Cyprus-Forum.com

[Tim Drayton]

Iceman,

What would cause the TC population of Akanthou, which according to my info was a fairly wealthy place, to leave? Presumably if it was a TC village in 1878 the emigration of TC happened during British colonial times when there were no communal clashes. Same question arises with other places you mention as being TC inhabited.

One answer may be that when Cyprus was declared a British crown colony, Turkish Cypriots were given the option of either becoming British citizens or becoming Turkish citizens and emigrating to Turkey. At the time, Turkey encouraged Turkish Cypriots to do the latter and even sent a consul to the island to expedite the process. Apparently 8,000 Turkish Cypriots took up Turkish nationality at this time, so this may explain the sudden exodus of Turkish Cypriots from certain villages during British colonial rule.

[Tim Drayton]

Not being Cypriot and having no axe to grind against either side of the green line i have visited areas of the occupied north to look for myself at the countryside and villages that were once mixed communities.
I want to know why such disgraceful behaviour on the part of the occupiers took place??
I refer to the destruction and desecration of Christian churches and even worse in my mind, the destruction and vandalism of Christian Graveyards.
What were you afraid of? the dead can harm no one. They represent no threat yet you have destroyed graves and vandalised them - for what?
Used them as goat pens....these are the actions of Barbarians.
You want tourism, but mainly from christian countries i suspect, and this is how you treat the dead?

I also note that in the South the Mosques there i have visited are in good order and some have even been renovated.
Is this the way your God tells you to respect others? Eternal Shame on you.

I think that Turkey wishes to perpetuate the myth that Cyprus has always been divided into a Turkish north and a Greek south, and in order to perpetuate this myth requires to remove all evidence that contradicts this. I think Turkey is succeeding in creating this impression. Speak to many foreigners who have a casual acquaintance with Cyprus and you will find that they believe that the island has always been divided along ethnic lines as it is now, and that the north has always been populated by Turks.

Tim
You are fairly new to Cyprus so naturally you wouldn't know..This "removing the evidence of other communities past" has been practiced by GC's long time ago..
Up until the end of 19th century there used to be only moslem villages occupied by ancestors of TC's in Cyprus.Each and every one of these villages had a small or a large mosque and a cemetary...Where are they now?
Captain H.H Kitchener's Triconometric map of Cyprus dated 1882 is an excellent evidence for the above claim.

Iceman, I take the point you are making - and some time ago I made a post on this forum describing my disgust at the wanton destruction I witnessed when I visited the old Turkish Cypriot cemetry in Polemidia - but does this in any way justify what is happening nowadays in the north?

[YFred]

Not being Cypriot and having no axe to grind against either side of the green line i have visited areas of the occupied north to look for myself at the countryside and villages that were once mixed communities.
I want to know why such disgraceful behaviour on the part of the occupiers took place??
I refer to the destruction and desecration of Christian churches and even worse in my mind, the destruction and vandalism of Christian Graveyards.
What were you afraid of? the dead can harm no one. They represent no threat yet you have destroyed graves and vandalised them - for what?
Used them as goat pens....these are the actions of Barbarians.
You want tourism, but mainly from christian countries i suspect, and this is how you treat the dead?

I also note that in the South the Mosques there i have visited are in good order and some have even been renovated.
Is this the way your God tells you to respect others? Eternal Shame on you.

I think that Turkey wishes to perpetuate the myth that Cyprus has always been divided into a Turkish north and a Greek south, and in order to perpetuate this myth requires to remove all evidence that contradicts this. I think Turkey is succeeding in creating this impression. Speak to many foreigners who have a casual acquaintance with Cyprus and you will find that they believe that the island has always been divided along ethnic lines as it is now, and that the north has always been populated by Turks.

Tim
You are fairly new to Cyprus so naturally you wouldn't know..This "removing the evidence of other communities past" has been practiced by GC's long time ago..
Up until the end of 19th century there used to be only moslem villages occupied by ancestors of TC's in Cyprus.Each and every one of these villages had a small or a large mosque and a cemetary...Where are they now?
Captain H.H Kitchener's Triconometric map of Cyprus dated 1882 is an excellent evidence for the above claim.

