NICOSIA, Cyprus — Whenever I go to Cyprus, I like to go to Paphos Gate, a gap in the massive Venetian walls that encapsulates the island’s condition. On the one side, the flags of Cyprus and Greece flutter in the wind above an old concrete pillbox that looks as if it were built for a World War II film. On the other side are the flagpoles of Turkey and Turkish Cyprus, but their “flags” are rigid — they are made of metal. They stand behind a fence topped with barbed wire and in front of a Turkish army pillbox.
In between these symbols of hostility, cars and pedestrians pass through the gate. Yes, Cyprus has been divided into two armed camps since the Turkish invasion of 1974 but, like the traffic through Paphos Gate, life goes on.
