Belly dancing has its origins in the Middle East, although exactly where is unknown. It is considered an indigenous dance, that is focused on the movements of the muscles in the torso, not the limbs. It is believed to have been brought to Spain from Lebanon sometime during the time of the Phoenicians, a period which lasted from the 11th Century BC until the 5th Century BC. However, the name ‘belly dancing’ had its origins much later. The first known usage of the term ‘belly dance’ referred to the performance of the Middle Eastern dancers at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1893. 

The outfit, called the bedlah, relies on showing skin. Typically, the dancers sport a bare midriff, and occasionally a low neckline. The bedlah often uses large amounts of sheer material, and the bottom half of the bedlah is typically a long skirt or wrap, and a belt decorated with sequins, beads, crystals, fringe and other materials. The top is a fitted bra, similarly embellished. Occasionally, the belly dancer wears a small veil covering the lower half of her face. It does not have its origins in authentic Middle Eastern dress, but rather in Victorian painters of “Orientalism, as well as early 20th century vaudeville and burlesque entertainment. Then, Badia Masabni, who owned a cabaret in Cairo, was credited for bringing the costume to Egypt, because the image appealed to Western tourists. 

In the case of this photo, the British dancer is there to entertain the troops, who watch her, enthralled, while one soldier in the background remains with his rifle ready. During World War II, entertainment played an important role for the troops, and in 1939, the Entertainments National Service Association was formed to entertain British troops. The ENSA was later superseded by the Combined Services Entertainment (CSE). The morale-boosting mission continued to provide entertainment for deployed British troops after World War II, including those stationed in Cyprus, like the men who watch the belly dancer. 

The conflict in Cyprus has deep historical roots. The ethnic Greeks wanted Cyprus to unify with Greece, a process called enosis. The British took administrative control of Cyprus, starting in the early 19th century, out of a desire to keep it out of Russian hands. The majority of Cypriots were Christians who spoke Greek, and they were pleased with the British arrival. In 1915, Britain offered Cyprus to Greece if Greece would enter World War I on the side of the British, but Greece refused.

Meanwhile, the main Turkish goal was to divide Cyprus into Greek and Turkish parts, and so the British maintained a military presence on the island. The tensions continued, as the British protected the Turkish Cypriot minority status, and they continued to escalate. By 1958, the island was on the verge of civil war and in December, representatives of both Greece and Turkey met to discuss a solution, when, for the first time, the idea of an independent Cyprus was discussed. Eventually, the Zurich-London agreements formed the basis for the Cyprus constitution in 1960, but neither side was completely satisfied. One of the treaties which supplemented the agreement, the Treaty of Establishment, allowed Britain to keep sovereignty over 256 square kilometers. The area became the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area and the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area. With this continued British presence, Cyprus attained independence in 1960, with a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice-president. Additionally, they were governed by a council of ministers, which had a ratio of Greeks to Turkish ministers based on the ratio in the population, but also included representation of the other minorities.

However, the Cyprus crisis of 1963-64 occurred despite the attempts to create an independent Cyprus to meet the needs of the variety of people on the island. As they tried to establish the country, issues including taxation and the creation of separate municipalities arose and attempts to solve the disputes failed. On November 30, 1963, president Makarios presented a thirteen-point proposal to help expedite the functioning of the government. Then, on Bloody Christmas, December 21, 1963, fighting between communities in Nicosia erupted. Over the days that followed, it spread throughout the island. In the end, 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed, and 25,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced. Additionally, the government collapsed. On December 27, 1963, Britain, Greece, and Turkey put together an interim peacekeeping force, the Joint Truce Force. The Joint Truce Force remained in place until a United Nations peacekeeping force, UNFICYP was formed after United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 was passed on March 4, 1964, a few days after the picture was taken.

The photo at the top of this story was colorized by Olga Shirnina, aka Klimbim; you can see more of her work at her Flickr page.