40su7eHgIs
Very appropriate for my project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k40su7eHgIs
Paralimni/Deryneia
today i went to paralimni very early, at dawn. i walked till the sea and then followed the coast till i reached where the green line meets the seas. i went for a swim under a UN watchtower. I sunburnt my nose. I took photos and walked around and accidentally walked into the buffer zone through a pumpikin field.
Then i walked toward Deryneia, and went to an observation point where it is possible to see into the abandoned part of Famagusta (Varosha), from which both greek and turkish cypriot are banned, as it is controlled by the turkish army. Originally i wanted to go to Famagusta from north cyprus side, but as i didn't get permission to photograph i decided to avoid getting in trouble...i know myself, if i get there i would photograph no matter what! So better stay out of trouble and continue pursuing a proper authorization.
In Deryneia there is a touching display of images of two guys killed during demonstration in 1996. Very graphic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomos_Solomou
european court of human rights
http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/hof.nsf/233813e697620022c1256864005232b7/d2f488922d2313d4c12574710040c343?OpenDocument
video contains violent images, and comments -from both sides- which are angry and offensive (those are not my comments and i do not agree with either side - in particular i don't agree with the idiot who boast about his grandad killing and raping armenian and greek women...such comment show that there are some really sick people on this planet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=SMut7pF8eSc
Then i walked toward Deryneia, and went to an observation point where it is possible to see into the abandoned part of Famagusta (Varosha), from which both greek and turkish cypriot are banned, as it is controlled by the turkish army. Originally i wanted to go to Famagusta from north cyprus side, but as i didn't get permission to photograph i decided to avoid getting in trouble...i know myself, if i get there i would photograph no matter what! So better stay out of trouble and continue pursuing a proper authorization.
In Deryneia there is a touching display of images of two guys killed during demonstration in 1996. Very graphic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomos_Solomou
european court of human rights
http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/hof.nsf/233813e697620022c1256864005232b7/d2f488922d2313d4c12574710040c343?OpenDocument
video contains violent images, and comments -from both sides- which are angry and offensive (those are not my comments and i do not agree with either side - in particular i don't agree with the idiot who boast about his grandad killing and raping armenian and greek women...such comment show that there are some really sick people on this planet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=SMut7pF8eSc
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
on Panoramio, photographs by someone who was born in Kato Deryneia, now lying abandone din the occupied area.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17769918
tomorrow i am heading to Deryneia and Paralimni
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17769918
tomorrow i am heading to Deryneia and Paralimni
along the green line
- a big thank you to Mr Adonis Taliadoros, public relations officer for the government of the Rep. of Cyprus, who has supported my project-
yesterday i met with Mr Taliadoros and an army officer to photograph Lidra Street checkpoint and Lidra Palace checkpoint, the latter i was allowed only a couple of shots at Lidra Palace is th eheadquarter of the UN peacekeeping force and they do not allow photographs to be taken.
Lidra Palace was a luxury hotel back in 1974, today i sheadquarter of UN, with clothes hang to dry on the balconies and bullet hole sstill visible on the facade.
Accompanied by an army officer we have also walked along the green line and Mr Taliadoros gave me a good history lesson with anedocte on the green line and the history of Nicosia. For me it was interesting to hear another point of view on the cyprus situation.
yesterday i met with Mr Taliadoros and an army officer to photograph Lidra Street checkpoint and Lidra Palace checkpoint, the latter i was allowed only a couple of shots at Lidra Palace is th eheadquarter of the UN peacekeeping force and they do not allow photographs to be taken.
Lidra Palace was a luxury hotel back in 1974, today i sheadquarter of UN, with clothes hang to dry on the balconies and bullet hole sstill visible on the facade.
Accompanied by an army officer we have also walked along the green line and Mr Taliadoros gave me a good history lesson with anedocte on the green line and the history of Nicosia. For me it was interesting to hear another point of view on the cyprus situation.
Monday, 3 September 2012
in the buffer zone
today I met A., a greek cypriot friend of a friend and we went for a walk along the city divide.
She was born in north cyprus and was 13 in 1974 and has vivid memories of the war, of the turkish invasion and of being a refugee. She has returned only twice to the north to see her house, which settlers from Turkey have taken over. She has the documents to prove ownership and has been recognised by the european court of human rights as the lawful owner and hopes that if one day cyprus is unified she will get her childhood home back.
