Cyprus-Forum.com

[samarkeolog]

I'm currently trying to write a conference paper on "treatment of cultural heritage in Cyprus, 1963-1974". One thing distracting me is treatment of cultural heritage between 1958 and 1963. It seems that all organised nationalist attacks were false flag operations - extremists' attacks upon their own symbolic sites, which they blamed on their enemies to frighten their own community and force it to accept their own extremism. There were also somewhat spontaneous nationalist attacks caused by the extremists' false flag operations and open anti-left-wing attacks by nationalists (but against their own community).

If you're interested, here's the post on false flag operations between 1958 and 1963.

Does anyone know what exactly happened to AKEL's Limassol District Committee Office and when? I read something by Ezekias Papaioannou that mentioned it was "blown up" by "fascists" (presumably EOKA), but it didn't say anything more about what happened, or even when it did.

Cheers.

[samarkeolog]

I can't write much at the moment - I'm really far behind with my work - but I thought I should correct myself and add some information. There were not only false flag operations and misled locals' angry riots. There were planned campaigns by EOKA and TMT.

Of course, in the summer of 1958, hundreds of Greek Cypriot families were expelled from their homes in Omorphita/Küçük Kaymaklı, as hundreds of Turkish Cypriot families fled from their villages/neighbourhoods. There had been 1,123 Greek Cypriots in Omorphita (I don't know if any stayed.) When they left, Turkish Cypriots took their homes.

It's a bit difficult to say how many Turkish Cypriots left their homes during the same period of intercommunal violence - it could be anywhere between 1,000 and 2,500 or more from probably 22 villages (but possibly 44). But Keith Kyle said that '[m]any Turkish [Cypriot] villages were burned'.

[Get Real!]

What exactly do you mean by "cultural heritage"?

[samarkeolog]

What exactly do you mean by "cultural heritage"?

Well, there are the places that are most commonly thought of as cultural heritage (πολιτιστικη κληρονομια/kültürel miras), like churches and mosques, castles and temples and archaeological sites; but there are also villages, like Fikardou, which the Republic of Cyprus has declared an ancient monument, and which it has asked UNESCO to declare a World Heritage Site. Some of the abandoned villages may not have been as picturesque as Fikardou; some of them may not have been as old. I'm not suggesting that every village was a national monument. But they were sites of cultural heritage.

They were historic and preserved and enabled Cypriot community life. That's why the Republic of Cyprus talks about the change of the character of Akanthou in one of its books on the destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied areas (even though none of the homes or churches was destroyed). So when villages were damaged or destroyed, it was the destruction of the cultural heritage of Cyprus.

[samarkeolog]

What exactly do you mean by "cultural heritage"?

Well, there are the places that are most commonly thought of as cultural heritage (πολιτιστικη κληρονομια/kültürel miras), like churches and mosques, castles and temples and archaeological sites; but there are also villages, like Fikardou, which the Republic of Cyprus has declared an ancient monument, and which it has asked UNESCO to declare a World Heritage Site. Some of the abandoned villages may not have been as picturesque as Fikardou; some of them may not have been as old. I'm not suggesting that every village was a national monument. But they were sites of cultural heritage.

They were historic and preserved and enabled Cypriot community life. That's why the Republic of Cyprus talks about the change of the character of Akanthou in one of its books on the destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied areas (even though none of the homes or churches was destroyed). So when villages were damaged or destroyed, it was the destruction of the cultural heritage of Cyprus.

Like so many places, Akanthou's cemetery was desecrated.

[Get Real!]

But not all villages qualify as “cultural heritage”, in fact most don’t and those that don’t fall under “infrastructure” or something.

I don’t know but there’s just something weird about your approach… perhaps it’s the fact that you’ve called everything “cultural heritage”…

If lost/destroyed cultural heritage is what you’re really after you’ll find that the many looted and destroyed churches, museums, and ancient ruins, in the occupied territory is where you should be mostly looking.

[samarkeolog]

But not all villages qualify as “cultural heritage”, in fact most don’t and those that don’t fall under “infrastructure” or something.

