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[LENA]

"Kosklu Ciftlik (Kiosklou Tsiflik)"

What does Tsiflik mean in Greek..is it the same thing?

It means a 'farm' or 'ranch'. Maybe our GC friends could let us know if they use the same word in Greek. They might have it in Gibreia? It is a very old Turkish name of the area. I attempted to make it easier to read for our GCs.

I heard that word many times in Cyprus....more like Tsifliki (with an extra i at the end) but I doubt if the meaning is the same. Dont use it to be honest but always thought that means something else.

First if I am not wrong is a word that used for taxes from Turks somewhere in Greece, second I am sure i heard with a meaning of ownership...and the guy who owns that is called "Tsiflikas". Like an area is the "tsifliki" of somebody and you could call that guy Tsiflika.

[denizaksulu]

"Kosklu Ciftlik (Kiosklou Tsiflik)"

What does Tsiflik mean in Greek..is it the same thing?

It means a 'farm' or 'ranch'. Maybe our GC friends could let us know if they use the same word in Greek. They might have it in Gibreia? It is a very old Turkish name of the area. I attempted to make it easier to read for our GCs.

I heard that word many times in Cyprus....more like Tsifliki (with an extra i at the end) but I doubt if the meaning is the same. Dont use it to be honest but always thought that means something else.

First if I am not wrong is a word that used for taxes from Turks somewhere in Greece, second I am sure i heard with a meaning of ownership...and the guy who owns that is called "Tsiflikas". Like an area is the "tsifliki" of somebody and you could call that guy Tsiflika.

Lena, congratulations. You sure do your homework right. The meaning is the same.
I left out the -i. but apart from that you are exactly correct.
During the expansion of the Ottoman empire, leading cavalrymen/soldiers were given the tithe of a farm. On that farm they either 'worked' it and paid taxes, or provided for a troop of cavalrymen. Fancy, it needed you to remind me of the fantastic taxation system in the early Ottoman Empire. These Military farm were dotted all along the European Frontiers and provided the 'Akinci' cavalrymen as the first recourse of defence of the realm. It was the ambition of every old soldier to gain a Tsiftliki to ease his retirement and begin a family. Turkish soldiers of those days had to do 40 years of soldiering before they would 'marry'.

[lextalionis]

kokkinotrimithia maybe?

[Dave G]

Thanks for some good clues.

The Armenian connection does fit with my recollections as I can remember having a friend who was Armenian, and there was a shop nearby that I can also remember belonged to an Armenian family, and it was the late 50's when I was there. Although I remember it as a village, it may not have been an actual village. It was an Army Married Quarter that we lived in, and they were known as Kasparian Quarters, so perhaps the Quarters that were on land belonging to the family.

Thanks again

Dave

[kafenes]

Thanks for some good clues.

The Armenian connection does fit with my recollections as I can remember having a friend who was Armenian, and there was a shop nearby that I can also remember belonged to an Armenian family, and it was the late 50's when I was there. Although I remember it as a village, it may not have been an actual village. It was an Army Married Quarter that we lived in, and they were known as Kasparian Quarters, so perhaps the Quarters that were on land belonging to the family.

Thanks again

Dave

Dave G, my comes from around that neighbourhood (she is Armenian), I will ask her about it and let you know tomorrow. Her father was a baker, if that rings a bell at all.

[Dave G]

Thanks Kafenes

The shop I remember was a small general store. Other things I remember is that the family across the street from us had a number of children. Spellings will be wrong but included there was Gunni, Targut and the youngest was Polli, and he would be in his early 50's by now. Their mother's name was Hatija. In the river bed nearby was an Army shooting range. Although we lived in an Army Married Quarter, it was a private house. A single storey bungalow with a large verandah at the front.

[kafenes]

I lived in Cyprus in the late 1950's as a youngster. I can remember that the village we lived in was called Kasperian (spelling may be wrong), and I think that it was in sight of the Nicosia city wall. I could be wrong about that though as I was only 8 or 9 at the time. It was a Turkish village, and it was in the bend of a river. There was a Greek village just the other side of the river. Having recently bought an apartment in Paphos, on one of my visits I would like to explore my roots, but Googling the name does not come up with much. Can anyone help?

Thanks

Dave

Dave, i doubt there would be a shooting range in sight of the Nicosia city walls somehow.

[Dave G]

Sounds hard to believe about the shooting range, but there was one. Remember, they were troubled times, and such things were more common than they are today. It was an Army range, and myself and my friends used to sneak in and collect the empty cartridges. The house we lived in probably still has my jam jars full of them buried in the back garden.