She doesn't like the settlers from Turkey (and from what i have experienced even turkish cypriots don't like them either!) but then reflects and says that the situation is not their fault but that of turkish government, and that if one day Cyprus will be reunited those people will have put roots in the island and a way to live all together will need to be found. In the last referendum she voted YES to unification in support of the Annan plan (75% of greek cypriots voted NO); furthermore she support the entry of Turkey in the EU because she hopes that once in the EU Turkey will have to respect rules and withdraw troops, and she will get her home back.
We walk along the city's divide and at some point she brings me in the garden of a friend and then through a very tiny alley...and we are in the buffer zone. in the middle of it. No one can see us, but i can see the flags of both sides. We stay inside a crumbling abandoned house and i took sometime to photograph. We cannot walk far in order to avoid the army of either side seeing us; it is very quiet and nothing moves.
Later we went to the house of another friend, J, an american artist, photographer and traveller. Her garden wall forms the wall of the buffer zone. Her, like me a foreigner, speaks of the buffer zone as a border, which all cypriot refuse to define as such. As artist she understands my need to get to know a place and how slow my project has to proceed in order for it to work. She has lived on the buffer zone since the 90s and has an amazing studio; she points out how many foreigner have settled in these streets, as in the 90s greek cypriots were afraid of living here.
She was born in north cyprus and was 13 in 1974 and has vivid memories of the war, of the turkish invasion and of being a refugee. She has returned only twice to the north to see her house, which settlers from Turkey have taken over. She has the documents to prove ownership and has been recognised by the european court of human rights as the lawful owner and hopes that if one day cyprus is unified she will get her childhood home back.
She doesn't like the settlers from Turkey (and from what i have experienced even turkish cypriots don't like them either!) but then reflects and says that the situation is not their fault but that of turkish government, and that if one day Cyprus will be reunited those people will have put roots in the island and a way to live all together will need to be found. In the last referendum she voted YES to unification in support of the Annan plan (75% of greek cypriots voted NO); furthermore she support the entry of Turkey in the EU because she hopes that once in the EU Turkey will have to respect rules and withdraw troops, and she will get her home back.
We walk along the city's divide and at some point she brings me in the garden of a friend and then through a very tiny alley...and we are in the buffer zone. in the middle of it. No one can see us, but i can see the flags of both sides. We stay inside a crumbling abandoned house and i took sometime to photograph. We cannot walk far in order to avoid the army of either side seeing us; it is very quiet and nothing moves.
Later we went to the house of another friend, J, an american artist, photographer and traveller. Her garden wall forms the wall of the buffer zone. Her, like me a foreigner, speaks of the buffer zone as a border, which all cypriot refuse to define as such. As artist she understands my need to get to know a place and how slow my project has to proceed in order for it to work. She has lived on the buffer zone since the 90s and has an amazing studio; she points out how many foreigner have settled in these streets, as in the 90s greek cypriots were afraid of living here.
Dipkarpaz
Dipkarpaz is nowhere near the buffer zone. It is located at the very very far end of north cyprus and I went there as it is a village where supposedly Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots live together. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipkarpaz
The area has got wonderful beaches and a natural park with wild donkeys, and I stayed in a gorgeous guesthouse however the village looks rather poor for an area which has such resourches.
There are next to each other a greek cafe and a turkish cafe. The greek community is extremely small and I noticed how the orthodox churches were in a really bad state of repair, with one completly shut and with rubbish and building materials piling up in front of it. I have seen this situation in some border areas, such as Greece/Turkey where on each side, the monuments of the other culture has been left in a state of abandonment.
Around this area there are various orthodox churches and monasteries, and passing one I noticed how a turkish flag had been put on it: surely a monastery should belong to the believers, not to a government. If the Vatican plonked its flag on every catholic church of this planet there would be a riot.Another thing was the presence of "projects" sponsored by the EU, such as for ecotourism. As "de-jure" the whole Cyprus is part of the EU, the Republic of Cyprus and the EU take care of It, similarly to the part of Nicosia in North Cyprus where all mainteinance and recovery of historical buildings is financed by the EU. Hopefully at some point they will reach fixing those gorgeous orthodox churches?
