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[RebelWithoutAPause]

Yeah, shame it wasnt as in-depth as the work of our resident male-expert gynecologist Zan.

[zan]

Yeah, shame it wasnt as in-depth as the work of our resident male-expert gynecologist Zan.

Say AHHHHH Lover........

[humanist]

Quote:

There is something else the archbishop said on RIKSat news which I did not see in the article. He said that if the TCs want to remain in the north that is their choice, but not in GC homes, the Cyprus Church is willing to finance the building of homes for them, but GC properties must be returned.

Nikitas I embarce the offer taken on behalf of the church to rehouse TC refugees in the North, I think there are many positive aspects to this move and one is the acknowledgement that for whatever reason TC's do not necessarily want to move to their ancestral homes situated in the south. For example the widows of Tochni. This is a great opportunity to say to people we listen to your concerns.

My question open to discussion, when should thia action take place as part of a solution to the whole Cypro or as a step to a possile solution and why. My concerns are that if the action occurs as part of the solution what guarantees does the Turkish side give that no greek Cypriot refugee property will not be auctioned off to the highest British pig beater of Israelite wanker. or would thew support of Turkish speaking brothers/ sisters who receive one of these new dwellings be required to dob in sellers of Greek speaking Refugee property and the trnc administration to impose severe punishment for such action, something ofcourse that the Talats admisnistaration is incapable of doing as they encourage the sale of greek refugee land and property.

[zan]

Quote:

There is something else the archbishop said on RIKSat news which I did not see in the article. He said that if the TCs want to remain in the north that is their choice, but not in GC homes, the Cyprus Church is willing to finance the building of homes for them, but GC properties must be returned.

Nikitas I embarce the offer taken on behalf of the church to rehouse TC refugees in the North, I think there are many positive aspects to this move and one is the acknowledgement that for whatever reason TC's do not necessarily want to move to their ancestral homes situated in the south. For example the widows of Tochni. This is a great opportunity to say to people we listen to your concerns.

My question open to discussion, when should thia action take place as part of a solution to the whole Cypro or as a step to a possile solution and why. My concerns are that if the action occurs as part of the solution what guarantees does the Turkish side give that no greek Cypriot refugee property will not be auctioned off to the highest British pig beater of Israelite wanker. or would thew support of Turkish speaking brothers/ sisters who receive one of these new dwellings be required to dob in sellers of Greek speaking Refugee property and the trnc administration to impose severe punishment for such action, something ofcourse that the Talats admisnistaration is incapable of doing as they encourage the sale of greek refugee land and property.

So what happens to all that land with out a settlement? We just skirt round it? We live in 3% of our own republic?

[Nikitas]

No Zan you do not live on 3 per cent. You have your land over the whole of Cyprus same as everyone else and still live in the north, but not on GC property.

The offer by the Archibishop was not an exchange, TCs give their land in the south to get land in the north. It was an offer to finance housing for TCs in the north on public land.

I am not a religious person, and have strong objections to priests getting involved in politics. But this offer was made in good faith by a non political priest. It is a naive offer because it does not take the realities of the sitation into account but you cannot fault him for that.

[halil]

second part of the TC's villages in Southern Cyprus.

Next part will be pictures from those villages. İt will take some time for me to share with you .
Program is still on BRT1. When it is finished i will paste pictures from your villages .
Soon i will show you 100 % TC's in the North with pictures and i will give details for every village .
FLASU

On July 17, 2003, approximately 50 minutes after crossing over from the Kermiya border point, we reached Flasu, which is in the Solya Valley 45 km west of Lefke.

Up until 1964, Flasu was a mixed village but as a result of Greek Cypriot pressure Flasu was one of the villages that Turkish Cypriots were forced to migrate from. This time we were accompanied by Erol Mustafa, who is originally form Aybirfan. We parked our car in the car park in the village square. Our guide Erol Mustafa, who knows every inch of this place, told us, broken heartedly, that 29 years ago there used to be a Turkish coffee-shop and the cooperative building used to be in the place where we parked our car. We didn’t want to destroy his hopes at the start of our journey. He told us that he would take us to the school and mosque. The school and mosque buildings which were located on one of the highest points of the village, had been completely razed to the ground. The only thing that remained was a single carob tree and a fountain with broken bricks. The surroundings of the village were fairly green. Besides the numerous fruit trees, there were also many olive trees. We set off towards the east of the village to the street where Turkish Cypriots once used to live. Greek Cypriot families have now settled into the majority of the Turkish Cypriot homes. Although these houses are well-kept, many have also been destroyed and razed to the ground. After taking some photos in this region, we proceeded to search for the cemetery, as directed to us in Flasu.



CEMETERY TURNED TO AN IRRIGATION LAND FOR AGRICULTURE

While searching for the cemetery, which was supposed to be in the area where there was a big eucalyptus tree, we only find the tree. There was no cemetery nor any graves. While walking round the area, which looked as if it was empty, we saw a big tombstone on the left which belonged to Ali Osman Onbaþý, who had died on 29 July, 1947. This proved that the area we came from was once a cemetery, but had now been razed to the ground and no longer existed. One part of the cemetery area was also being used for agricultural purposes. A drop irrigation system had been set up inside.

In the southern part of the cemetery, when the dog, which was tied up under the shadow of a tree saw us, it became uncomfortable and started to bark.



OLD PHOTOGRAPH

After taking some photographs of the Flasu cemetery, which had been completely razed to the ground, we sat at a coffee-shop. A middle-aged Greek Cypriot called Loizou, who used to live in Lefke for years, approached us and greeted us in Turkish. He then continued to talk to us in Turkish. Loizou, told us that he had worked at the CMC mine for many years and had learnt Turkish during that period and had also had many Turkish Cypriot friends. Then, the Flasu mukhtar, Petro Eftimiadis, came next to us. He knew our guide Erol Mustafa. After hugging and shaking hands, they chatted for a while. Leaving us, the mukhtar came back two minutes later and gave Erol Mustafa a photograph showing Greek and Turkish Cypriot schoolchildren who were at the English school in 1958.

Upon receiving this meaningful photograph, Erol Mustafa was really pleased and thanked Eftimiadis.



YANNAKIS: "WE BROUGHT TURKEY HERE"

A Greek Cypriot named Yannakis Willidonis, aged between 45-50 came next to us. Throughout our conversation, Yannakis kept talking about the wrong policies and mistakes that the Greek Cypriots carried out against the Turkish Cypriots. We repeat once more, in Yannakis’ own words, how individuals reacted to the inhuman actions and why the Turkish Cypriots were forced to migrate from their villages: Saying: "We deserved what Turkey did to us. We oppressed the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey came to rescue them", Yannakis went on to explain how Turkish Cypriots were kidnapped from the villages during the years that EOKA was active: "At that time, the EOKA activists came to the village and visited the village shops. They threatened the Greek Cypriots not to sell anything to the Turkish Cypriots. Faced with this situation, my father started to buy six breads daily, instead of two. He would give four of the breads to his Turkish Cypriot friends. When the EOKA activists, who came to the village ten days later, found out what my father had been doing they prevented the Greek Cypriot shop owner from selling extra bread to my father. Afterwards, the Turkish Cypriots were forced to leave the village because they couldn’t put up with the pressures anymore."

Yannakis’ sincere confessions sounded interesting to us. Yannakis finished by saying: "There are many people who share my view, but they hesitate to speak." After finishing our chat, we proceeded towards the village of Aybifan, the village of President Denktaþ’ father.



