A newly released short film shot during a holiday in Cyprus offers a glimpse into what the island was like in April 1974, three months before the Greek-inspired coup d’état and subsequent Turkish invasion changed the course of its history.

The film was created by Nikolaos Athanasoglou, and depicts Nicosia already divided along ethnic lines, as well as its popular shopping street Makarios Avenue, the former Hilton hotel, now known as The Landmark, and other points of interest across the island. The silent film is shot on 8mm film.

Athanasoglou and his wife also stayed in the 18th century house of Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornesiou in old Nicosia. “Then it was a family residence, we have spent several summers there!” said Athanasoglou. “Then it became a museum.”

Outside of the capital, the film depicts the Bellapais monastery, the ancient ruins of Salamina, Othello’s tower in Famagusta, ancient Curium, Aphrodite’s rock, and the Kykkos monastery, among other locations.

“We had gone to Cyprus in the April of 1974 at the urging of my future wife, who is of Cypriot descent,” Athanasoglou said.

He spoke of travelling to the Pentadaktylos mountains for a picnic. “How could we imagine that it would be under Turkish occupation a few months later?”