Furthermore, my turkish-cypriot friend pointed out how almost no one living in the village was actually from cyprus, even the turkish speakers were not turkish cypriots but from mainland anatolia. The government of Ankara promotes immigration toward this area to establish a stronghold and ensure that, low population rural area can become turkish.
This is the paradox of Cyprus: Nicosia is a city divided in half, yet crossing over the divide does not present a big change. Yes, the language changes, but the streets, the way people dress, the way people look remains roughly the same. Dipkarpaz on the other hand felt like another country: geographically still mediterranean and cypriot (very similar in landscape to certain area of sicily) but inhabited by people from anatolia.
Some interesting links on the greek and maronites living in north cyprus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleni_Foka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizokarpaso_Primary_School
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kormakitis
The area has got wonderful beaches and a natural park with wild donkeys, and I stayed in a gorgeous guesthouse however the village looks rather poor for an area which has such resourches.
There are next to each other a greek cafe and a turkish cafe. The greek community is extremely small and I noticed how the orthodox churches were in a really bad state of repair, with one completly shut and with rubbish and building materials piling up in front of it. I have seen this situation in some border areas, such as Greece/Turkey where on each side, the monuments of the other culture has been left in a state of abandonment.
Around this area there are various orthodox churches and monasteries, and passing one I noticed how a turkish flag had been put on it: surely a monastery should belong to the believers, not to a government. If the Vatican plonked its flag on every catholic church of this planet there would be a riot.Another thing was the presence of "projects" sponsored by the EU, such as for ecotourism. As "de-jure" the whole Cyprus is part of the EU, the Republic of Cyprus and the EU take care of It, similarly to the part of Nicosia in North Cyprus where all mainteinance and recovery of historical buildings is financed by the EU. Hopefully at some point they will reach fixing those gorgeous orthodox churches?
Furthermore, my turkish-cypriot friend pointed out how almost no one living in the village was actually from cyprus, even the turkish speakers were not turkish cypriots but from mainland anatolia. The government of Ankara promotes immigration toward this area to establish a stronghold and ensure that, low population rural area can become turkish.
This is the paradox of Cyprus: Nicosia is a city divided in half, yet crossing over the divide does not present a big change. Yes, the language changes, but the streets, the way people dress, the way people look remains roughly the same. Dipkarpaz on the other hand felt like another country: geographically still mediterranean and cypriot (very similar in landscape to certain area of sicily) but inhabited by people from anatolia.
Some interesting links on the greek and maronites living in north cyprus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleni_Foka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizokarpaso_Primary_School
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kormakitis
Friday, 31 August 2012
Deneia
Today I have walked about 15km and shot 3 rolls of film.
I left early afternoon to visit the village of Deneia, approx 300 inhabitants. Deneia is one of the 4 villages situated inside the buffer zone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deneia.
I went by bus - and cursed this choice, promising myself that i need to find the financial means to take a loooooong period off work (i hope my boss does not read this) and phisically walk the lenght of this border.
Bus travel: the driver had no idea as where Deneia could be. I knew it is near Kokkinotrimithia, itself approx. 20km from Nicosia. The driver stopped in the wrong place, far out from Kokkinotrimithia, telling me to change there for a minibus. Then i found out the minibus did not pass through there and i was 5km away fromwhere I should have been. So i walked.
I love walking and my idea is to walk as much as i can, as my photography is based on casual encounters.
However it was getting late and I was worried i may not have enough time/light to photograph.
In Kokkinotrimithia a stroke of luck: i managed to catch the minibus. Inside 2 women so suprised to see a foreigner in that area that they invited me in one's house. So i spent a good hour chatting to them, and also one's elderly mother. All in greek, which i don't speak, but i am good at talking with hands...so border-hand-talking. One thing I understood: they are born there, they have been there for many many generations and they have stayed there, no matter what the political situation was.
Then i had a walk in the village and then i walked back -6 or 7km- to Kokkinotrimithia, took a wrong turn and walked few extra km.
The weird thing is, Deneia is technically inside the buffer zone but I had to look for signs of it: watchtowers in the horizon with a flag of Turkey, a small army base and a sign that said "no photos".
I left early afternoon to visit the village of Deneia, approx 300 inhabitants. Deneia is one of the 4 villages situated inside the buffer zone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deneia.
