Frozen in Time - Cyprus Exclusion Zone

In these photos taken in 2014 in Cyprus, there is neither the coast nor the happy faces of vacationers - this post is dedicated to the exclusion zone fenced by the UN, in which remnants of past turbulent times are still preserved.

This year marks forty years since the Cypriot National Guard staged a coup d'état that led to Turkish military intervention and then civil war between Greeks and Turks living in Cyprus. After that, the UN created a buffer zone between the north and south of the island. It stretches for 180 km across the entire island, at its widest point it is 7.4 km, and at its narrowest point it is 3.3 m. The demilitarized zone is restricted for access, neither Greeks nor Turks are allowed inside it. Reuters photographer Neil Hall recently visited this exclusion zone, which still houses the silent witnesses of past times - abandoned houses, businesses and even an airport.

(Total 28 photos)

Source: www.theatlantic.com

1. Abandoned Nicosia International Airport. For 40 years now, the buffer zone - no man's land controlled by the UN - has divided Cyprus from east to west. The Greeks live on the south side of the island, the Turks on the north. In 1960, as a result of many years of national liberation struggle, the island gained independence from Great Britain, but the friction between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots became so acute that in 1964 UN peacekeeping forces were introduced into Cyprus. 10 years later, as a result of the 1974 coup d'état, Cyprus was actually divided into Greek and Turkish parts. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

2. A passenger plane, or rather what is left of it, stands on the territory of an abandoned airport near Nicosia. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

3. Windows of an abandoned Cypriot passenger airliner. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

4. Cafe sign at the abandoned Nicosia airport. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

5. Decayed advertising posters on the walls of the airport. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

6. Departure area at the abandoned Nicosia airport. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

7. A dove flies away from a torn advertising poster at the airport. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

8. Another trace of abandonment and decay in the former international airport near Nicosia. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

9. Observation tower near the border of the exclusion zone in the Famagusta region, northern Cyprus. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

10. An abandoned street within the UN buffer zone in the center of Nicosia. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

11. Sign at the border of the exclusion zone in the village of Pyla, Cyprus. Pyla is one of the few villages in the UN-controlled area where a small group of both Greeks and Turks lives. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

12. The kitchen of an abandoned cafe on the territory of the exclusion zone. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

13. Old TVs found and collected by soldiers in an abandoned commercial area. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

14. Former shopping street. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

15. Things collected in the buffer zone by soldiers. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

16. Empty bottles covered with dust and dirt. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

17. Abandoned house with bullet-riddled wall, defensive sandbags and shooting positions. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

18. Abandoned cars in a former shopping center in the exclusion zone. Cars from Japan were to be sold under a dealership agreement with Toyota. At the time of the conflict in 1974, they were stored here, and since then they have remained in this abandoned shopping center. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

19. Sticker with import information on the window of an abandoned car. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

20. A few more cars in the garage. Some cars that have stood here for almost 40 years have no more than 52 km on the odometer. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

21. Warning sign on the border of the restricted area. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

22. Young people sit next to the wall, behind which the restricted area begins. This is the side of the Greek Cypriots. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

23. Illuminated flag of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was recognized by the Turkish government. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

24. People go through passport control to get into the northern part of Cyprus. There are six border crossing points in Cyprus through which you can travel between the northern and southern parts of the island. Passports are checked at the border, although the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not officially recognized by the UN Security Council. People cross the border for work or leisure, and both Greeks and Turks can move freely across the border. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

25. A fisherman in front of a sign on the border of the buffer zone. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

26. It seems that signs and borders are not a hindrance to some residents of Cyprus. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

27. View of the city of Nicosia, divided into both Turkish and Greek areas. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

28. Children in the park next to the fence, behind which the exclusion zone begins. (Reuters/Neil Hall)