Today I crossed the border into north Nicosia for the first time. I visited a lot of places in the city centre, including Buyuk Han and the bazaar which was the main shopping area in Ottoman times. Buyuk Han, which is the most interesting Ottoman building in Cyprus and built in 1572 as an inn for visiting merchants, was full of people chatting, eating and drinking and taking in the morning sunshine.
At the bazaar, I bought a handmade ceramic bowl of ornate design and browsed the fresh fruit and vegetables on display.
Arabahmet Mosque and district were particularly interesting. The mosque is covered with a vast dome. Built in the early 17th century on the site of a former Lusignan church, it was remodelled in 1845. As I walked along, melodies from a radio could be heard and what seemed to sound like a flute in the morning air.
I bought some sweets from a Turkish delight shop, opened in 2003 and then I crossed the border back to Ledras Street. I had mingled among the Turkish Cypriots and the tourists, among the stalls of clothes, bags and other trinkets for sale and wanted to stay a little longer. There was so much I wanted to say as I wandered around, so many words left unsaid, but I had to leave and I reluctantly showed my identity card and crossed the border to the south side again.
I took photos of this day and I plan to return and next time start a conversation, stay more, express more and listen to the stories, the experiences, the dreams of those that live among me, on an island still divided, still waiting for something in the future, on a horizon of hope.
Rumi, the 13th century poet once said, "Go on! Go on! I will not leave you alone. I will not let you go."
I won't abandon hope, because without it there is no future.
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