The Village That's Dying

The decline of Akincilar seen through the eyes of three Turkish Cypriot residents of different generations.



Akincilar is a small village on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

It has lived through the turbulent, modern history of Cyprus, including the island's civil war in the 1960s and its division in the 1970s when Turkish Cypriots moved north, and Greek Cypriots moved south.

The politics of Cyprus remains complex and contentious.

Akincilar, like many rural communities the world over, has experienced the outflow of young people seeking opportunities in big cities.

But Akincilar's decline from a bustling town of 5,000 to a village of 350, almost frozen in time, has more to do with its geographical location, the division of Cyprus, and the island's complex history.