AYBÝFAN

Aybifan is very close to Flasu and immediately after leaving Flasu we came to the Karkot Brook, which President Denktaþ named one of his books after. The brook, which has a historical bridge, is still flowing despite it being nearly the end of July. Our guide Erol Mustafa, pointed out to us the olive trees and gardens in the wide fields on the beds of the brook. He told us that some of these belonged to President Denktaþ’ father. Leaving the beauties of the Karkot Brook, we climbed towards Aybifan. There were no signs showing the village. There was no need for this, because during the 1960s, when the Turkish Cypriots were forced to migrate from this village due to the pressures imposed upon them this small, pretty village had been completely razed to the ground by the Greek Cypriots. Afterwards, the Greek Cypriots turned this area into a military camp and then later left this camp. In its place, all we found were abandoned military vehicles, exploded smoke grenades, barbed wire and trenches. There wasn’t a single house in Aybifan. We even found it difficult to find the remains of the foundations of any houses. Even our guide, Erol Mustafa, who was originally from Aybifan, was astonished at what he saw. He was looking for the house where he was born and raised and had spent many beautiful days of his childhood. He went to the right, to the left, but couldn’t find anything. The deep pain of this rests heavily on his heart. He couldn’t refrain from saying: "What kind of hatred, animosity is this?" He looked for the place where President Denktaþ’ father’s house used to be, so that he could show us. After an intensive search amongst the weeds and thorns, he found only the stones that remained from the house’s foundation. On the one hand, there was the amazing scenery of the Karkot Brook, and the beauties of the Trodos mountains on the other. The house, which was previously built in such a beautiful area, is now a part of history.

Our investigations in Aybifan continue. The church, which was built by the Greek Cypriots while they were using the military camp, is still standing. The two fountains, which were previously built to meet the water requirements of the Turkish Cypriots, still remain. Of course, these two fountains were destroyed when the military camp left the area. Since the fountains were made out of cement, it was not easy to remove them. Our guide took us to the cemetery. The Greek Cypriots, who razed Aybifan to the ground, also did the same to the cemetery, and we couldn’t find neither a grave nor a tombstone. We left Aybifan, which was totally annihilated, with these impressions.



ALÝFODEZ

After Aybifan, we moved on to the village of Alifodez, 35 km from Lefkoþa. This pretty and small Turkish village was also razed to the ground. Only the village fountain and mosque remained. The Greek Cypriot Administration, not only razed this village to the ground, but at the same time also erased it from the map. In maps issued by the Greek Cypriot Administration, there was no mention of Alifodez. Signposts on the roads only showed the villages of Katomoni and Mitsero, which were near Alifodez. Even the flow of the village’s river was turned into a different direction.

A place to vow had been built next to the fountain. There, we saw a burning candle. When we asked the villagers of Katomoni what had happened to Alifodez, we couldn’t get a response: They immediately changed the subject by asking, "Is Mukhtar Aziz Efendi still alive?, what is Faiz doing?" Of course, this doesn’t change the reality that Alifodez had been razed to the ground.



ARPALIK (AYSOZOMENOS)

We were driving towards Arpalýk (Aysozomenos) village, which was once solely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and was left because of the Greek Cypriot attacks of 6 February, 1964. During these attacks, 5 people were killed and 2 were injured. After Dali we passed through Protomia and saw a brown sign post indicating the way to Ayios Sosomonos. After we turned into a dirt road on an asphalt road and drove for 1 to 2 km, we saw that Arpalýk (Aysozomenos) village was 1 km ahead. It is a village located on the skirts of the peaks. We were slowly entering the village when we were faced with another story of Three Martyrs (Goþþi).

In 1964, human massacres had been carried out whereas, in the following years it seemed like there were also house massacres. Almost one hundred per cent of the houses were destroyed and vandalised. Arpalýk village had become a ghost village. We continued driving through the village. There were Turkish houses which had been destroyed but the historical church was under restoration. We saw people restoring the church. We greeted each other and continued to take photos. We could hardly move from the rubble of the destroyed houses and continued to take photos. We could have been, at anytime, bitten by a poisonous snake or insect. Then, we were in front of a Mosque which was built on a high peak. A large part of the mosque was demolished.



MOSQUE USED AS TARGET RANGE

In a book entitled "Our values left in the South" written by Hasan Fehmi, it was written that there were bullet marks from 1964 on the Mosque. It was true, there were bullet marks on the Mosque. The bullet marks were everywhere, there were hundreds, both inside and outside of the building. The building was full of holes. While we were thinking if all of these bullet marks belonged to 1964 or not, we saw many empty bullets, hand grenade fuses and grips, smoke grenades and anti-tank ammunition carriages. Greek Cypriots had turned the village into a military exercise area.

After taking some photos, we moved towards the eucalyptus trees on the skirts of the peaks on the Northern side of the village. The cemetery was supposed to be there. When we got closer to the trees, we found no graves or a cemetery. Everything was razed to the ground. There was nothing, except from some broken tombstones. In short, we found out that the Arpalýk cemetery was completely annihilated.

We left the ghost village of Arpalýk with these observations.



TURKISH VILLAGES IN THE SOUTH: ALTINCIK, KALKANLI, ÇAKIRLAR.
GYPSIES LIVING IN INHUMAN CONDITIONS WITH NO ELECTRICITY
HOUSES IN ÇAKIRLAR USED AS SUMMER HOUSES
RED ROSES ON A GRAVE WITH NO TOMBSTONES IN A CEMETERY RAZED TO THE GROUND
Nicosia, 11 August 03 (T.A.K- Hasan Karaokçu):

We were in the Turkish villages of Paphos namely, Altýncýk, Kalkanlý and Tera, with the hope of finding some traces of the memories left behind.

After the opening of the borders, people who were talking about their village of Altýncýk with pride and mentioning its beauty, were disappointed to see that their village was demolished and had disappeared. Altýncýk had still no electricity as the continuation of Greek Cypriot embargoes which were enforced upon all the Turkish villages during 1960s. The immigrants called "gypsies", who, for a variety of reasons, went to South Cyprus, were settled in the houses which had not been destroyed. From the very first moment, the discriminative behaviour of the Greek Cypriot Administration, which claims to be an EU member, against these people was obvious and in contradiction with the rules and regulations of the EU.

The original stone-made houses which were not demolished in Kalkanlý and Çakýrlar (Tera) had been restored either for touristic purposes or for use by wealthy Greek Cypriots as summer houses. Furthermore, Turkish houses, which were demolished, dried fountains, cemeteries, which were razed to the ground, and schools being used as stables were the unchanging scenes of these villages.

…And here we also observed traces of people who had visited their former villages and searched for their memories and ancestors’ graves. The two red roses, which were left by the former inhabitants of the village on an imaginary place of the grave of their relatives in the village’s cemetery, which was razed to the ground, was very meaningful.



HIRSOFU (Altýncýk)

We travelled north towards Altýncýk (Hirsofu). We easily found Altýncýk, which is 32 kms north of Paphos and which used to be inhabited by only Turkish Cypriots before 1974. At the village entrance we saw tobacco fields. Our guide Ýbrahim Tezkan told us that Turkish Cypriots who used to live in the village before 1974 used to grow tobacco. The village was surrounded by fertile land, vineyards and orchards... At the village entrance, we saw the village mosque with a minaret. The building, which has a historical value, was well preserved, even though overgrown weeds and thorns covered its garden.

When we entered the garden, we saw a historical grave belonging to a martyr. We couldn’t photograph inside because the door and windows were all closed.



SOME HOUSES USED AS STABLES

DRY FOUNTAINS

We were confronted with demolished houses in the western part of the mosque. Some houses there, had been used as stables before, or were still being used as stables.

It was difficult to go inside because of the potent smell and dirt. While walking around the village, we saw a fountain that had been built in 1909. It was dry and on it was written ‘Yakovu DÝKKO-AKEL” in Greek. It was obvious that even the Greek Cypriots had the same bad habit of polluting the environment during the election period.

