The sign of the Ottoman Bank Nicosia Branch, which was rescued from the garbage in 1974 and re-discovered 40 years later, is on view at SALT Galata.

Re-discovered in Nicosia in February 2014 during a photography tour, the sign of the Ottoman Bank Nicosia Branch was probably made by a local artisan towards the end of the 1940s. The double sided signs of the city branches in Cyprus were in place until 1963, at which point conflicts between Turks and Greeks affected the bank’s business enough to cause the closure of the Nicosia branch and the opening of a new venue in the southern region of the city. The discarded sign was rescued from the garbage by an immigrant from Turkey, who rented a shop from the Evkaf on the opposite side of the street in 1974. Stored in the shop on the border of the military zone in Arabahmet quarter until 2014, and bought by Garanti Bank, Directorate of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the sign will now be on view at SALT Galata from October 2015 for one year.