One of the two pedestrian crossing points between northern and southern Nicosia, opened in 2003 after 29 years of complete closure. The procedure is straightforward — passport stamped on both sides, no fee — and the walk between the two checkpoints passes through the UN buffer zone, with the gaunt façade of the 1949 Ledra Palace Hotel still functioning as the headquarters of UN forces.
The crossing itself is one of the most quietly moving urban experiences in Europe: a half-derelict city block, sandbags, faded political graffiti, then the bustle of Nicosia south.