While taking photographs of these sights, I heard our guide speaking in Turkish to some people. When I walked towards him, I saw 7-8 gipsy children running away.



GIPSIES

There, we also witnessed the tragedy of the gipsy families. The gipsies, who came to South Cyprus from the TRNC six months ago with great hopes, were trying to continue their lives in an inhumane environment. Six families were settled into the hastily made barracks. They had neither electricity nor water... They had no decent place to sit or sleep and didn’t even have a bathroom and toilet. We asked a gipsy woman, who was busy making dolma, if it was not difficult to live in these conditions. She confided that: "Of course it is difficult, winter has passed, but we have a difficult summer ahead of us, as you can see we have neither electricity nor water. The water that we brought in order to drink is getting warmer. We are drinking ‘boiling water’".

Leaving the woman, who was spending great efforts to keep the flies away from her, I approached the family’s father. He told me that they were not pleased with their living conditions. I asked how long they would live in such conditions. He replied: "Last week, the mukhtar came and talked with us and told us that in the gravelled area that could be seen below, they would build houses for us in the near future". The Greek Cypriot Administration’s promise that they would build houses for the gipsies, who for the last six months have been forced to live in barracks in an inhumane environment under difficult conditions, instead of settling them into the empty houses in the village, does not sound convincing to us. It was only the children who would suffer, who were playing happily in front of the barracks, and who were not aware of the uncertain future that was ahead of them.

After taking photographs of the gipsy children, whose innocence was reflected in their smiles, we continued with our investigations in the Altýncýk village.



CHURCH

We saw an empty area, which was nearly the size of a football pitch with a church in the middle. The church was surrounded with wires. In the garden there were old oil mill stones. As was the case in the other Turkish villages, we thought that the building had been turned into a Church from a school, and asked a Greek Cypriot living in the neighbouring houses. He told us that the church was built in 1976 after some Greek Cypriots were settled in some of the Turkish houses in the village.

We asked where the school was, he pointed to a building just in front of the church in a high area surrounded by trees. We started climbing upwards, towards the broken gate surrounded by wires. The garden was neglected and everywhere was covered in overgrown weeds. We found the school, 20 metre ahead. An old Greek Cypriot man and a woman were sitting in front of it. We greeted each other and heard that the Greek Cypriot family who settled in to the school was refugees from Karpaz. Despite there being no garden, the Greek Cypriot family had kept the building, which they used as a house in good condition



CEMETERY HAS DISAPPEARED

Old Greek Cypriots pointed to an area that was full of trees to the left of the village entrance as being the cemetery. When we went there, we saw that there was nothing there to indicate that it was a cemetery. All the graves were razed to the ground and acacia trees were planted their place. Our attention was drawn to a tomb stone amongst the overgrown weeds and trees. Despite the risk of being bitten by a poisonous insect or snake we entered the cemetery which was covered with weeds and thorns. We could hardly move and saw some broken tomb stones among the weeds. Sometimes we found ourselves inside the collapsed graves. Under such bad conditions, we took our photos and left Altýncýk.



KALKANLI (Arodez)

After we left Altýncýk, we started driving towards the North. We turned east towards Poli, which is one of the biggest villages and passed through Strumbi, Kathiga and Upper Arodez and then arrived at Kalkanlý (Arodez), which was solely a Turkish Cypriot village before 1974. Kalkanlý, is a lovely village, with plenty of fruit trees, carob, almonds and olive trees. Some of the houses that had been left by the Turkish Cypriots were well-preserved because Greek Cypriots had settled there after 1974. Other houses, which had been left to their own fate, were being used as stables and coops. Although not to the same extent, as in other villages, there were also some demolished houses in Kalkanlý.



CLAY OVENS

When we entered the village we saw clay ovens. There were 8 clay ovens next to one another. Out of all the villages that we visited this was the first village where we saw 8 clay ovens next to one another. We imagined the traditional wedding ceremonies of the past. Perhaps, the former habitants of the village used to fill the ovens with the meats of the animals that they had slaughtered in cooperation. These ovens were an indication of the close friendship and degree of solidarity that existed among the Turkish Cypriot people during those years when there was scarcity and poverty. These clay ovens, which served the inhabitants of Kalkanlý for years, were now left to their own fate. The condition of these ovens, which are a reflection of the hospitality of the Turkish Cypriot people’s culture, has upset us all.



THE MOSQUE

We continued to move through the village. We found the mosque, which was built in the beginning of the 20th Century. The green coloured windows and doors of the mosque were closed. We couldn’t enter the mosque, so we continued on moving and after approximately 100 km we saw the primary school in Kalkanlý. The doors of the school had all been pulled out. The school garden was covered in overgrown weeds and thorns . We entered the school which had arches and its roof had been destroyed and burnt. The doors and windows were all broken and even the marble floor tiles had been ripped out. What remained of the building was just its frame.



RED ROSES

In Kalkanlý, village the last place we visited was the cemetery. The cemetery, where there were many cypress trees, seemed to have been recently fenced off. We entered the cemetery. All the graves were broken and destroyed except for two tombstones, which somehow had managed to survive. There were dead snakes in some of the graves, many of which had been razed to the ground. Then we saw that two red roses which had been left by Turkish Cypriot visitors who had visited the cemetery following the opening of the gates. From this it was obvious that, these Turkish Cypriot people couldn’t find their relative’s grave and had left the roses in the place where they thought the grave might be. Stones were also put on the stems of the roses to show that, if other people came and visited the cemetery they would notice that there was a grave there and wouldn’t step over it. We also saw trees which had fallen down in the cemetery. One of the trees, which seemed to have fallen on the graves a long time ago, was still there because the cemetery had never been cleaned. We left Kalkanlý with these observations in Kalkanlý.



ÇAKIRLAR (Tera)

We started driving towards Çakýrlar (Tera); another Paphos village, after we completed our observations in Kalkanlý. Çakýrlar, which was solely a Turkish Cypriot village, is 30 km North of Paphos. We saw a beautiful village in the green valley. The village possesses the same features just like all the other villages in Paphos. Vineyards, almond trees, walnut trees and many other fruit trees.. Most of the houses were stone made and were in harmony. We took photos of the village standing on one of the peaks and then moved towards the village. We saw some houses that were being inhabited by Greek Cypriots and some which were not being used as was the case in all the other villages. The houses that were being used were in good condition. However, we couldn’t see any people in the houses because all the doors and windows were closed. It was clear that, the Greek Cypriot inhabitants had been using the houses as summer residences. We saw that recently some houses had started to be restored. Houses which were not being used were demolished, just like the ones in the other villages. They were messy and extremely dirty. Some of the houses were left to their own fate and others had been destroyed. Then, we found a mosque that was built on a beautiful part of the village. The building appeared to be in good condition, but the inside of the building and its garden were in a very bad condition. The pulpit and the part built for women were partly demolished.



THE SCHOOL FULL OF PIGEONS

We continued our journey in the village. We saw a primary school. Although from the outside this building looked alright, the inside of the school and its garden were a mess. The garden was full of weeds and bushes. The inside of the building was badly damaged. Its doors, windows and roof were all destroyed. This place was also occupied by pigeons. Dead pigeons were scattered everywhere and the place was filthy.



FOUNTAINS

We left the school and saw a brook flowing through the centre of the village. After we crossed the bridge, in the southern part of the village we saw a row of fountains, which date back to 1904. The fountains, which had 5 taps and 3 arches on top looked extremely wonderful. These rows of taps, which used to get their water from the springs coming down the Trodos mountains, are now dry. The walls were covered in weeds and thorns due to neglect. The same problem also existed in the inside walls of the arches. Taking photographs of this beautiful work, which has resisted against time, we proceeded on our journey.