I don’t know but there’s just something weird about your approach… perhaps it’s the fact that you’ve called everything “cultural heritage”…

Perhaps, but I'm only using the term the way your government uses it. The Republic of Cyprus talks about Akanthou because 'Turks from Anatolia have settled there' (Flagellum Dei: 46). It shows a photograph of damage to '[a] house at Ayios Amvrosios, after the Turkish peace operation' (FD: 43). It repeats others' discussion of 'forced expulsion' from villages (FD: 51). It shows a photograph of '[g]raphiti [sic - graffiti] and broken windows, at the school of Karmi village' (FD: 63).

All of these things and more have nothing to do with churches, museums or ancient ruins, but they're in a book about 'the destruction of the cultural heritage in the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus'. The name of the book is very clever, but quite unscrupulous. Because it's only about the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus, it can completely ignore the mosques damaged or destroyed in the free areas. Indeed, because it's only about the Turkish occupation, it can even ignore the mosques in that part that were damaged or destroyed before the beginning of the occupation.

It is absurd that the Republic of Cyprus has applied for World Heritage Site status for Fikardou but not for Hala Sultan Tekke. That again shows that the RoC often thinks more politically than culturally.

If lost/destroyed cultural heritage is what you’re really after you’ll find that the many looted and destroyed churches, museums, and ancient ruins, in the occupied territory is where you should be mostly looking.

Will you please stop going on about your belief that I should be looking at the destruction of Greek Cypriot cultural heritage instead of Cypriot cultural heritage.

First, I repeat that I am trying to work chronologically, so I am writing about the stuff that happened before 1974 before the stuff that happened after 1974. I will write about what happened after 1974.

Second, I've done as much fieldwork as I was allowed to do, in the north as well as the south. I have already looked in the occupied areas. I had to leave the north early because I was looking at the looted and destroyed churches, museums and ancient ruins there. I have already mentioned some of the things that have happened there, and I will discuss them even more later.

Third, because I was looking at the antiquities trade slightly separately from the other destruction, I have already discussed the antiquities trade through the occupied areas (but again, I will discuss it more later).

I've been north and south and I've seen destroyed churches and destroyed mosques, destroyed Greek Cypriot homes and destroyed Turkish Cypriot homes, and I will talk about all of them. Your state and academics and political groups allied to it can write propaganda. I shall write the truth.

[samarkeolog]

And even if the places were not cultural heritage before, when they are damaged or destroyed, they become cultural heritage. They are the material record of Cypriot history, like the painted churches of the Troodos are, like archaeological sites are. Indeed, some of the villages have literally become archaeological sites, so they have definitely become cultural heritage...

[zan]

But not all villages qualify as “cultural heritage”, in fact most don’t and those that don’t fall under “infrastructure” or something.

I don’t know but there’s just something weird about your approach… perhaps it’s the fact that you’ve called everything “cultural heritage”…

If lost/destroyed cultural heritage is what you’re really after you’ll find that the many looted and destroyed churches, museums, and ancient ruins, in the occupied territory is where you should be mostly looking.

Or Matsakis house where he hid al the Looting you did of your own churches and blamed the Turks...Now which church was it that was renovated and al the artifacts appeared back if by magic...

[Bananiot]

Interesting work samarkeolog. I will try to find the exact date the attack at the Limassol District offices of AKEL took place. In the meantime I have spoken to author Costas Sophocleous, ex Secretary General of the Paphos District of AKEL but he could not remember the exact date off hand. However, he told me some interesting stories.

The attack took place after independence and he pointed his finger at the parastate, headed at the time by the leader of the "Organisation" Yiorgadgis and his lackeys (one of them later became President, with the backing of AKEL!).

He also told me of an official visit to Cyprus by a Bulgarian Minister, around 1964, whom he invited to Paphos. During a meeting of the District Secretariat with the Bulgarian Minister in Chloraka, a known member of the "Organisation" whose name begins with a P, through an ignited dynamite stick in the room. Someone managed to kick it away into the yard, just before it exploded.

Such was the state of affairs back then. The nationalists from both sides looked towards enclaving the people in their cause. In this endeavour they utilised all the dirty tricks of the book and targetting members of their own community was quite "normal" at the time.