The Latest at Goethe

Creative encounter at the edge of no man’s land: In Nicosia, Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot artists together fashioned a number of wall stones. The extraordinary collaboration, part of the Wall in the World, took place in the garden of the Goethe-Zentrum, through which the divided city’s line of demarcation passes. By Mirko Heinemann

Sweat is pouring down from Feridun Işiman’s forehead. His left hand holds a painter’s palette, his right guides the brush. Suddenly, Andreas Kalogirou calls out from behind him: “Hey, you painted over my Aphrodite’s hand!” Feridun Isiman turns and Kalogirou laughs. “No problem, Feridun.” He holds out his hand, Işiman slaps it. Turkish-Greek reconciliation on Cyprus – in the Goethe Centre’s garden.

Sie benötigen den Flashplayer , um dieses Video zu sehen


The Goethe Centre in Nicosia is located exactly on the so-called „Green Line,“ which separates the island’s Turkish north from the Greek south. Next door is the Ledra Palace, a huge hotel building. The UN troops keeping watch on the border wall are quartered there. The previously hermetically sealed border has been open for more than six years now, „but in many people’s heads the wall still stands firm,” says Ute Wörmann-Stylianou, director of the Goethe Centre.

Encounters are rare

It is always in view: the wide strip of no man’s land that divides Cyprus’ capital of Nicosia in half starts across from the Goethe Centre. Sand-filled oil drums, sections of the wall, NATO barbed wire and huge signs demarcate the course of the border wall. There are only a few border crossings, and the „Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus“ – as the state in the north that is recognised only by Turkey refers to itself – carries out passport checks.

Ruins stand in no man’s land: shrubs and trees have been proliferating for half a century now. Nicosia was already divided in 1964, following bloody conflicts between the two national groups. In 1974, the Turkish Army invaded northern Cyprus in the wake of an attempted coup by Greek colonels. The Greek population fled to the south, the Turks to the north. Since that time, all attempts at reuniting the island have been fruitless. The most recent effort, a plan drawn up by then-UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, failed due to a veto by the Greek side.

Artistic encounters


Encounters between Turkish and Greek Cypriots are still rare. Scepticism is strong, people prefer to stay amongst themselves. This is not true of the artists; most of the participants have already worked with each other. Thus, the Nicosia stopover of the “Mauerreise” – the wall in the world project is at the same time an opportunity for the participants to renew their contacts in the other part of the island.

„Hope dies last„

About a dozen artists from both parts of Cyprus have come to participate in the action. Among them are painters, writers, poets – and young graffiti sprayers. Three bricks are at their disposal. Planning the action was not easy, according to Ute Wörmann-Stylianou. Many artists, particularly from the Greek side, ended up withdrawing in spite of having accepted originally. Artists of both nationalities cooperating on a work of art is not something that can be taken for granted. Feridun Işiman and Andreas Kaligirou are among the few who are willing to give it a try. Andreas Kalogirou is an art teacher from Larnaka, in the southern part of the island. His family was among those driven out of the north in the wake of the Turkish occupation. The village in which he spent his childhood is now a military restricted zone. But he believes in reunification in spite of everything. “We are all human beings,” he says. His colleague Feridun Işiman lives in the north, in the area occupied by the Turkish army. His family was driven out of their village by Greek irregulars as long ago as 1963. He, too, is in favour of a reunification of the island, even though he cannot envision what it might look like. “Hope dies last,” he says. Their joint work shows Aphrodite arising from the sea. A church which doubles as a mosque. Human hands above it. “Hands can shape – or destroy,” says Feridun Işiman.

The two painters knew each other before. They appreciate each other’s work and crack jokes all day long. Other artists prefer to work alone. The conversations take place in English – the times in which many members of one nationality knew the language of the other are long past. But their artistic message on the bricks is always the same: They call for reconciliation and more mutual understanding. The writer Christos Hadjipapas calls the Cyprus wall ”a nightmare“.

„We need more time“

The graffiti artists Deniz and Anthony are 16 years old and are working with their friends on two sides of the same brick. Deniz comes from Lefkosa, Anthony from Nicosia. It is the same city, and they live only a few kilometres from each other. But they had never met – they only knew each other’s works in the city’s public spaces. Anthony has seen graffitis by Deniz on the border strip – he has never been to the Turkish sector of Cyprus. “But I absolutely want to go there,” he says. “I want to know what is going on there, how people live.” His message is: ”We need more time.” Deniz has sprayed “Empathy” and “Peace” on his side of the brick.

The two boys grew up with the wall. They know their island’s bloody history. But both say in unison: “We want reunification!” Deniz says that he knows that there are many reservations on both sides, but he himself has nothing against Greeks. “The European Union is also made up of many different peoples,” he says. And Anthony regards borders as superfluous in any case. His gang has Armenian and Lebanese members, as well, and he himself is English on his mother’s side. Cross-national friendships are reality there. Anthony asks, “Why shouldn’t this be the case with Turks and Greeks as well?” The two have spoken with each other in the Goethe Centre’s garden for the very first time. A beginning. Maybe.