CEMETERY IS NO LONGER THERE...

While we were continuing with our work we asked a middle-aged Greek Cypriot where the cemetery was. He directed us towards a place at the village’s exit, but said that there was nothing left there. Later, we went to the place he told us to go to and just as he had told us we couldn’t find anything resembling a cemetery in Çakýrlar.



TURKISH VILLAGES IN SOUTH CYPRUS
CEMETERY IN ALANÝÇÝ RECENTLY CLEANED WITH BULLDOZER
THERE WAS NOTHING, APART FROM BROKEN STONES IN THE CEMETERY
HATRED AND ANIMOSITY TOWARDS TURKISH CYPRIOTS THAT IS ENJECTED BY GREEK CYPRIOT EDUCATION SYSTEM ARE CLEARLY REFLECTED ON WRITINGS ON SCHOOL WALLS.
THE STATE OF TURKISH AND GREEK CYPRIOT CEMETERIES WHICH ARE NEXT TO ONE OTHER IN ÇAMLIBEL IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF CONTRADICTION.
Lefkoþa, 7 August 03 (T.A.K. Hasan Karaokçu)

We were in the village of Alaniçi, which is 12 km from Larnaca and which, before 1974, used to be one of the biggest Turkish Cypriot villages in the region. As was the case in all the other Turkish Cypriot villages, efforts were made to wipe out all traces of Turkish Cypriot existence in the village, especially in the cemetery.

The crescent and star engraved on the old stone made houses could not be erased. Recently published articles about the state of Turkish Cypriot villages in the South must have been effective because some of the cemeteries have started to be cleaned up. However, on the pretext of cleaning the weeds, bulldozers razed all the graves to the ground and the cemetery was turned into an empty field. This is what we saw at the village cemetery in Alaniçi.

Turkish and Greek Cypriot cemeteries located next to each other at Çamlýbel, sets a good example of contradictions. While the Greek Cypriot cemetery is carefully looked after, the Turkish Cypriot cemetery has been neglected and is in an extremely bad condition. The Turkish school has now been turned into a Greek Cypriot school and we also see concrete examples of feelings of hatred and animosity that still exist today and are being injected into school children by the Greek Cypriot Education system. As was the case everywhere, words, such as, "I will not forget" were written on the school walls.



ALANÝÇÝ (Klavya)

Alaniçi village is 12 km west of Larnaca and used to be one of the biggest Turkish Cypriot villages.

As soon as we entered the village we found the Turkish Cypriot cemetery. We stopped our car and entered the cemetery. As soon as we stepped inside the cemetery, which had a big eucalyptus tree in the centre, it was obvious that the cemetery had recently been cleaned. The weeds, thorns and trees were so overgrown and big that efforts had been made to try and clean the cemetery with dozers. The result of these efforts was that many graves had been destroyed and razed to the ground. Although we searched a lot we couldn’t find a single tombstone with a name written on it. Amongst all the cemeteries that we visited this one was the worst.



GRIVAS’ PHOTOGRAPH

In the village most of the houses were in good condition because Greek Cypriots were living in them. When we came to the village square we saw that the building, which used to be a club, was still being used for the same purpose. EOKA Leader Grivas’ photograph was hanging on the wall. When we turned to our right we saw the place of the Atatürk bust. As was the case in all of the other villages, there was nothing in the place of the Atatürk bust. Although the area, where there used to be the Atatürk bust, had recently been painted following the opening of the borders, the overgrown weeds and thorns had not been cleaned at all.



MUKTHAR’S HOUSE

We looked for someone to ask for directions to the school and mosque. However, because the weather was hot we couldn’t find anyone. A car stopped near us and the man who came out of the car told us that he was the mukhtar of the village. His name was Nikos Hambi. We told him our purpose and offering us a cup of coffee he told us that he could help us. While chatting with him we learnt that he was from Kumyalý and that after the opening of the borders he found the opportunity to visit his house there. He said his house was in very good condition and that the Turkish Cypriot people who was living in the house had built extra rooms and improved the appearance of the house. The Greek Cypriot man also expressed his pleasure at becoming friends with the family living in his former house.

According to information we received from Nikos Hambi, Turkish Cypriots living in the village before 1974 were rich people and generally had beautiful big houses. He added that after 1974, Greek Cypriots were settled into large parts of the village and that the remaining houses were all demolished.



HOUSES WITH CRESCENT AND STAR

We came across some old houses, which were in good condition with stone made crescent and stars above their front doors.

The building, which used to be a coffee shop, was no longer being used and appeared to be in very bad condition. When we found the mosque, which was a building made out of yellow stone and had been turned into mosque from an old Byzantine church, it was in very good condition. Its garden was surrounded with wires and roses and flowers had been planted. The door and windows were closed.



SCHOOL

The Turkish school is now being used by Greek Cypriot students and is in very good condition. When we entered the garden, we saw that on the wall it was written, "I don’t forget" in capital letters. While looking around we saw a photograph of 4-5 Greek Cypriot woman looking at a divided Cyprus map drawn on the wall and where it was written, "we are waiting to see the rise of the freedom light."



TURKISH CYPRIOT VILLAGES IN SOUTH CYPRUS(2)
REMAINING HOUSES IN ESENDAÐ NOT DESTROYED BUT USED AS STABLES
WHAT REMAINS FROM THE THREE MARTYRS VILLAGE IS RUINS...
NO TRACE OF ITS CEMETERY
Lefkoþa, 6 August, 2003 (TAK – Hasan Karaokçu)
We were going to the Turkish Cypriot village of Esendað, which is in the Larnaca region within the borders of South Cyprus and which is still very much alive in our memories.

Those who want to go to this village, where Turkish Cypriots once lived, do not come across any signs after turning into the village from the main road to indicate the existence of such a village. While Turkish houses in Turkish villages were all completely wiped out, on the assumption that the Turkish Cypriot villages didn’t exist, the village’s existence was also tried to be erased from the maps.

Just like the houses in the Three Martyrs village, the cemetery, mosque and school no longer exist. Since the start of free crossings between the two sides on 23 April 2003, Turkish cemeteries in some villages have started to be fenced off. Despite finding the remains of the Esendað cemetery, which was recently fenced off, there was no trace of the Three Martyrs cemetery. The situation in the mixed village of Vuda is quite different from the solely Turkish Cypriot villages. Because Greek Cypriots are also living in Vuda, it has been preserved. The mosque in Vuda is still standing, but the colour of the door and window is not green as the colour of the Islamic religion, but was blue reflecting the Greek Cypriot national colour. Those claiming to preserve the culture are in fact, imposing their own beliefs by even altering colours.

Here is our journey to the villages of Esendað, Three Martyrs’ and Vuda.



ESENDAÐ (Petrofan)

We are heading towards Esendað, which was solely a Turkish Cypriot village before 1974 and is 24 km north of Larnaca. We entered the road going to Limya off the Lefkoþa-Larnaca main road. There was no sign post for Esendað. We proceeded according to our map. The sign posts only showed the Greek Cypriot village of Athineu. It was as if Esendað was a lost village. As we proceeded towards Athineu we noticed a gravel road on the right. We spotted Esendað approximately 1.5 km ahead towards the south. We proceeded through the gravel road. When we looked from the distance, we could see that Esendað was located on one of the highest peaks of the region. We thought that the village got its name probably because of the fact that it is cool on this peak. Houses in the village were generally made out of dried brick. However, from a distance the village had a nice appearance.

We found the cemetery, which was nearly 300 km from the village. It was clear that the surrounding of the cemetery had recently been fenced off. We entered the cemetery and from its appearance it was evident that it had been neglected for many years. Most of the graves were covered with snails. Some of the graves were also destroyed here. Tombstones in other places were either pulled out or falling over as a result of efforts to crush and demolish them. Some of the graves had been razed to the ground.

