Cyprus-Forum.com

by **Nikitas** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:32 pm

I have been trying to research piracy in the Mediterranean for years. For several hundred years ending around 1840 the Algerian or Barbary pirates were a major scourge for the whole region, often challenging the major maritime powers and winning. It is reasonable to assume that these pirates left genes behind. They were not boy scouts, they were robbers, killers and presumably rapists too.

Now if you look at the stark poverty of the people in those 1877 photos and the environment surrounding them you realise that these people were at the mercy of whoever had a musket or a sword. Obviously I want to believe that my ancestors were proud warriors who succesfully fought off all invaders etc, but look at those photos! They tell a story!

by **T_C** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:33 pm

Get Real! wrote:
denizaksulu wrote:
Get Real! wrote:
denizaksulu wrote:You are right the TC.Definitely the highest cheek bones on any TC I have seen so far. Definite Turkish stock.

I hate to break the news to you but these are Greek Cypriots easily distinguishable by the GC peasant head gear.

...hhhmmm. I will settle for an open verdict. May be an expert on the forum will arbitrate? Still the best picture with all the details of Cypriot dress as well.

There's much better closup family pictures than that but I've only got 128kb upload speed so if Iceman beats that please upload that family from Avgorou pic in Thomson's book, oh and that pretty girl on her own on the front cover of the book.

The GC head gear has a bit of material at the bottom and a mini-fez at the top whereas the TC head gear is a longer fez with no material.

As far as I know they did put material over the fez!

by **Get Real!** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:34 pm

Nikitas wrote:GR,

Talking about indigenous people around the Mediterranean is a risky enterprise! Are the southern Italians indigenous?

To what Spaghetti? :lol:

I have been there and found it very easy to communicate in Cypriot dialect. Yet most of them and most other Italians class them as indigenous!

Here's an attempt at indigenousness... you’d be hard pressed to find a topic we haven’t discussed in here Nikitas.

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.p ... indigenous

by **Get Real!** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:36 pm

denizaksulu wrote:
Get Real! wrote:
turkish_cypriot wrote:SO???

It's still the best picture EVER!

Thanks TC, they're my INDIGENOUS great-grandparents who drove off Turks in 1821....

Your indigenous ggp's have Algerian blood in them? (according to Nikitas)and your ggp's are from Greece (1821) you do contradict yourself GR

Just having a bit of a laugh there Deniz... I like pissing T_C off! :lol:

by **Nikitas** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:42 pm

I would much rather look at the sailing ships in those pics and find my Greek roots in that tradition than in my cheek bones, which are high by the way. I know that there was one pirate in the family several generations back, which explains my interest in piracy. Whether he was Greek or Algerian I do not know, and dont much care, I know what I am today.

The photos do tell a story about us all. Personally I see people who managed to scratch a living from the earth, working harder than we can imagine today, yet they found time to adorn themselves, their houses, even their donkeys. In the circumstances that shows a spirit we should all be proud of.