I went by bus - and cursed this choice, promising myself that i need to find the financial means to take a loooooong period off work (i hope my boss does not read this) and phisically walk the lenght of this border.
Bus travel: the driver had no idea as where Deneia could be. I knew it is near Kokkinotrimithia, itself approx. 20km from Nicosia. The driver stopped in the wrong place, far out from Kokkinotrimithia, telling me to change there for a minibus. Then i found out the minibus did not pass through there and i was 5km away fromwhere I should have been. So i walked.
I love walking and my idea is to walk as much as i can, as my photography is based on casual encounters.
However it was getting late and I was worried i may not have enough time/light to photograph.
In Kokkinotrimithia a stroke of luck: i managed to catch the minibus. Inside 2 women so suprised to see a foreigner in that area that they invited me in one's house. So i spent a good hour chatting to them, and also one's elderly mother. All in greek, which i don't speak, but i am good at talking with hands...so border-hand-talking. One thing I understood: they are born there, they have been there for many many generations and they have stayed there, no matter what the political situation was.
Then i had a walk in the village and then i walked back -6 or 7km- to Kokkinotrimithia, took a wrong turn and walked few extra km.
The weird thing is, Deneia is technically inside the buffer zone but I had to look for signs of it: watchtowers in the horizon with a flag of Turkey, a small army base and a sign that said "no photos".
I met Yiannis Papadakis
Thursday evening i met with Yiannis Papadakis, author of "Echoes from the Dead Zone :Across tthe Cyprus Divide" to discuss the current situation in Cyprus.
The book is written in a very personal style yet surprisingly objective. The author research does not take "sides" but questions everything and everyone from both sides. Practically a "borderlands hero" as he crossed the divide in 1996 when the border was totally closed; the book has been published in both greek and turkish - a testimonial of Papadakis'objectivity and honesty on the subject.
During the evening he made a very interesting comment about the north-cyprus society and its relation to turkey: turkish compose the highest and the lowest ends of society. Turkish occupy the higher positions, due to the stronghold of turkey on north-cyprus. Furthermore there is the influx of workers from turkey, which constitute cheap labour and the poorest part of society. This is very unique, as in most society a specific group occupies a specific position, but in north cyprus turkish occupy the higher and the lowest.
The book is written in a very personal style yet surprisingly objective. The author research does not take "sides" but questions everything and everyone from both sides. Practically a "borderlands hero" as he crossed the divide in 1996 when the border was totally closed; the book has been published in both greek and turkish - a testimonial of Papadakis'objectivity and honesty on the subject.
During the evening he made a very interesting comment about the north-cyprus society and its relation to turkey: turkish compose the highest and the lowest ends of society. Turkish occupy the higher positions, due to the stronghold of turkey on north-cyprus. Furthermore there is the influx of workers from turkey, which constitute cheap labour and the poorest part of society. This is very unique, as in most society a specific group occupies a specific position, but in north cyprus turkish occupy the higher and the lowest.
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Twice a Stranger
today I have visited the exhibition "Twice a Stranger" at Leventis Museum, in Old Town Nicosia.
The museum itself, which presents Nicosia through the centuries, is really well designed and interesting.
The exhibition subject is "forced displacement and population exchange in the 20th century" and it is very interesting and very well curated, with video interviews (some unfortunately without subtitles) and archive photographs. It documents the forced population exchanges between Greece-Turkey, Germany-Poland, India-Pakistan as well as the 2 sides of Cyprus.
The exhibition is great and well worth a visit.
However it does not include -I was disappointed!- the population exchanges between Armenian and Azerbaijan...they should dedicate a chapter to the village of Chambarak, Armenia, where most inhabitants were born in Azerbaijan and then forced to leave! I am sure between Armenian and Azerbaijan there are many of such cases...the exhibition focused on people who have traced their roots...but what about those who know their roots? those who have vivid in their memory the forced migration? those who are not at peace with having being kicked out??
this is the exhibition website:
http://www.twiceastranger.net
The museum itself, which presents Nicosia through the centuries, is really well designed and interesting.
The exhibition subject is "forced displacement and population exchange in the 20th century" and it is very interesting and very well curated, with video interviews (some unfortunately without subtitles) and archive photographs. It documents the forced population exchanges between Greece-Turkey, Germany-Poland, India-Pakistan as well as the 2 sides of Cyprus.