NIMAL FAECES

Leaving the cemetery, we headed towards Esendað. There was a potent smell of animal faeces in the village, where once the clean air was flowing. This was because, the majority of the houses in Esendað had been destroyed and those not destroyed had been turned into stables. The houses, where people once used to live, were now full of sheep and goats and their faeces.

The outside of the mosque and school building, that was located in the middle of the village, had recently been fenced off. The doors and windows had been painted and were firmly shut.

We wondered for what purpose it served to keep the mosque in good condition, especially when the whole village had already been vandalized and destroyed. We were very disturbed because of the hot weather and potent smell and could hardly move.

There was no electricity nor water. We also saw snakes and prayed that the roofs of the houses which we had entered to take photographs would not fall down on us. All the doors and windows of the houses were destroyed. Those remaining houses had became animal shelters. Everywhere was covered in pigeon feaces. We left Esendað with these observations.

VUDA (KALLOHORYO)
We were in Vuda (Kalohoryo), which is 10 kms from Larnaca and which used to be inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots before 1974. All the Turkish houses, which Greek Cypriots had not settled into, were neglected.


GREEN TURNED INTO BLUE
First, we visited the village mosque with the minaret. The mosque and the minaret were built by Gazi Hasan and Hamit Efendi, two wealthy men from Vuda and Larnaca. On top of the minaret was the date 1923 which signified the date when the mosque was built, there was a crescent and star made out of stone and writings in old Turkish. The colour of the door and windows were not green or brown, the colours of the Islamic religion, but blue reflecting the Greek Cypriot national colour.



PRIMARY SCHOOL HOME FOR PIGEONS AND THEIR FEACES
We headed towards the Turkish primary school, which was in very bad state. Although the building was standing, its doors, windows and roof were all destroyed. The school, which was once a place where children were educated, is now occupied by pigeons. Dead pigeons were scattered everywhere and the place was filthy. There were big trees inside the school which had destroyed the floor. The only thing that had remained were the names written on the school’s yellow stones by the then school children. Suleyman Cevdet’s name was the one which was the most legible. Taking photos of the school, which had been left to its fate, we proceeded on our journey.

When we reached the cemetery, we saw that, as was the case in the parimary school, the school was also neglected. Although the surrounding of the cemetery had recently been fenced off, some graves were lost amongst the overgrown weeds and thorns. Generally, all the tombstones were broken and graves had collapsed. We left Vuda with these observations.



TURKISH VILLAGES IN SOUTH CYPRUS
MARTYRS VILLAGES OF TASKENT AND ALAMINYO
WE SAW BULLDOZERS WHICH HAD PULLED DOWN TURKISH HOUSES
CIVISIL VILLAGE STILL “WAITING FOR GREECE”
TURKISH HOUSES DESTROYED IN AKHISAR
Lefkosa, 8 August 03 (TAK-Hasan Karaokçu)

Every step of our journey to villages in South Cyprus was exciting, but in each village that we visited we were disappointed. However, we had very different feelings while visiting the martyrs village of Taþkent and Alaminyo, where all the men had been massacred. Taþkent was one of the first villages where its Turkish Cypriot inhabitans started the migration, as a whole, after all the men in the village were massacred by Greek Cypriots.

Mothers, sisters and wives who migrated to the north with tearful eyes patiently waited for their men and hoped that one day they might return. However, in a short time they learnt and accepted the truth that they would never be returning and lived with their pain.

After 29 years, today, the Turkish Cypriot people, who used to live in Taþkent, are still looking for their relatives, who were massacred, and for traces of their memories.

In Ötüken, which is another former Turkish Cypriot village, all the houses were turned into animal stables. Bulldozers which were cleaning the last remains of the Turkish houses in the village, where 20 Turkish Cypriot people had been massacred, made us all sad. In Akhisar, behind the restored traditional Cypriot houses, tourism’s most precious feature , efforts were made to hide the Turkish houses which the Greek Cypriots had destroyed.

Following are our observations in Taþkent, Ötüken, Civisil and Alaminyo:



TAÞKENT (DOHNI)
Taþkent is located 35 km west of Larnaca. Taþkent is the village where in 1974 on the first day of the second peace operation, 89 Turkish Cypriot men were massacred.

Taþkent, which is located on top of a valley, is one of the most beautiful villages we have seen in the region. There, houses were generally made out of stone. After taking some photos, we headed for the village centre. After chatting to some Greek Cypriots that we met on our way, we found the village school, mosque and cemetery. The Greek Cypriots, after showing us several demolished houses at the entrance of the village, pointed to the houses in the north of the valley as being an area that once used to be heavily populated with Turkish Cypriots. There, we were also confronted with the same realities that we saw in all the other villages.

All the Turkish houses were either demolished, razed to the ground, or left to its own fate. Some of the houses were being used as straw houses or animal shelters. We saw a house of historical value, which had its roof, doors and windows pulled out. Above the front door there was an epigraph in old Turkish. Although we also saw some other historical works that were under restoration, this historical house had not yet been restored. We thought it was the duty of all individuals to protect and preserve historical works. We left the area hoping that this historical building would too be restored in the near future.

After going east of the village we found the village mosque. The outside of the mosque, its door and windows had recently been painted. We couldn’t find out who had the key, therefore we couldn’t go inside.

Taþkent primary school was being used as warehouse. The rooms were full of metal shelves, carton boxes and various other things. It was obvious that the school had been given to a trader. The Atatürk bust, that used to be in the school garden, had disappeared altogether and the place where it once stood had also been destroyed.

In the village cemetery the weeds had been cleaned. Compared with other cemeteries in other villages, in this cemetery fewer tombsones had been destroyed. In this village, different tombstones were used for dead men and women. The surroundings of the village had been turned into a garbage area. We left Taþkent with these observations.



ÖTÜKEN (MONNOYA)
We were in the village of Ötüken (Monnoya), which is 18.5 km from Larnaca and which used to be only inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. Ötüken is a small and lovely village. The school and mosque were next to each other. The school is still being used as a school and some children were playing in the garden. On a marble stone at the school’s entrance it was written: “Be proud of the past 1923, trust the future 1973”. According to history books the Ötüken mosque and school were built in 1973. Houses where Greek Cypriots had been settled into after 1974 were all well preserved and in good condition. All the other houses, however, had been demolished and any remaining were being used as stables. The cemetery surroundings were fenced off and all the weeds had been cleaned. Tombstones were broken and as a result of neglect some graves had been razed to the ground. We left this small village with these observations.



ALAMINYO
After living Ötüken and following the roads on the map we reached Alaminyo, which is 24 km west of Larnaca and once used to be the most productive village of the region. Alaminyo used to be inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots before 1974. In 1974, during the Greek Cypriot massacres when innocent Turkish Cypriot people were killed, 20 people died. Among those people killed by the Greek Cypriots in a booby trap, was a father and his two sons, other 15 innocent Turkish Cypriot people, were collected from their homes and put before a firing squad.

In the village square there is a statue of EOKA member Tazarus Georgiu carrying a Thomson make gun who was killed in 1964.

Most of the Turkish Cypriot houses in the village, which used to be inhabited by both Turkish and Greek Cypriots before 1974, were demolished. We saw a bulldozer knocking down some of the remaining Turkish Cypriot houses.

