Nicosia District

Nicosiais the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the south-easternmost of all EU member states’ capital cities.

Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 4,500 years and has been the capital of Cyprus since the 10th century. It is the last divided capital in Europe; three years after Cyprus gained independence from British rule in 1960, the Bloody Christmas conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots triggered island-wide inter communal violence, and Nicosia’s Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities segregated into its south and north respectively in 1964. A decade later, Turkey invaded Cyprus following Greece’s successful attempt to take over the island. The leaders of the takeover would later step down, but the dividing line running through Nicosia (and the rest of the island, interrupted only briefly by British military bases) became a demilitarized zone that remains under the control of Cyprus while heavily policed by the United Nations; it is now known as the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus between the Republic of Cyprus, which is internationally recognized, and Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Turkey. The ongoing dispute between the two communities is known as the Cyprus problem.