A Mixed Borderline Village Under UN Supervision in Cyprus

Pyla is a mixed village notorious throughout Cyprus. Paraphrasing Douglas’ definition of dirt as matter out of place this is “a place out of place” in so far as it does not properly belong to either side and is thus regarded as ‘polluting’ and ‘dangerous’. The village was, and still is, notorious in both sides as a site of smuggling and spying. Its inhabitants, both the Pyliotes (the Greek Cypriots) and the Pileliler (the Turkish Cypriots) were considered in both sides as morally and patriotically suspect. Its liminality marked it as a place of ambiguity and uncertainty. Social agents came into contact with a variety of other agents and institutions, linking the local with the translocal. It was reasonably taken for granted that in this place marked by conflicts and contestations all agents proceeded with their own hidden agendas in order to pursue their goals. This paper focuses on liminal sites and border areas, where such issues emerge in a more pronounced form.