Situated on a high peak we found the village school. Everywhere was surrounded by overgrown weeds. The doors and windows were closed and locked. There was a wide empty area infront of it. This place had also been cleaned with bulldozers. We don’t know if, once, there used to be something there or not. We found the village mosque just next to the school in the north. The mosque looked to be in good condition and had recently been painted. Then, we saw the graves of four martrys. All the graves had been demolished and destroyed. We went to the coffeeshop, which was just opposite the graves. While talking with four or five old Greek Cypriot people who were sitting there, we learnt that the graves were the graves of Turkish Cypriots who had been killed in 1964 by a Greek Cypriot bomb. It was strange that this street where there were graves and a mosque was named after EOKA Leader George Grivas. Some Turkish streets were also renamed with the names of some EOKA members.

In the village cemetery, which had recently been fenced off, we couldn’t find any grave. There were weeds and thorn everywhere and it was impossible to find any grave or tombstone. We left Alaminyo with these observations.



TURKISH CYPRIOT VILLAGES OF GEÇITKALE AND BOÐAZIÇI
AREA TURNING POINT IN CYPRUS HISTORY BECAUSE OF EVENTS THEY’VE EXPERIENCED
Lefkoþa, 9 August 2003 (TAK, Hasan Karaokçu)

Every Turkish Cypriot village has a place in Cyprus history, but the villages of Geçitkale and Boðaziçi, are different. What makes these villages different are the (Greek Cypriot) attacks they were subjected to and the martyrs who died as a result of the struggle carried out by their inhabitants.

Following attacks on the people of Geçitkale and Boðaziçi, the chain of events in these two villages put a land mark in Cyprus history after Greek and Greek Cypriot units, under the leadership of Grivas, were forced to withdraw in the face of Turkey’s determined stance when she used her right to exercise her guarantor rights.

Immediately after the 1967 attacks and as a result of the struggle that these two villages put up and Turkey’s determined stance to exercise the use of her guarantor rights, which were vested to her under international agreements, Greece was forced to withdraw her soldiers that were stationed in Cyprus.

Czech-make weapons that were purchased by the Greek Cypriots were handed over to the U.N and Turkish Cypriot university students, who had participated in defending their country and were forced to live in a narrow area in Erenköy, were finally able to return to their universities in Turkey.

After 1974, the Martyrdom, where many of the martyrs named Mehmedemin, Hasan, Bayram, Mustafa and Remzi who were also renowned for their legends in our villages lay, was one of the most vandalized places. Within the framework of our visits to Turkish Cypriot villages in the South, when we entered Geçitkale, which used to be the biggest Turkish Cypriot village in the Larnaca distinct and is 24 km from Larnaca and 35 km from Lefkoþa, historical memories came to mind.



CEMETERY AND MARTYRDOM
We stopped off at the cemetery first, because it was on our way. One part of the cemetery’s iron gates had been pulled out.

We started to proceed through the cemetery, which was quite large. The graves had all been vandalized and destroyed. Many tombstones were haphazardly thrown on the floor.

Due to neglect, most of the graves were covered in overgrown weeds, thorns and trees and the cemetery walls in Geçitkale had started to collapse. When we proceeded towards the end of the cemetery we saw the martyrdom, which was just next to it.

The condition of the martyrdom, which was made for the 24 people who had lost their lives during the struggle against Greek Cypriot attacks on their village in 1967, was terrible. The fighter amblem on the entrance to the martyrdom was full of bullet holes. The glassed section showing the photographs of all the martyrs had been broken and the photographs had all been taken out and ripped up.

The stone marble engraved with the words of Mehmet Akif Ersoy at the entrance of the martyrdom had been pulled out and was broken.

Even the tombstones bearing the names of all the martyrs had been destroyed to the same extent. One of the best examples of Turkish animosity was clearly displayed at the Geçitkale martyrdom.



HOSPITAL BURNT DOWN
Leaving the Geçitkale martyrdom we proceeded within the village, and found the building, which was once a hospital. After taking a photograph of the outside we went inside. The hospital, which had once been used, together with all its equipment had been completely burnt and left as it was. In other words, the hospital had not been cleaned up after the fire, it had been left to its own fate. On the walls were written, “My Macedonia”.



GEÇITKALE MOSQUE
We set off for the Geçitkale mosque. It was built in the 1900’s and compared to some of the other mosques in other areas this mosque, which had a nice minaret, was in a much better condition. The mosque’s door was also locked.



HOUSES-ROADS
Apart from the houses in which Greek Cypriots had been settled into, the majority of houses in Geçitkale had all been demolished. Houses that were being used as depots and animal shelters were not few in number. Here, among the ruins and animal faeces and despite the various dangers that we were faced with we still managed to take our photos.

In Geçitkale, there was a cinema called ‘KENT’, which was being used as a depot, whereas the summer cinema, which was a little bit further on, had been left to its own fate.

In this area we came across the “Þehit Cemal Mani Street”, but, somehow, this street name had not been pulled out and thrown away.



GREEK CYPRIOT POLICE’S INTERVENTION
We were approaching one of the village’s widest streets. There was a petrol station, shops, a police station and a fire station. While the BRT crew were filming here, the Greek Cypriot police intervened. Despite there being no warning signs forbidding the taking of photographs, alleging that we took photographs of the police station, the BRT crew were told by Greek Cypriot police to go to the police station.

Because I was a little bit further from the group I only became aware of what was happening at the last minute. I managed to take a photo of the BRT crew being taken to the Greek Cypriot police station. I entered the police station after them. The officer there insisted on seeing the photos that we’d taken. He questioned us on why we went to the village. My friends from BRT told the Greek Cypriot police officer that they only took photos of the area in general and that the police station and fire station were included within this overall photo. They also explained that there were no signs forbidding them from taking photographs. The Greek Cypriot police officer didn’t want to understand what he was being told. After rewinding the film of photographs that we had taken, we showed them to the Greek Cypriot police. Seeing with his own eyes that there were no special shots of either the police station or the fire station, the Greek Cypriot police still continued to create problems. Saying: “It may not be a problem for you, but it’s a problem for me”, he wanted us to delete our shots. Unwillingly, the BRT crew deleted the shots. After once more examining the camera, Greek Cypriot police let us go. After taking an overall photo of Geçitkale we left.



BOÐAZIÇI (AYTOTORO)
The village of Boðaziçi (Aytotoro), is 30 km west of Larnaca and before 1974 used to be one of the mixed villages. Village is surrounded by greenery. The village, which is in a valley, has seen some changes. Citrus, olive and other fruit trees, make up the green area that surrounds the village. To take a general photo of the village we got out of our car. A Greek Cypriot farmer in a tractor, who was on his way to his garden, stopped next to us. After greeting one another we chatted for a while. Showing us the citrus garden in the valley he said: “This garden is Cemil’s. I’m looking after it”. He told us that he was a refugee from the North, and he didn’t look as if he was complaining too much about his current life. The Greek Cypriot saying: “We too want an agreement to be reached”, continued on his way.



FROM A PLACE OF EDUCATION TO A PLACE FOR ANIMALS
Entering the road, as directed to us by the Greek Cypriot man who told us that he wanted an agreement, we found the Turkish Cypriot school. It is extremely difficult to express with words the state that the school was in. It was vandalized, destroyed and in ruins. Once a place for education, it had now been turned into a place for animals.

In other words, the school had been used as an animal stable for years. If you were to clean up the classroom you’d had found tonnes of animal faeces inside. All the classrooms were, more or less, in the same condition. Pigeon faeces and dead pigeons that were scattered everywhere was also another problem. Pigeons occupied the broken and demolished roofs.

We were faced with the same scenery at the school’s arched entrance.

