page_title: Ledra Street
section_title: The sealing of Ledra Street
hierarchical_section_title: Ledra Street / History / The sealing of Ledra Street
caption_attribution_description: This looks like Paphos Street close to Ledra Street
context_page_description: Ledra Street is a major shopping thoroughfare in central Nicosia, Cyprus, which links North Nicosia, the part of the city under the control of the de facto Northern Cyprus, and south Nicosia.
  It is the site of the former Ledra Street barricade, across the United Nations buffer zone. The barricade symbolised the division of Nicosia between the Greek south and Turkish north. It was removed in April 2008 and Ledra Street became the sixth crossing between the southern and northern parts of Cyprus. Ledra Street runs parallel to Onasagorou Street.
  The name of the street refers to the ancient city-kingdom of Ledra, established in 1050 BC, that was located in the centre of the island where the capital city is today.
context_section_description: In 1963, during the outbreak of hostilities between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities following the announcement of unilateral amendments to the Cypriot Constitution by request of Greek militant organizations, Turkish Cypriots withdrew to North Nicosia which became one of the many Turkish Cypriot enclaves which existed throughout the island. Various streets which ran between the northern and southern part of the city, including Ledra Street, were blockaded. A ceasefire was arranged at the end of 1963 and a neutral zone was established along the ceasefire or Green Line between north and south Nicosia which was patrolled by British personnel. With the formation of the UNFICYP, the task of patrolling the Green Line and protecting Turkish Cypriot enclaves was taken over by UN troops.
  During Turkish army's invasion  in Cyprus in 1974, Turkish troops occupied northern Nicosia (as well as the northern part of Cyprus). A buffer zone was established across the island along the ceasefire line to separate the northern Turkish controlled part of the island, and the Greek controlled south. The buffer zone runs through Nicosia, where it is sometimes just several metres wide, and all roads running through the zone have been effectively sealed.
  The street south of the blockade was largely pedestrianised in 1998.
caption: Byway of Ledra Street in 1969
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