The exhibition is great and well worth a visit.
However it does not include -I was disappointed!- the population exchanges between Armenian and Azerbaijan...they should dedicate a chapter to the village of Chambarak, Armenia, where most inhabitants were born in Azerbaijan and then forced to leave! I am sure between Armenian and Azerbaijan there are many of such cases...the exhibition focused on people who have traced their roots...but what about those who know their roots? those who have vivid in their memory the forced migration? those who are not at peace with having being kicked out??
this is the exhibition website:
http://www.twiceastranger.net
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Nicosia, a city interrupted.
to find a map of the whole Nicosia, i had to go through various shops and finally i bought one. The one above depicts the "old city" surrounded by the Venetian walls. The green area that cuts in in half is the buffer zone.
On each side of the divide, free maps are given out to tourist. Here i took a map from each side and tried to put them together, to gain an idea of how Nicosia could be.
Yesterday I crossed on the turkish side. The "old city" is similar on both sides. Same architecture. Same old big wood & metal doors at the entrance of buildings. Same stray cats.
Actually the cats are allowed to cross the buffer zone as they please.
On both sides, same small dingy streets that all of a sudden are stopped by the walls of the buffer zone.
I walked from one side to the other. I sneaked some photographs. At the turkish checkpoint the police asked me about my hasselblad and laughed. He had clearly seen me sneaking a shot but kindly decided to let me go. When i walked back late in the evening the greek-cypriot police guards were drinking coffe and didn't bother with opening my passport.
I spent the evening with a turkish-cypriot friend, born and raised in a divided Nicosia. She told me how she has grown up used to the idea that her city finishes where the wall starts. How she does not like that Turkish Cyprus is so dependednt from mainland Turkey and how she would like to see her country being recognised on international level but without having turkish army and without having to use turkish currency.
She also expressed her dislike for Turkey sending over so many people from mainland: in order to increase numbers, mainland Turkey supports the immigration to northen cyprus. But my friend, like many others, does not identifies herself as Turkish. She identifies herself as Cypriot who speaks a turkish dialect (different from mainland Turkey! she is keen to specify!). I look at hear and yes, she doesn't look turkish. She looks like...like girls on the "other side".
She would like to see the island unified but says it is not possible until the greek cypriots will start consider the turkish cypriot as equals rather than a minority. She told me "You live in England. When you will have children in England, if people call them "minority" they will be upset and suffer. No one wants to be a minotiry. We want to be equal"
Curiously my friend does have a Republic of Cyprus passport, therefore she is a EU citizen. After 2004 when Republic of Cyprus joined the EU, everyone who is born in cyprus has the possibility to have a passport, as well as they can travel to the south to obtain free health service. Because one part is "under occupation" it is still considered part of the southern republic. However people who from mainland turkey have put roots on the island do not have the right to a passport from the southern part, no matter how long they have been on the island.
EU & Europe
this map (found on http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/index_en.htm ) identifies EU countries (Cyprus presented as unified!), candidates (in the process of incorporating EU law into their law), potential candidates.
It also mentions those overseas territories , such as French Guyana, that are actually part of the EU despite being so far away from geographical europe.
My interest in borders is anthropological, borders as point of contact and separation between people, and when i ask myself the question of "who are we, the people of europe?" i am still very confused between EU and Europe. Turkey for example is mostly in Asia geographically speaking, and having travelled there many times I don't feel Turkey shares a European culture at all. On the contrary, I found the people of Armenia to be remarkably similar to Italians!!
Europe, you confuse me!
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
my website
this blog is about my research on the borders of Europe, I am a photographer interested in human geography and how people relate to the territory they inhabit. I am interested in concepts of home and belonging.
This blog displays work in progress. As I photograph with an analogue camera using slide film (hasselblad) the images published here are not the final pieces but rather snapshots that I use to document and represent what i do.
To get an idea of my work -past and preset - please visit my website or my facebook page Paola Leonardi Photography.
Please feel free to comment and give input to my work using this blog or email me paolina@leonardiphoto.com
This blog displays work in progress. As I photograph with an analogue camera using slide film (hasselblad) the images published here are not the final pieces but rather snapshots that I use to document and represent what i do.