Iceman, I take the point you are making - and some time ago I made a post on this forum describing my disgust at the wanton destruction I witnessed when I visited the old Turkish Cypriot cemetry in Polemidia - but does this in any way justify what is happening nowadays in the north?

Tim, its not a matter of justification. What is being pointed out here is that its been going on since 1963 and both sides are guilty as each other. When the GCs and the grekofiles attempt to take the higher ground on this, knowing what we know, just trying to put the record straight.

[Tim Drayton]

Not being Cypriot and having no axe to grind against either side of the green line i have visited areas of the occupied north to look for myself at the countryside and villages that were once mixed communities.
I want to know why such disgraceful behaviour on the part of the occupiers took place??
I refer to the destruction and desecration of Christian churches and even worse in my mind, the destruction and vandalism of Christian Graveyards.
What were you afraid of? the dead can harm no one. They represent no threat yet you have destroyed graves and vandalised them - for what?
Used them as goat pens....these are the actions of Barbarians.
You want tourism, but mainly from christian countries i suspect, and this is how you treat the dead?

I also note that in the South the Mosques there i have visited are in good order and some have even been renovated.
Is this the way your God tells you to respect others? Eternal Shame on you.

I think that Turkey wishes to perpetuate the myth that Cyprus has always been divided into a Turkish north and a Greek south, and in order to perpetuate this myth requires to remove all evidence that contradicts this. I think Turkey is succeeding in creating this impression. Speak to many foreigners who have a casual acquaintance with Cyprus and you will find that they believe that the island has always been divided along ethnic lines as it is now, and that the north has always been populated by Turks.

Tim
You are fairly new to Cyprus so naturally you wouldn't know..This "removing the evidence of other communities past" has been practiced by GC's long time ago..
Up until the end of 19th century there used to be only moslem villages occupied by ancestors of TC's in Cyprus.Each and every one of these villages had a small or a large mosque and a cemetary...Where are they now?
Captain H.H Kitchener's Triconometric map of Cyprus dated 1882 is an excellent evidence for the above claim.

Iceman, I take the point you are making - and some time ago I made a post on this forum describing my disgust at the wanton destruction I witnessed when I visited the old Turkish Cypriot cemetry in Polemidia - but does this in any way justify what is happening nowadays in the north?

Tim, its not a matter of justification. What is being pointed out here is that its been going on since 1963 and both sides are guilty as each other. When the GCs and the grekofiles attempt to take the higher ground on this, knowing what we know, just trying to put the record straight.

I am not accusing either of the two sides here, re gumbare, but rather Turkey - which holds the real reins of power in the north - of pursuing a conscious policy of gradually removing all traces of Greek Cypriot heritage in the north with a view to creating the impression that this part of Cyprus has always been ethnically Turkish so as to further its long term expansionist ambitions. In my experience, decent Turkish Cypriots view this kind of destruction with disquiet, if not disgust. I am simply trying to address the question posed by the originator of this thread, and suggest that he look to Turkey rather than the Turkish Cypriot community for the explanation.

[iceman]

Not being Cypriot and having no axe to grind against either side of the green line i have visited areas of the occupied north to look for myself at the countryside and villages that were once mixed communities.
I want to know why such disgraceful behaviour on the part of the occupiers took place??
I refer to the destruction and desecration of Christian churches and even worse in my mind, the destruction and vandalism of Christian Graveyards.
What were you afraid of? the dead can harm no one. They represent no threat yet you have destroyed graves and vandalised them - for what?
Used them as goat pens....these are the actions of Barbarians.
You want tourism, but mainly from christian countries i suspect, and this is how you treat the dead?

I also note that in the South the Mosques there i have visited are in good order and some have even been renovated.
Is this the way your God tells you to respect others? Eternal Shame on you.

