Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nikitas]

Kifeas you are right. Thelegend deliberately manufactured and disseminated by the Turkish army about secret passages and golden keys is the most telling part of this story. Talk about manufactured glory!

Here is the original post by Observer, regarding the history of the house:

"A bit more information for you:
The Blue House (Mavi Köşk) in Myrtou/Çamlıbel.
Before July 1974, the owner of the property, Byron Pavlides, was a prominent business entrepreneur in the Greek Cypriot community and came from a widely respected family involved in the motor trade with offices in Gazi Mağusa, Lamaca, Paphos and Girne; he was the main agent for General Motors, Vauxhall Motors, Adam Opel, and the British Tyre and Rubber Co Ltd.
Byron Pavlides was responsible for building the Blue House, and also the White House on the road to St Hilarion Castle. He was a man of eccentricities, so in addition to the White House, and a little further up the mountain, he built a folly that resembles a mediaeval lookout tower and can be seen to the right on the crest of the mountain road as the twin peaks on which the castle is built come into view.
A flamboyant man known for his eccentricities, Mr Pavlides built his houses in remote areas to ensure his privacy and was resident in the White House in 1963, when the persecution and oppression of the Turkish Cypriots was renewed after the brief period of calm that followed independence in 1960. The Turkish Cypriots took refuge in the mountains and in so doing took over the White House. It has been in the hands of the Turkish community ever since and is now an officers' mess of the Turkish Army.
Much is made of the building of the Blue House, and the dates given for the construction — as told by the Turkish Army guide, should you visit it — are totally wrong. There is also the fabrication that there are so many secret passages and underground chambers built to hide contraband and smuggled arms that Pavlides had all the building workers and the architect shot upon completion of the task!
Such is the stuff of which fairy stories are constructed, and the history of Cyprus is made up of myths and legends.
Pavlides was far too gentle to ever be a gun runner, no matter what the army guide says.
Completed in 1973, The Blue bathrooms can only lead the visitor to suppose that someone must have been under the influence of one of those psychedelic drugs so popular in the 1970s . . . and please note the inclusion of bidets — very much '70s fashion.
Some of the paintings are 1974 originals and may well have been commissioned for the opening of the house — most of them are tasteful and pleasing but there are obvious exceptions. Attached to a cupboard door on one of the landings is a photograph of Pavlides. It has been rather crassly altered by the addition of what is obviously a fake cigarette in order to make the image look more "gangster-like" and does no credit to whoever disfigured the image. It is best ignored.
The views from the upstairs rooms are over a splendidly uncluttered vista and it is from these that one can appreciate Pavlides's reason for choosing such a wonderfully remote location. What is described as the main bedroom has the supposed "escape hatch" through which Pavlides is said to have got away in 1974 and there is, according to the guide, an 800 metre tunnel leading to . . . no-one knows!
The air-conditioning is highly sophisticated and run by a central system that cooled the whole house, with individual controls in all of the rooms. There was also an enormous boiler to provide hot water. Given the number of bathrooms, they would have needed it. The swimming pool and garden design are beautiful, though the latter is somewhat neglected. There are various viewpoints and a belvedere that has a strange echo if one stands on a certain spot. Several fountains and quiet, secluded, shady places for gazing into space and contemplating nature complete the idyllic setting.
One of my sources told me that he had dinner at the Blue House with Byron Pavlides only a few weeks before July 20, 1974 and a very convivial party was enjoyed by all those present. However the fun would not last long, with once again Pavlides finding himself forced to flee as the Turkish Army took control of his hilltop retreat, In—1974 a Turkish General took up residence in the house and tenure by military personnel continued until relatively recently when the house was vacated and turned into a museum by the Turkish Army.
Any hope that Pavlides may have had that one day he would regain his property must have vanished with the division of the island and, according to my informant, he died disillusioned and broken-hearted.
The Blue House is open to visitors for a small entrance fee, and some form of identification is essential.

[tessintrnc]

Thanks Nikitas!!! Although the property is on military controlled land - it is purely a "museum" now, and no signs of any Officers - Turkish or otherwise. But I am very interested in the above, and I thank you again!!
Tess

[Nikitas]

Pavlides had all the workers shot! I love that line, it says so much about the people who thought it up! Like most fiction it says more about the author than the object of the story. It ties in with the psychological phenomenon known as projection. But we need a whole new thread for that one.

