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Turkish Cypriot presidential candidate brings hope for unity

Former Nicosia Mayor Nicosia Mustafa Akinci, if elected president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, could open the way to peace on the divided island.
A supporter greets Turkish Cypriot politician Mustafa Akinci after the presidential elections in Nicosia April 19, 2015. Akinci will move to a second round of leadership elections in north Cyprus  after a vote on Sunday failed to produce a clear winner. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou  - RTR4XXFR

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Walking around the Old City on the Turkish side, one is struck by the age of the buildings. A Turkish bath and a cathedral-turned-mosque are centuries old. A caravanserai of ochre-brown stone blocks has been lovingly restored to a quadrangle of restaurants and craft shops.

Then one looks down a side street and finds it blocked by a barrier of sheet metal, topped by barbed wire. It bears a red sign with a black silhouette of an armed soldier and says, "military zone, entry prohibited." Peeking over the barrier, one sees dilapidated buildings that nobody has entered for 40 years and a road overgrown with weeds.

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