Fig and other trees, which were not planted by the inhabitants, but had grown by themselves, as well as the widely spreading thorns were starting to present a danger to the remaining stone building behind the school. The walls were full of several indecent pictures and writing. In the southern part of the school’s garden we saw the place where the Atatürk bust should have been. The bust had been removed from the cement floor and the area around the Atatürk bust had suffered extensive damage. Everywhere was full of overgrown weeds and thorns, which had not been cleaned for years. We approached what we first thought was a mosque but, later realized was the building of the old Turkish school. On top of the door there was an epigraph written in old Turkish. We entered the building, the door and windows of which had already started to collapse due to many years of neglect. Perhaps it had been used as a depot by someone. It resembled a rubbish site more than anything else.



TURKISH CYPRIOT HOUSES WERE DEMOLISHED
We continued to proceed within the village. Apart from a few houses, in which people were living, most of the Turkish Cypriot houses in Boðaziçi were demolished or on the verge of collapsing because of neglect. Again, putting our lives in danger, we went inside these collapsed houses and took our photos. It was a very painful sight indeed. The outside door and window of the Boðaziçi mosque had been newly painted, but was locked. Afterwards we went to the cemetery. The state of the cemetery was no different from the state of the Turkish Cypriot houses, school and mosque. The name plates and edges of the stone tombstones had all been intentionally broken and through years of neglect most of the graves had collapsed and their stones had been pulled out and were thrown about everywhere.

Following these observations at the cemetery, we completed our work at Boðaziçi and left.



VILLAGES IN LIMASSOL
YALOVA IS ALIVE... THERE ARE GREEK CYPRIOTS WHO’VE SETTLED INTO THE TURKISH CYPRIOT HOUSES
AGRICULTURAL LANDS BELONGING TO TURKISH CYPRIOTS BEING USED.
MOSQUE’S FURNITURE ALL BROKEN, NO HOSPITABILITY IN KANDU COFFEE SHOP, WHICH WAS ONCE RENOWNED FOR ITS HOSPITALLITY.
BUILDINGS BUILT ON RICH TURKISH LANDS IN BINATLI
Lefkoþa, 2003 (Tak, Hasan Karaokçu)
The villages of Yalova (Piskobu), Binatlý (Polemidya) and Çanakkale (Kandu) in Limassol were also included in our visits to research villages in South Cyprus, which Turkish Cypriots were forced to leave.



During our visits of villages in Limassol we were accompanied by a well known figure in the TRNC, former minister Özel Tahsin. Our first stop was to Yalova (Piskobu), which used to be a mixed village before 1974.

We arrived at Yalova, 14 km west of Limassol, and set off for the areas where Turkish Cypriots once used to live to take some photos.



GREEK CYPRIOTS SETTLED INTO MAJORITY OF TURKISH CYPRIOT HOUSES IN YALOVA
Although many Greek Cypriots had been settled into the majority of the Turkish Cypriot houses in Yalova, which covers a fairly wide area, we also came across same Turkish Cypriot houses which had been burnt.

There were also same houses which had been left to their own fate and some which were being used straw houses and depots.

In the southern part of Yalova, which is near to the sea, we saw thousands of donums of wet agricultural land that belonged to the Evkaf Administration. As a result of the development of South Cyprus’ tourism potential, it was not only these lands which had become extremely valuable, but the value of other Turkish Cypriot properties in Yalova had also become extremely valuable. The Yalova cinema was still open. In addition to showing old nostalgic cowboy films, there were also posters of the new films that were being screened.



MOSQUE
We came to the Yalova mosque, which had a minaret. The door of the mosque, where there were two big columns with a staircase on each side of the entrance, was locked. It was not possible to enter the mosque through here.

We walked round the mosque. When we came to the garden at the back, we saw a Turkish bath that had became a part of the mosque. We went inside through the window of the Turkish bath. Although, from the outside the Turkish bath looked to be in good condition the inside was very dirty and neglected.

Inside of the Turkish bath we found an entrance leading to the mosque. Including the mosque’s pulpit, everything inside was broken and randomly scattered about. It must have been turned into a mosque from a church because there were frescos on the inside walls. Following this area, which resembled a long corridor, was the main door and from here we went into the main section of the mosque, which previously we couldn’t enter because it was closed. This section was also extremely dirty and neglected and had basically been left to its own fate. From the empty drink bottles that were thrown about everywhere, it was obvious that the place had been used as a stop over by people on a night out. After seeing these dreadful sights, we now understood why the door and windows of the Yalova mosque were firmly closed.



REFUGEE HOUSES
We continued to move along in Yalova. Greek Cypriots were living in the refugee houses that had been built for the Turkish Cypriots who had migrated there from villages in Limassol during the attacks of 1963.



SCHOOL IN RUINS
We saw many destroyed houses during our journey in Yalova. We found the school on our way inside the village. The school, with extra buildings added, had been used for a while after 1974 and then obviously had been left to its own fate. The desks and chairs in the classrooms were all broken and many notebooks and books were scattered around. We saw many photographs of EOKA members and besides these photos were many anti-Turkish brochures on the floor.
We left the school and our guide, Özel Tahsin, took us to the Cooperative Central Bank and Carob Factory, that was set up by the Autonom Turkish Cypriot Administration after 1963, with the aim of increasing the value of the goods produced by Turkish Cypriots living in the region. Now, the carob factory was being used as a barley depot.

The factory was very neglected, all the windows in the front offices were broken. Parts of the machines used for processing the carobs were thrown outside.

After we completed our observations there, we went to the cemetery. Hasan Kahya ,a wealthy man at that time, had had the cemetery built and the cemetery was named after him. Despite being recently cleaned, we could still see years of neglect. The thorns and trees (sabýr aðaçlarý) in the cemetery had fallen over most of the graves and destroyed them. We saw many broken tombstones there. We took photos and completed our work in Yalova.



ÇANAKKALE (KANDU)
After Yalova, we went to Çanakkale, which is located 36 km northwest of Limassol and was a mixed village before 1974. Çanakkale village situated on the skirts of the Trodos Mountains, was surrounded with vineyards and orchards. In other words, it is a village surrounded by green fields. The Atatürk bust at the entrance of the village was removed. Instead of the Atatürk bust, now, there are the flags of Greece and South Cyprus. In the area where youths once used to have sports activities, a church has been built. Some of the Turkish Cypriot houses in Çanakkale were demolished. A parking area was built in the place of these houses. We also saw some houses which had been left to their own fate. The houses, where Greek Cypriots had settled, were all well-preserved.



HOSPITALITY HAS DISAPPEARED
We went to the Çanakkale coffee shop, which was once famous for its hospitality, but we did not receive a very warm welcome. Elderly Greek Cypriots sitting at the coffee shop were hostile towards us. We had our coffees and continued our work.



ÇANAKKALE MOSQUE
We went to the Çanakkale Mosque. From the outside, the Mosque, with a minaret, looked to be in good condition. Its door was locked. We managed to take some photos through the broken window with the iron railings. Although the mosque was in a much better condition than the mosques in other regions, the inside was neglected. We finished our observations at the Çanakkale Mosque, which was built by Mr. Münür, the then, director of the Turkish Cypriot Evkaf.



CINEMA USED AS CARPENTER’S WORKSHOP
We found the cinema in the Çanakkale village. The cinema, which was a very important social activity for the Turkish Cypriots before 1974, had been turned into a carpenter’s workshop.



RICH TURKISH CYPRIOT TERRITORY
We moved towards the outside of the village. A main road passed over the rich Turkish Cypriot properties. Vineyards had also been set up over some of these Turkish Cypriot properties.

The last place we visited was the cemetery in Çanakkale village. The Çanakkale cemetery, which was located on top of the brook flowing down from the Trodos mountains, had almost disappeared as a result of years long neglect. The weeds, thorns and lemur type trees were so overgrown that it was very difficult to recognize that there was a cemetery there. We had to take the risk of being scratched by weeds and thorns in order to reach the graves. In such an environment we took some photos of the cemetery and continued our journey to the other Turkish Cypriot villages.



