BEHROUZ MEHRI

Nicosia has been divided by a UN-patrolled buffer zone since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the island in response to a Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the eastern Mediterranean island with Greece. The northern third of the island, including roughly half of Nicosia, is controlled by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Ankara. The rest of the country is under the jurisdiction of the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus.