Walking down Ledra street

Recently, a colleague asked me if there were any "old" buildings left in Long Beach, California. How could I answer that? She is from Greece, we are living in Cyprus, and we are near to the birthplace of civilization. How could anything be considered "old" in California?

"Well," I stammered. "My house, a bungalow, was built in 1916."

"Wow," she said, "that is old!"

It's all relative, I suppose. A cathedral built in 1100s A.D., Kourion ruins from 11th-mid 6th century B.C., Aphrodite's birthplace in a cove at the edge of Cyprus and the sea. . .these are all moments recorded in myth and in time.

That sense of historic moment was with me yesterday, as I walked down Ledra street in Old Town Nicosia. Last week, mine fields in the U.N.-manned Green Zone were swept, barriers were torn down which had been erected 44 years ago, new checkpoint guards in Greek Cypriot and Turkish army uniforms were positioned at the representative borders, and the pedestrian crossing at Ledra street was opened, for the first time since the 1960s. The street, the main artery of commerce between the two communities in this divided old city, this divided capital, in this divided land of Cyprus was finally OPEN! All one had to do was wait in line, show a visa or passport, have a page stamped, and then, step into the future.

News agencies around the world proclaimed the opening of the divided capital as though all the facets of "The Cyprus Problem" had been resolved. They have not been. Unification talks are still being organized. In THE CYPRUS WEEKLY on Friday, another news story promised more mingling: The two presidents' wives (Mrs. Christofias of the Republic of Cyprus and Mrs. Talat of the Turkish Cypriot community) reportedly had tea, exchanged gifts (a potted lily for peace for Mrs. C and a traditional piece of delicate, Cypriot lacework from Lefkara for Mrs. T.) They promised, too, to do their part toward unification by facilitating social gatherings between the two communities.

What was the mood on Ledra street yesterday? Festive, I would say. People—families with children, tourists, Cypriots from both sides—walked the promenade, looking into store windows, buying ice cream cones, watching each other. Several balloon men fought with the wind, trying to keep huge metallic shapes and strings untangled. Ledra street was crowded. The checkpoint, however, still was ominous. Military uniforms in brown and blue were present. Guns were not hidden.

Interestingly, many pedestrians just walked to the border’s edge, stared at the "other" side, and turned back toward home, without crossing. Another day, perhaps. Another day, when “The Cyprus Problem” is solved and its resolution is simply, history.