I think that Turkey wishes to perpetuate the myth that Cyprus has always been divided into a Turkish north and a Greek south, and in order to perpetuate this myth requires to remove all evidence that contradicts this. I think Turkey is succeeding in creating this impression. Speak to many foreigners who have a casual acquaintance with Cyprus and you will find that they believe that the island has always been divided along ethnic lines as it is now, and that the north has always been populated by Turks.

Tim
You are fairly new to Cyprus so naturally you wouldn't know..This "removing the evidence of other communities past" has been practiced by GC's long time ago..
Up until the end of 19th century there used to be only moslem villages occupied by ancestors of TC's in Cyprus.Each and every one of these villages had a small or a large mosque and a cemetary...Where are they now?
Captain H.H Kitchener's Triconometric map of Cyprus dated 1882 is an excellent evidence for the above claim.

Iceman, I take the point you are making - and some time ago I made a post on this forum describing my disgust at the wanton destruction I witnessed when I visited the old Turkish Cypriot cemetry in Polemidia - but does this in any way justify what is happening nowadays in the north?

No Tim,it does not justify in any way...I am totally against this destruction, at ANY part of Cyprus..

[bill cobbett]

@ Iceman

Iceman, you posted a bit of the Kitchener map earlier. I've googled for a large scale version of it without any great success. Have you got a link for it mate please. I have a personal interest in a coastal village about 15 miles east of Kyrenia.

[iceman]

@ Iceman

Iceman, you posted a bit of the Kitchener map earlier. I've googled for a large scale version of it without any great success. Have you got a link for it mate please. I have a personal interest in a coastal village about 15 miles east of Kyrenia.

As far as i know there isn't a large scale online version...
I can upload the section you have interest if you be more precise..do you have the name of the village?

[denizaksulu]

Iceman,

What would cause the TC population of Akanthou, which according to my info was a fairly wealthy place, to leave? Presumably if it was a TC village in 1878 the emigration of TC happened during British colonial times when there were no communal clashes. Same question arises with other places you mention as being TC inhabited.

One answer may be that when Cyprus was declared a British crown colony, Turkish Cypriots were given the option of either becoming British citizens or becoming Turkish citizens and emigrating to Turkey. At the time, Turkey encouraged Turkish Cypriots to do the latter and even sent a consul to the island to expedite the process. Apparently 8,000 Turkish Cypriots took up Turkish nationality at this time, so this may explain the sudden exodus of Turkish Cypriots from certain villages during British colonial rule.

There is also evidence that Turkish Cypriots have fought along with their fellow Ottoman soldiers during the fist WW. This might also account for a drop in numbers. Some were imprisoned in Famagusta by the British, and a TC delegation was seeking their release. (they also ended up in prison for treason against the British).

[bill cobbett]

@ Iceman

Iceman, you posted a bit of the Kitchener map earlier. I've googled for a large scale version of it without any great success. Have you got a link for it mate please. I have a personal interest in a coastal village about 15 miles east of Kyrenia.

As far as i know there isn't a large scale online version...
I can upload the section you have interest if you be more precise..do you have the name of the village?

Hi again Ice,

It's the old man's village which is about 10-15 miles east of Kyrenia. I think it is referred to on the map by an old name Ay Gurush, aka Agios Amvrosios and latterly called Esentepe.

It's the name Ay Gurush which caught my attention cos it's very similar to the colloquial name the villagers sometimes use, even to this day.

[Lit]

Two thousand and five hundred stolen antiquities from Cyprus are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul

Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (31.07.09) reports that 2.500 antiquities which have been stolen from Cyprus are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul. The paper notes that these antiquities are only a part of the stolen antiquities by Luigi Palma Di Cesnola, American councilor in Cyprus during the last years of the Ottoman rule on the island.

The paper publishes statements by the former editor-in-chief of the illegal TAK news agency, Mustafa Gursel who said that the antiquities are exhibited on the second floor of the museum. The paper notes that the antiquities should be returned to Cyprus.
(I/Ts.)