BINATLI (POLEMITYA)
We went to Binatlý, another village of Limassol. Binatlý village, is located 6 km northwest of Limassol and is divided into two parts, upper and lower Binatlý. We first went to upper Binatlý, which was solely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots before 1974.

There, many houses were built over the properties of the Turkish Cypriots. However, there were still some Greek Cypriots who has settled in Turkish Cypriot houses. We found some Turkish Cypriot houses, which were left to their own fate, but the destruction in Binatlý was not as bad as it was in the other villages. What happened in Binatlý was, that Turkish Cypriot properties had been occupied and houses and villas had been built over these properties by Greek Cypriots.

Limassol General Hospital was also built over Turkish Cypriot property. Some Greek Cypriots who had built houses over Turkish Cypriot property, were uncomfortable about being photographed. They started making phone calls. We continued our work.

We found the cemetery of Upper Binatlý. The cemetery was also a victim of neglect. It was difficult to go inside the cemetery because of the overgrown weeds and thorns. Due to neglect, most of the graves had been razed to the ground, whereas other graves which had been built were all destroyed. We found the primary school in Binatlý, next to the cemetery.

The school building, where Greek Cypriot children are now being educated, was well-preserved and clean. We, then went to Lower Binatlý. In Lower Binatlý, Greek Cypriots who migrated from the North, had settled into most of the houses. There were also many houses which had been destroyed and in their place, new buildings had been built. Lower Binatlý’s winter cinema was turned into a dry cleaners and the open air cinema into a depo.



CINEMA IS A MARONITE CHURCH
Another cinema in Lower Binatlý was turned into a Maronite Church.

We carried on with our work in the cemetery in Lower Binatlý. In the cemetery, which was surrounded by walls, we were surprised. A large area of the cemetery had been razed to the ground by dozers. The tombstones were thrown aside and some of them were even removed and taken away somewhere else. Although a few graves remained, on the north side of the cemetery, all the tombstones had been destroyed.



NEW GRAVES IN CEMETERY RAZED TO THE GROUND WITH BULLDOZERS
In the section of the cemetery in Lower Binatlý, which had been razed to the ground with dozers, were the graves of Turkish Cypriots and Muslims living in South Cyprus, who had later changed their names.

After the cemetery in Lower Binatlý, we went to the Mosque. From the outside, the Mosque looked fine. In the garden of the Mosque, the fountains were broken. The door of the Mosque was open. The inside of the building was better than those in other regions. It had been neglected but, there was not much destruction.



BINATLI SPORTS CLUB – DRUNK GREEK CYPRIOT
We took some photos of the Binatlý Sports Club and of the Turkish coffeeshop, next to it. A Greek Cypriot man recognized Özel Tahsin, who has been the President of Binatlý Sports Club for many years, and invited us to have coffee. After we completed our work we went inside the Binatlý Sports Club and had our coffee. While we were drinking our coffee, a Greek Cypriot man, who was drinking beer, approached us. It was obvious that he was drunk. In a loud voice, he asked us what had happened to his lands he left in the village of Akçay in the North. The other Greek Cypriots sitting in the coffee shop intervened. After shouting and moaning for a little while, he left our table. After we finished our coffee we left Binatlý.



REMAINING TURKISH CYPRIOT VILLAGES IN THE SOUTH
HOUSES IN BEÞIKTEPE DEMOLISHED WITH BULLDOZERS, PRIMARY SCHOOL TURNED INTO SHELTER FOR GOATS.
NO GRAVES IN THE CEMETERY TATLICA IS A “GHOST VILLAGE”
FEW REMAINING HOUSES IN TABANLI USED BY PIG GREEDER
YAKACIK IS IN RUINS
Lefkoþa, 12 August 2003 (TAK, Hasan Karaokçu)
Once upon a time, Malatya (Meladya), Beþiktepe (Melandra), Tatlýca (Zaharga), Tabanlý (Istinco) and Yakacýk were beautiful Turkish Cypriot villages. They were Turkish Cypriot villages which portrayed all the beautiful features of a Turkish village and its people, and a perfect example of a place where human values and sharing was experienced.

Their common feature was that all these villages were surrounded by almon

[zan]

No Zan you do not live on 3 per cent. You have your land over the whole of Cyprus same as everyone else and still live in the north, but not on GC property.

The offer by the Archibishop was not an exchange, TCs give their land in the south to get land in the north. It was an offer to finance housing for TCs in the north on public land.

I am not a religious person, and have strong objections to priests getting involved in politics. But this offer was made in good faith by a non political priest. It is a naive offer because it does not take the realities of the sitation into account but you cannot fault him for that.

maybe you are right and he does not know what he is ding but why not just give the GCs public land in the south and have done with it??

[Nikitas]

"maybe you are right and he does not know what he is ding but why not just give the GCs public land in the south and have done with it??"

Zan,

There you put your finger on an aspect of the problem not touched by others but one that bothers me. I am not attached to all parts of Cyprus equally. I grew up in Famagusta and know the district more than any other. Paphos to me is as foreign as the district of Patras in Greece. I want to return to Famagusta. Being free in one's country means being free to move about, choose where to live and work, and having one's patrimony untouched. Violating this right was the crime of the GCs in 1963. Repeating it in reverse 30 years later does not put things right.

The challenge is how to merge this right with the need of the TCs to feel secure. IT is for this reason that the archbishop's offer intrigued me. He did say if the TCs want to remain in the north they can. As I understood it they will retain ownership of their properties in the south, and the Church would finnce rehousing them in the north on public and perhaps on church land.

Christofias being a politician was more realistic in his proposal. He said that it is possible with some territorial readjustment to retain the TCs in the north in such way that even if all GC displaced persons chose to return the TCs would still be the majority by far.

It is a strange and typically Cypriot turn of events that the church and the communists would be more or less on the same lines of thinking!

[zan]

"maybe you are right and he does not know what he is ding but why not just give the GCs public land in the south and have done with it??"

Zan,

There you put your finger on an aspect of the problem not touched by others but one that bothers me. I am not attached to all parts of Cyprus equally. I grew up in Famagusta and know the district more than any other. Paphos to me is as foreign as the district of Patras in Greece. I want to return to Famagusta. Being free in one's country means being free to move about, choose where to live and work, and having one's patrimony untouched. Violating this right was the crime of the GCs in 1963. Repeating it in reverse 30 years later does not put things right.

The challenge is how to merge this right with the need of the TCs to feel secure. IT is for this reason that the archbishop's offer intrigued me. He did say if the TCs want to remain in the north they can. As I understood it they will retain ownership of their properties in the south, and the Church would finnce rehousing them in the north on public and perhaps on church land.

Christofias being a politician was more realistic in his proposal. He said that it is possible with some territorial readjustment to retain the TCs in the north in such way that even if all GC displaced persons chose to return the TCs would still be the majority by far.

It is a strange and typically Cypriot turn of events that the church and the communists would be more or less on the same lines of thinking!

Which, I believe, has been what VP has been saying all along....If I understand you right? But if you are saying that this be done under the "RoC" then I have missed something.

[Nikitas]

Zan,

I have been following the presidential campaign from a distance, mostly through the interviews of the candidates on RIKsat.

Christofias was adamant on his position even when pressed by hostile joiurnalists. He also visited the party headquarters of the Republican party in the north, presumably to talk about this. He always refers to Soyer as Ferdi and gives the impression of being on very good terms with him and with Talat. The conclusion is that th eproperty issue and the territorial issue have been discussed and some general agreement reached between the two parties.

There will be more interviews on RIKsat and I am curious to see how Christofias develops his ideas.