Theo Panayides

‘This is all legal, right?’ I ask Jenna (aka Miss Jenna Linn), sitting at Bean Bar in central Nicosia where her appearance has already drawn an appraising, not entirely approving ...

Every edition of Cyprus Film Days is subtly different to all the others. This year’s – the 23rd, would you believe, taking place on April 4-12 – will surely go down ...

An odd coincidence took place last week. First came the controversy around a government bill on the right to protest – the proposed ‘Public Gatherings and Parades Law of 2025’, essentially seeking ...

There’s a funny – and revealing – moment at the Cyens Centre of Excellence in Nicosia, in the midst of a presentation on ‘Virtual Production and XR Technologies in Cyprus’ by ...

We talked to delivery drivers on the streets of Nicosia, asking about the difficulties and challenges of the job.

The question whether cannabis should be legalised for recreational use is a contentious one – and not as clear-cut as most people think. Libertarians declare, quite simply, that the state has ...

Antonis Koupparis shows me videos on his phone. The clips are mostly CCTV footage, plus videos he shot himself: a low-res litany of crime and disorder in the walled city ...

The fact that the roadworks on Trikoupi street in old Nicosia have been delayed is probably the least remarkable thing about them. Trikoupi – heading north from Ochi square, right at ...

On my way to the Oleander Institute – actually to Myrsini’s studio in old Nicosia; the institute has no physical office – I spot a grey-haired couple in their golden years ...

We asked a selection of Greek Cypriots in Nicosia if they think too much land in Cyprus (and occupied Cyprus) is being bought by foreigners, and how they feel about ...

A phone alarm pings, and Adonis Florides gets up. Excuse me, he says briskly, there’s “something I have to do”. I wonder if he needs to take some pill ...

It’s quite an emotional moment, on a Friday evening at Hoi Polloi a few minutes north of the checkpoint. Gifts are brought, as to a visiting dignitary: a Pink ...

We asked a selection of people on the streets of Nicosia how they see the new year – what they expect will happen and what they hope for, both in their ...

The BBQ House in Nicosia is the ultimate small business. Only open in the evenings, serving mostly grilled food – kebabs, chops, and so on – it’s run by a married ...

Sometimes a New Year really is a new year. “It’s a new thing for us,” says Aziz Altaany. “It’s a new thing. We lived 50 years with the same ...

Footage and interviews from the protest in Nicosia against Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit to Cyprus. Full story here

For a while, this article on Swami Jyothirmayah – and the three-day course he conducted at the Indian High Commission in Nicosia a couple of weeks ago – was lacking only one ...

I wrote a number of stories in 2024 that meant a lot to me (the one about the growing use of antidepressants was an eye-opener). In the end, though, the one ...

There are times, admits George Rotos, when he’ll run into someone he knows and pretend not to see them – not because he doesn’t want to talk to them ...

A leaked memorandum from the ministry of agriculture caused great consternation a couple of weeks ago. In it, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou – whose portfolio also includes rural development and the ...

“I want to do a crossover with the English-speaking audience,” says Athena Xenidou, sounding almost impatient. Xenidou is the director of Nachtland, a play by German writer Marius von Mayenburg ...

Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier, the unofficial starting point for the festive season – December 1, at least according to Advent calendars – getting progressively pushed back. Supermarkets have been playing ...

The koupa (plural, koupes) is having a moment. Earlier this month, a campaign was launched to add it to the EU’s PGI (Protected Geographical Indications) register as a traditional ...

Greek Cypriot schoolkids in Nicosia, organised by student committee Psem, protested on the 41st anniversary of the declaration of the ‘TRNC’. Unusually, the protest didn’t have a Greek nationalist ...