Zan- siesta time is over, get on with it!

[Nikitas]

Question to all the Lefkosiates here,

Is this Pavlides the same one that had the mansion in Nicosia, near the Pantheon, the one with the two Great Dane dogs in the garden? For us kids it was a thrill to creep up to the fence and rile up those giant dogs. Never crossed our minds that they could jump over the fence! Ah the recklessness of youth!

[denizaksulu]

Kifeas you are right. Thelegend deliberately manufactured and disseminated by the Turkish army about secret passages and golden keys is the most telling part of this story. Talk about manufactured glory!

Here is the original post by Observer, regarding the history of the house:

"A bit more information for you:
The Blue House (Mavi Köşk) in Myrtou/Çamlıbel.
Before July 1974, the owner of the property, Byron Pavlides, was a prominent business entrepreneur in the Greek Cypriot community and came from a widely respected family involved in the motor trade with offices in Gazi Mağusa, Lamaca, Paphos and Girne; he was the main agent for General Motors, Vauxhall Motors, Adam Opel, and the British Tyre and Rubber Co Ltd.
Byron Pavlides was responsible for building the Blue House, and also the White House on the road to St Hilarion Castle. He was a man of eccentricities, so in addition to the White House, and a little further up the mountain, he built a folly that resembles a mediaeval lookout tower and can be seen to the right on the crest of the mountain road as the twin peaks on which the castle is built come into view.
A flamboyant man known for his eccentricities, Mr Pavlides built his houses in remote areas to ensure his privacy and was resident in the White House in 1963, when the persecution and oppression of the Turkish Cypriots was renewed after the brief period of calm that followed independence in 1960. The Turkish Cypriots took refuge in the mountains and in so doing took over the White House. It has been in the hands of the Turkish community ever since and is now an officers' mess of the Turkish Army.
Much is made of the building of the Blue House, and the dates given for the construction — as told by the Turkish Army guide, should you visit it — are totally wrong. There is also the fabrication that there are so many secret passages and underground chambers built to hide contraband and smuggled arms that Pavlides had all the building workers and the architect shot upon completion of the task!
Such is the stuff of which fairy stories are constructed, and the history of Cyprus is made up of myths and legends.
Pavlides was far too gentle to ever be a gun runner, no matter what the army guide says.
Completed in 1973, The Blue bathrooms can only lead the visitor to suppose that someone must have been under the influence of one of those psychedelic drugs so popular in the 1970s . . . and please note the inclusion of bidets — very much '70s fashion.
Some of the paintings are 1974 originals and may well have been commissioned for the opening of the house — most of them are tasteful and pleasing but there are obvious exceptions. Attached to a cupboard door on one of the landings is a photograph of Pavlides. It has been rather crassly altered by the addition of what is obviously a fake cigarette in order to make the image look more "gangster-like" and does no credit to whoever disfigured the image. It is best ignored.
The views from the upstairs rooms are over a splendidly uncluttered vista and it is from these that one can appreciate Pavlides's reason for choosing such a wonderfully remote location. What is described as the main bedroom has the supposed "escape hatch" through which Pavlides is said to have got away in 1974 and there is, according to the guide, an 800 metre tunnel leading to . . . no-one knows!
The air-conditioning is highly sophisticated and run by a central system that cooled the whole house, with individual controls in all of the rooms. There was also an enormous boiler to provide hot water. Given the number of bathrooms, they would have needed it. The swimming pool and garden design are beautiful, though the latter is somewhat neglected. There are various viewpoints and a belvedere that has a strange echo if one stands on a certain spot. Several fountains and quiet, secluded, shady places for gazing into space and contemplating nature complete the idyllic setting.
One of my sources told me that he had dinner at the Blue House with Byron Pavlides only a few weeks before July 20, 1974 and a very convivial party was enjoyed by all those present. However the fun would not last long, with once again Pavlides finding himself forced to flee as the Turkish Army took control of his hilltop retreat, In—1974 a Turkish General took up residence in the house and tenure by military personnel continued until relatively recently when the house was vacated and turned into a museum by the Turkish Army.
Any hope that Pavlides may have had that one day he would regain his property must have vanished with the division of the island and, according to my informant, he died disillusioned and broken-hearted.
The Blue House is open to visitors for a small entrance fee, and some form of identification is essential.

