Cyprus has been divided by a military border for 50 years, a constant reminder of a deadly conflict that has never been resolved.

Visited by over a million Britons each year, the island is known for its crystal clear waters, pristine beaches and rich culture. However, the small Mediterranean nation has a bloody history that continues to stir up strong emotions to this day.

“We are lost souls,” says Greek Cypriot Mario Pischiris. He was just a boy when war broke out in Cyprus on July 20, 1974, exactly 50 years ago.

He was forced to flee with his mother and brother.

Now 53, he lives in London. The unresolved conflict in his native country remains an emotional subject, as it is for thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots worldwide.

According to Turkish Cypriot Kenan Denizkan, the days after the conflict broke out in 1974 were “the darkest week in the history of our island”.

For some, the 50th anniversary of the conflict today is a painful event, for others it is a reason to celebrate.

What happened in Cyprus?

Cyprus was under British rule for almost 100 years before gaining independence in 1960. TurkeyGreat Britain and Greece were appointed as guarantors of the island’s sovereignty, with the right to intervene if the constitutional order was threatened.

During the early years of independence, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots shared power, but in 1963 a conflict arose that gave the Greek Cypriots de facto control of the country.

Violence broke out in December 1963, prompting a UN peacekeeping force to be sent to the island.

On July 20, 1974, Turkey sent warships and troops to Cyprus after the military government on the Greek mainland staged a coup and overthrew the island’s legitimate government.

The ensuing fighting left hundreds of people dead and the conflict led to the division of the island between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus.

To this day, the island is still divided in two by a secured border, with often long queues for passport control at the various checkpoints.

The capital Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world.

“What we saw was essentially the division of communities, not just the division of the island,” said author James Ker-Lindsay, an expert on Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations.

In the decades since, there have been several attempts to reach a peace agreement. Some have advocated unification, others a two-state solution. In this solution, the island would remain divided, but each side would govern its own part, and the Turkish side would be internationally recognized.

But such an agreement was never reached.

What is the situation now?

The Turkish part of Cyprus, which covers about 34% of the island, is not internationally recognized. There are only direct flights to and from Turkey.

Although it has been years since violence between the two sides, there are still 30,000 Turkish troops in the north and both sides are concerned about security.

About 250,000 people, both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, were displaced by the fighting and many were unable to return to their homes on either side of the border.

There are tensions over issues such as politics and security.

The unresolved conflict is also causing problems in perhaps unexpected areas, such as the export of Cyprus’ famous squeaky cheese: halloumi – or hellim.

For years, Turkish Cypriots were unable to sell their hellim in Europe, unlike their Greek Cypriot counterparts on the other side of the border.

Although the island is divided and for many years it was difficult to cross the borders, today the borders are always busy with Greeks and Turks crossing the border.

With the Turkish Lira plummeting, Greeks cross the border to fill their tanks for cheaper fuel prices, and to gamble in the many casinos. Turks cross the border to shop and sometimes to access better healthcare, and to leave the country from Larnaca International Airport.

Of course, both groups also cross the border to socialize with their Greek and Turkish Cypriot friends and to visit their old villages.

“There is much more engagement between the two communities today, that’s not a rarity anymore,” says Ker-Lindsay.

However, there is still a “significant portion” of Greek Cypriots refusing to cross the border, he says.

“They assume that they will not show their passport or ID in their own country.”

But the two communities share many cultural aspects, for example in the area of ​​food.

Both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are fond of a popular street food snack: fried bulgur with a minced meat filling. In the south, however, you would ask for koupes, while in the north you would ask for bulgur kofte with lamb instead of pork.

Greek Cypriots are generally followers of the Greek Orthodox Church, while Turkish Cypriots are followers of Islam.

‘We are a divided country and a divided nation.

Mario still has the suitcase his mother used when she and his brother fled the Turkish army in 1974. They were Greek Cypriots and lived in the village of Komi Kebir in what is now the Turkish part.

“My first memories of life as a three-year-old were trauma at the highest level. Everyone was afraid for their lives,” he says. “People were being evicted from their homes.”

“My father had to stay and fight, so we didn’t know what would happen to him.”

The Cypriot Community Centre in London, a consciously bipartisan initiative, brings together both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to enjoy their shared culture.

It is visited by thousands of people who fled the conflict and settled in North London, and by their descendants.

For Mario and his family, the area was a logical destination as his grandparents owned a restaurant in Islington that was popular with the Greek Cypriot community.

Mario says the happiest moment of his young life was when, a few months later, his father walked into the restaurant and whistled a song.

“My parents had nothing, they literally had nothing. And I always felt a sense of responsibility to try to fix that.”

His childhood home in the north is still there, but he has never been able to move back there, he says.

Mario is reflective on the question of blame. He thinks that if you were to ask a consensus among the Greek Cypriot refugees who came to London in 1974, there would not be much bitterness towards Turkish Cypriots.

“When you were in Cyprus back then (before the conflict), you lived with Turkish Cypriots and you knew it wasn’t their fault. They didn’t want any of that… don’t forget, they lost their homes.”

Read more from Sky News:
Poliovirus in Gaza is ‘new health disaster’
British couple suspected of being murdered in Sweden

Kenan Denizkan comes from a Turkish Cypriot family and was 14 years old when the conflict broke out in 1974.

His family lived in Limassol (now the Republic of Cyprus) and say that due to the division of the country they had to cross the border with Turkey and settled in Kyrenia – Girne as it is called in the north.

“The people who lived on the island were not the ones who decided our future,” he says. “It was always our motherlands: Greece and Turkey.”

After living in Turkey for 20 years and working as a captain on a cargo ship, Kenan moved to London for a while. He now lives in Northern Cyprus again, where he is committed to preserving the green space around his home.

“We are a divided country and a divided nation,” he says, adding that he would like to see his homeland reunited.

“Unfortunately, I’m reaching an age where I really worry about my grandchildren. They’ll never see this country the way I want to see it,” he says.

“I don’t celebrate it and I don’t want to commemorate it,” he says.

“If half the country is crying and the other half is celebrating, this is no celebration.”

Another Kenan, Kenan Nafi, is the chairman of the CTCA, an organisation that unites various associations in the Turkish Cypriot community in the UK.

For him, today marks 50 years of peace since the arrival of the Turkish soldiers in 1974. A day to celebrate that.

“This was an intervention, not an invasion. Turkey had the right to intervene unilaterally to defend the Turkish Cypriots… that is exactly what they did,” he says, adding that if this had not happened there would still be unrest today.

He says it was a trauma that affected both communities and they have not recovered from it in 50 years.

He also talks about what he calls the oppression of Turkish Cypriots.

“They don’t even have the right to represent their country internationally in the field of basic human rights such as sports… We don’t have the right to travel directly to our country.

“We need to sit down at the table – two-state solution.

“The world has evolved, the world has changed. They need to realize that people have the right to live freely in their country.”

Although there is a divide between those who want to remain divided and those who do not, both sides share one enduring feeling: love for the island.