Museum of Barbarism - Nicosia, Northern Cyprus

The Museum of Barbarism is not a museum. It is a run down house in a quiet suburb to the west of the Old City, on the Turkish-Cypriot side of Nicosia. Here, on 24 December 1963 a mother and her children were shot dead in their bath by EOKA (Cypriot Liberation Movement) gunmen (Greek Cypriots). The bloodstained bathtub is retained as one of the exhibits in this rather macabre and quite disgusting place. You can see bullet holes on the wall, and photos of Turkish Cypriots murdered in the villages of Agios Vasilios and Agios Sozomenos. Although these events really happened, this is one of the last bastions of the Turkish-Cypriot administration propaganda struggle against the Greek-Cypriots. Go only if you are interested in the recent Cypriot history and wish to better understand the use of symbols, propaganda, and history on the divided island. (Last visit 07/2002)