All make fascinating reading. All - whether true or false - part and parcel of Cyprus History. Keep them coming.

[Kifeas]

Pavlides had all the workers shot! I love that line, it says so much about the people who thought it up! Like most fiction it says more about the author than the object of the story. It ties in with the psychological phenomenon known as projection. But we need a whole new thread for that one.

Zan- siesta time is over, get on with it!

How can someone be an advocate of makarios, and an Eoka B' guns smuggler at the same time, is beyond me to comprehent. So much on the foolishness of the story makers!

They even associated him and his house with the nearby ancient Greek ruin's site (Pigadhes temple,) containing what is known as the "Altar of consecration" (vomos tou kathagiasmou,) obviously in order to give more thrill to the story and "consolidate" his satanic "associations."

You see, if Makarios had a "satanist" friend, therefore Makarios was also a "satanist!"

[repulsewarrior]

Enjoy your holiday Zan - you won't see this I guess till you're back from Karpas but if you visited Mehmetcik (Galatya I think) then I hope you bought some 'sucuks' - they are fab from there.

Out of interest, are you staying in the Famagusta area ?

what...? even the name Galatya was changed?

RW

If you are going to stick your head in the sand like others then I am disappointed in you. If you want the reality of Cyprus then keep reading this thread if not then don't bother. The street signs are what I see and the names my government have given these places, whether old or new is the reality. Live with it...God knows we have had to live with the reality of you guys holding our right to govern all these years.

zan, are you just looking for a fight?

have a nice vacation, and know that Galatya was my neighbourhhod in Cyprus. Perhaps you will be walking on the bones of my family which are stll missing. Perhaps you will meet the murderer, or murderers who beyond revenge selected them so that they could have the land which was theirs. I am sure that they are most welcoming and hospitable people when they choose to be. Live with what zan? propaganda, like your little outburst. Hateful, and deceitful musings? I thought you understood my pain, but it seems that you are as ignorant as the "Greeks" that uprooted your living, bursting with pride for a flag. I won't bury my head in the sand, and now I believe that you have.

What reality zan? Some eggs, a car ride, how everything is just fine? Yes, everything is fine now that the nasty anything but Turkish has been cleansed from the beautiful views you enjoy, (except for the token few).

"our" government was stolen from all of us, this is the reality.

[denizaksulu]

Enjoy your holiday Zan - you won't see this I guess till you're back from Karpas but if you visited Mehmetcik (Galatya I think) then I hope you bought some 'sucuks' - they are fab from there.

Out of interest, are you staying in the Famagusta area ?

what...? even the name Galatya was changed?

Contrary to Nikitas statement that 'Galatya' (the name) is Turkish, I believe that it is of Greek origin 'Galatea'. Thats why the 'Militant regimes altered that name too. I never use the new name. The old Cypriot names have more substance to them.

[SSBubbles]

Enjoy your holiday Zan - you won't see this I guess till you're back from Karpas but if you visited Mehmetcik (Galatya I think) then I hope you bought some 'sucuks' - they are fab from there.

Out of interest, are you staying in the Famagusta area ?

what...? even the name Galatya was changed?

Contrary to Mikitas statement that 'Galatya' (the name) is Turkish, I believe that it is of Greek origin 'Galatea'. Thats why the 'Militant regimes altered that name too. I never use the new name. The old Cypriot names have more substance to them.

'Galatea' - In Greek mythology, an ivory statue of a maiden brought to life by Aphrodite after its sculptor 'Pygmalion' had fallen in love with it!

[denizaksulu]

Enjoy your holiday Zan - you won't see this I guess till you're back from Karpas but if you visited Mehmetcik (Galatya I think) then I hope you bought some 'sucuks' - they are fab from there.

Out of interest, are you staying in the Famagusta area ?

what...? even the name Galatya was changed?

Contrary to Mikitas statement that 'Galatya' (the name) is Turkish, I believe that it is of Greek origin 'Galatea'. Thats why the 'Militant regimes altered that name too. I never use the new name. The old Cypriot names have more substance to them.

'Galatea' - In Greek mythology, an ivory statue of a maiden brought to life by Aphrodite after its sculptor 'Pygmalion' had fallen in love with it!

I underestimate sometimes. Here we have some Brits who could put some Cypriots to shame with their knowledge of relevant topics and history. You better watchout, soon you will become Cypriots too.