To get an idea of my work -past and preset - please visit my website or my facebook page Paola Leonardi Photography.
Please feel free to comment and give input to my work using this blog or email me paolina@leonardiphoto.com
"sharing an island" movie
"Sharing an Island" a very interesting movie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEtvOzD_2l0&feature=youtu.behttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEtvOzD_2l0&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEtvOzD_2l0&feature=youtu.behttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEtvOzD_2l0&feature=youtu.be
visit to UNFICYP
today i was at the UNFICYP base in Nicosia for 1 hour, photographing the disused airport.
I took 6 rolls with my 2 hasselblads using 40mm distagon lens and 80mm lens (no snapshots this time!)...the site is huge and it is the kind of place where I could spend days and days taking photos. So one hour was very little and very rushed but it still was a fantastic experience.
The site is desolated and of a melancholic raw beauty.
It's interesting to see how nature is taking over the abandoned site: buildings are crumbling (unfortunatly I was not allowed inside as the buildings are not only dangerous as they may fall down but also there is plenty of absetos) and grass and trees are growing inside them.
A bit thank you goes to the UNFICYP, in particular to Capt. Michal Harnadek, public information officer, of the Slovakian contingent as well as Mr Michel Bordanneaux who helped me to organise the visit. Capt Harnadek was a great source of interesting information.
It has also been a good opportunity for me to reflect on my project and how to develop it: my interest is in human geography and how people relate to a territory. I feel that to really portray the borderlands of Europe I will need an enormous amount of time and that, rather than visit individual places, I should really walk the whole lenght of Europe's borders. Only by phisically walking the borders I can establish a connection with the landscape and people who inhabit it.
So i am thinking to return to Cyprus in winter, when the mild weather will allow me to walk along the buffer zone. Not so much photographing the buffer zone itself (arid land, crumbling buildings and military positions) but the people who live along it.
The buffer zone is a weird place, as it is not an official border but a "de-fact border".
Through my research I am reading a lot on the subject of borders, and my favorite definition is that borders are "time written in space, sociological facts that take spatial form". The buffer zone is a clear example of this: time and history are occupying a physical space.
I took 6 rolls with my 2 hasselblads using 40mm distagon lens and 80mm lens (no snapshots this time!)...the site is huge and it is the kind of place where I could spend days and days taking photos. So one hour was very little and very rushed but it still was a fantastic experience.
The site is desolated and of a melancholic raw beauty.
It's interesting to see how nature is taking over the abandoned site: buildings are crumbling (unfortunatly I was not allowed inside as the buildings are not only dangerous as they may fall down but also there is plenty of absetos) and grass and trees are growing inside them.
A bit thank you goes to the UNFICYP, in particular to Capt. Michal Harnadek, public information officer, of the Slovakian contingent as well as Mr Michel Bordanneaux who helped me to organise the visit. Capt Harnadek was a great source of interesting information.
It has also been a good opportunity for me to reflect on my project and how to develop it: my interest is in human geography and how people relate to a territory. I feel that to really portray the borderlands of Europe I will need an enormous amount of time and that, rather than visit individual places, I should really walk the whole lenght of Europe's borders. Only by phisically walking the borders I can establish a connection with the landscape and people who inhabit it.
So i am thinking to return to Cyprus in winter, when the mild weather will allow me to walk along the buffer zone. Not so much photographing the buffer zone itself (arid land, crumbling buildings and military positions) but the people who live along it.
The buffer zone is a weird place, as it is not an official border but a "de-fact border".
Through my research I am reading a lot on the subject of borders, and my favorite definition is that borders are "time written in space, sociological facts that take spatial form". The buffer zone is a clear example of this: time and history are occupying a physical space.
Monday, 27 August 2012
but at least some have a sense of humor!
Things that have made me smile today!!
I saw those while walking in Old Town Nicosia along the Cyprus divide.
an underwear shop called "no border"
a kebab restaurant called "Berlin Wall" just right next to the divide.
a sign that says "fuck E.U." written on a billboard promoting the EU.
an old man with lots of cats in his shops (I love cats and I love old people)
a statue crying blood
a sign saying that a mermaid is missing
also the kindness of the people of Nicosia has made me smile today ( thank you very much to the lady whose name i will never know who gave me a lift in her car when she saw me very tired...)
