18 January 2023
Nicosia is "the last divided capital in Europe". It is a city with 16th century city walls and a moat and a new park in the dry moat.
Amongst the many modern buildings of Nicosia today, there is Eleftheria square, known as Freedom Park. Freedom meaning freedom from invaders, notably the Turks, and the possibility for the Greek Cypriot population to live an independent life. But also, freedom in the sense of one unified island where Greek and Turkish Cypriots live togethet under one integrated, autonomous Cypriot government.
This park was designed by famous Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid on the site of a previous park. The purpose of the park is to celebrate the theme of unity, as described above.
The new square is a sinewy concrete landscape of six mini waterways that draw together to create strange points of "intensity" where seating and flower-beds and sculptures are found. These lines come together under a canopy of motorway-type arches that support a pedestrian walkway above. This bridge joins the medieval city* to the barrio of outer districts. There are two sleek and swish cafés.There are stairs up giving access to the bus station.
The new square is a sinewy concrete landscape of six mini waterways that draw together to create strange points of "intensity" where seating and flower-beds and sculptures are found. These lines come together under a canopy of motorway-type arches that support a pedestrian walkway above. This bridge joins the medieval city* to the barrio of outer districts. There are two sleek and swish cafés.There are stairs up giving access to the bus station.
There is also a giant cypress cone sculpture ornament, displaying its scales alternately in corten and galvanised steel, telling us the two peoples can live together in peace as they did before. This sculpture, interestingly, is the work of a student of computational design. (The Gherkin too?)
Invaded like Byzantium, and for the same reason: protection against an Ottoman Turk invasion and Cyprus suffered the same fate as Constantinople: defeat.
Nicosia was in divided in 1974 when Turks invaded again, now "to protect their own" (today, we think of Russia invading Ukraine).
The architect's idea is to make a beautiful park that reveals clearly and makes stand out the city walls, an important part of Nicosia's true identity; and to mix this with a futuristic vision that can re-unite the two halves of the city, and its two peoples The hope is that more areas of the moat will follow and be made into green space, and that all these parks will join up to encircle the city, replacing the UN green line through the middle of Nicosia, with a green all-embracing band, sharing health and nature, thereby reuniting the city under a banner of common humanity.
....at least, that is how I read it.
That is the vision!
Invaded like Byzantium, and for the same reason: protection against an Ottoman Turk invasion and Cyprus suffered the same fate as Constantinople: defeat.
Nicosia was in divided in 1974 when Turks invaded again, now "to protect their own" (today, we think of Russia invading Ukraine).
The architect's idea is to make a beautiful park that reveals clearly and makes stand out the city walls, an important part of Nicosia's true identity; and to mix this with a futuristic vision that can re-unite the two halves of the city, and its two peoples The hope is that more areas of the moat will follow and be made into green space, and that all these parks will join up to encircle the city, replacing the UN green line through the middle of Nicosia, with a green all-embracing band, sharing health and nature, thereby reuniting the city under a banner of common humanity.
NOTES
* The medieval city was extended during the 20th century beyond its circular Venetian walls and the old town within them was then rebuilt.
That is the vision!
