Xinhua - Greek and Turkish Cypriot children, accompanied by their parents and teachers, toured together historical monuments located in both sides of the divided capital Nicosia on Sunday as part of effort to enhance bi-communal understanding and reconciliation.The children teamed up in some 20 bi-communal groups and set out from the downtown center to navigate their way through the old walled city.
Each team was assigned one of the historic monuments and had to find their own way according to the map. Among the landmarks are Selimiye mosque (former St. Sophia Cathedral), Great Inn and Bedesten, a building under restoration which carries traces of the Byzantines in the 12th century.
Sener Elcil, one of the organizers from the Turkish Cypriot side, told Xinhua that people should overthrow "prejudice, chauvinism and racism" when they try to understand and reconciliate with each other.
As the leaders of the two communities are working for a mutual acceptable solution to the decades-long Cyprus problem, Elcil added, it seems "more important for the ordinary people from the two sides to come closer and cooperate with each other."
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