I saw those while walking in Old Town Nicosia along the Cyprus divide.
an underwear shop called "no border"
a kebab restaurant called "Berlin Wall" just right next to the divide.
a sign that says "fuck E.U." written on a billboard promoting the EU.
an old man with lots of cats in his shops (I love cats and I love old people)
a statue crying blood
a sign saying that a mermaid is missing
also the kindness of the people of Nicosia has made me smile today ( thank you very much to the lady whose name i will never know who gave me a lift in her car when she saw me very tired...)
how to piss off your neighbor.
how to piss off your neighbor in few easy steps:
put flags everywhere. Greek and turkish flags...facing each other, against each other.
Put then every few meters.
Cyprus is an independent country...so why so many Greek and Turkish flags?
I remember a piece i read many years ago in university, Freud wrote something like "the mother does not want to relinquish the hold on the child". That makes me think of the motherlands Greece and Turkey and their flags everywhere in the child-island of Cyprus.
put flags everywhere. Greek and turkish flags...facing each other, against each other.
Cyprus is an independent country...so why so many Greek and Turkish flags?
I remember a piece i read many years ago in university, Freud wrote something like "the mother does not want to relinquish the hold on the child". That makes me think of the motherlands Greece and Turkey and their flags everywhere in the child-island of Cyprus.
Nicosia - walking along the Cyprus divide
I Arrived in Nicosia where tomorrow I will go to photograph the abandoned airport inside the UNFICYP base (read UNFICYP mandate on the island on their website http://www.unficyp.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1).
I went for a walk in the old city, along the buffer zone, to take some snapshots as test for my project.
When I asked permission to photography I was told by government of the Republic of Cyprus that I can photograph expect where there is a sign that says otherwise...problem is: the sign is everywhere.
A very old sign, possibly put there 40 years ago...so old it depicts a 5x4 camera!
I think they played a practical joke on me. "Yes you are allowed to photograph but not where there is the sign..." it's bloody everywhere!
So i sneaked some snapshots even where i wasn't supposed to photograph, as well as photographing the empty streets and crumbling buildings on the "greek"side.
Some houses are inhabited, there are people whose back wall/back garden is a border! I hope to meet some and photograph them...but at 2pm under the burning sun the streets were empty
I went for a walk in the old city, along the buffer zone, to take some snapshots as test for my project.
When I asked permission to photography I was told by government of the Republic of Cyprus that I can photograph expect where there is a sign that says otherwise...problem is: the sign is everywhere.
A very old sign, possibly put there 40 years ago...so old it depicts a 5x4 camera!
I think they played a practical joke on me. "Yes you are allowed to photograph but not where there is the sign..." it's bloody everywhere!
So i sneaked some snapshots even where i wasn't supposed to photograph, as well as photographing the empty streets and crumbling buildings on the "greek"side.
Some houses are inhabited, there are people whose back wall/back garden is a border! I hope to meet some and photograph them...but at 2pm under the burning sun the streets were empty
Sunday, 26 August 2012
"they are making us refugees twice"
First day in Cyprus, in Larnaca.
After much walking I had a rest on the beach, a good swim in the gorgeous sea and then i went for dinner.
I picked the worst looking restaurant, displaying the cheapest prices. Inside the interior is all patched up, table cloths are dirty, the place is messy and the owners -father and son- are sitting having coffe.
I order some food...well never judge a book by the cover: food was amazing. grilled fresh fish.
I start chatting to the son, turns out he speak italian as he went to study for a year in southern italy.
I explain him what i do, photographing borders and he is not surprised, but looks sad at his dad, who starts talking in greek...this is what they said:
"we are refugees. Our home is in a village near Famagusta.
I remember it all, I was 10 and we had to pick up few things and run with the fear that the Turkish army was coming to kill us. When the border opened after 2003 we went back to see our home. A turkish family was living in it. Not Cypriots, but turkish from mainland Turkey. They let us look around quickly but didn't let us touch anything. But that is still my home. We arrived as refugees here in Larnaca. My father opened this restaurant and we lived here all this time. Now our government wants to demolish the restaurant to build a road. Our government will make us refugee once again, we will be refugee twice! It's all politics fault!"
After much walking I had a rest on the beach, a good swim in the gorgeous sea and then i went for dinner.
I picked the worst looking restaurant, displaying the cheapest prices. Inside the interior is all patched up, table cloths are dirty, the place is messy and the owners -father and son- are sitting having coffe.
I order some food...well never judge a book by the cover: food was amazing. grilled fresh fish.
I start chatting to the son, turns out he speak italian as he went to study for a year in southern italy.
I explain him what i do, photographing borders and he is not surprised, but looks sad at his dad, who starts talking in greek...this is what they said:
"we are refugees. Our home is in a village near Famagusta.
I remember it all, I was 10 and we had to pick up few things and run with the fear that the Turkish army was coming to kill us. When the border opened after 2003 we went back to see our home. A turkish family was living in it. Not Cypriots, but turkish from mainland Turkey. They let us look around quickly but didn't let us touch anything. But that is still my home. We arrived as refugees here in Larnaca. My father opened this restaurant and we lived here all this time. Now our government wants to demolish the restaurant to build a road. Our government will make us refugee once again, we will be refugee twice! It's all politics fault!"
Cyprus
I am in Cyprus to photograph people and places of the Buffer Zone.
The buffer zone is a de-facto border that keeps a buffer between 2 sides...for one side is not recognised as state by the international community.
The situation is complex and I am not an historian/politician so if anyone wants more info on the Cyprus divide, i strongly recomend the book written by Yiannis Papadakis "Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide"
I arrived yesterday evening to Larnaca and today I had decided to be a tourist...instead I ended up walking for nearly 10 km toward...I don't know where. I just walked randomly.
Tomorrow I will be heading to Nicosia where I will meet on tuesday with Capt. Michal Harnadek of the UNFICYP to visit the abandoned airport in the buffer zone.
On the place i was sat next to a couple of Turkish Cypriots living in London, they told me things that reflected Papadakis' book, as in most people don't hate "the other side" and feel bigger political powers are keeping the island divided.
The buffer zone is a de-facto border that keeps a buffer between 2 sides...for one side is not recognised as state by the international community.
The situation is complex and I am not an historian/politician so if anyone wants more info on the Cyprus divide, i strongly recomend the book written by Yiannis Papadakis "Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide"
I arrived yesterday evening to Larnaca and today I had decided to be a tourist...instead I ended up walking for nearly 10 km toward...I don't know where. I just walked randomly.
Tomorrow I will be heading to Nicosia where I will meet on tuesday with Capt. Michal Harnadek of the UNFICYP to visit the abandoned airport in the buffer zone.
On the place i was sat next to a couple of Turkish Cypriots living in London, they told me things that reflected Papadakis' book, as in most people don't hate "the other side" and feel bigger political powers are keeping the island divided.
my research
here some books/publications i am using for my research:
Benedict Anderson (1983) "Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism" London:Verso
Yiannis Papadakis (2005) "Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide" New York: I.B.Tauris
This is an amazing book that should be compulsory to read for both sides of the Cyprus divide! Really illuminating. I am hoping to speak to Mr Papadakis in Nicosia as part of my research.
Etienne Balibarr "We, the People of Europe? : Reflection on Transnational Citizenship"
Benedict Anderson (1983) "Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism" London:Verso
Yiannis Papadakis (2005) "Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide" New York: I.B.Tauris
This is an amazing book that should be compulsory to read for both sides of the Cyprus divide! Really illuminating. I am hoping to speak to Mr Papadakis in Nicosia as part of my research.
Etienne Balibarr "We, the People of Europe? : Reflection on Transnational Citizenship"
more images from Imatra, border crossing Finland-Russia
apologies for the bad quality, i have used a bad scanner and an old computer! I will eventually get around to do proper high res scans.
In the wood near the road there were crosses with old clothes on them. Old shirts crucified to the trees. Very spooky. Me and my friend Dagmar started joking that it looked like something out of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" movie. Later at the hotel, the owner told me that he thinks they are scarecrows for humans, put there to scare away people trying to cross illegally as from far away they look like people in the woods.
Marasia, last village before Turkey
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| no bridge so i had to walk through the stream. practically the elderly villagers of Marasia are trapped in! |
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| Little Greek flags everywhere. |
photographs i took over a year ago during my first "borders expedition" in Marasia, Greece.
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