Turkish name of village : SAKARYA
Old name of village : KUKLA
Present name of village in the map: KOUKLIA
Population according to 1960 census:
TURKISH: 419 GREEK CYPRIOT:622
Turkish population in 1968 : 425

Many Turkish houses in the village of Sakarya were destroyed and razed to the ground. In 1974, Greek Cypriots settled in the Turkish houses, which were in very good condition, but today these houses are in ruins since no repairs have been carried out. House belonging to Nazım CEVDET, was demolished. At Turkish house, which was in very good condition and belonged to Hasan MUHARREM before 1974, now, Greek Cypriots are living and it is in very bad condition.

Turkish houses belonging to Osman TOSUN and Ramadan ALİ FUNDO were demolished and turned into a car park. Surrounding houses are also neglected Turkish houses. In the empty field seen at the villages square, before 1974 there used to be houses belonging to Ahmet TÜCCAR and Mehmet Salih EMİN but now they are all razed to the ground.

Within the framework of the visits organized for members of the press by the TRNC Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministry’s Public Information Office to Turkish villages in South Cyprus, on 20 July 2003, a journalist group and a correpondent for the KIBRIS newspaper, visited Kandu (Çanakkale), Civilya (Alsandık) and Malya (Bağlarbaşı) villages in South Cyprus. In the above mentioned Turkish villages, which are attached to Limasol, special investigations were carried out in the former Turkish schools, mosques, cemeteries and houses. During the visits, it was observed that the Turkish school in Kandu (Çanakkale), which is about 15 kilometers west of Limasol and which was totally a Turkish village before 1974, was turned into a Greek Cypriot school, the Turkish cemetery was demolished, and the village’s coffee shop is still running.

Currently, Greek Cypriot refugees from Gazimağusa, Serdarlı and some other villages from the Northern part of the island are living in the village.

Another Turkish village known as Aşağı Civilya (Alsandık) is located 25 kilometers northwest of Limasol. Nobody is living in the village now, where previously 168 Turks used to live before 1974, and all the Turkish houses in the village have been demolished.

In Malya (Bağlarbaşı), where the Turks and Greek Cypriots used to live together before 1974, there are 700 Greek Cypriots living there today and the old Turkish school and mosque are now being used by the Greek Cypriots.

Turkish name of village : YOLÜSTÜ
Old name of village : KOLONİ
Present name of village in the map: KOLONİ
Population according to 1960 census:
TURKS: 101 GREEK CYPRIOTS: 0
Turkish population in 1968 : 157

Many of the Turkish houses in the village of Yolüstü (Koloni) were demolished and razed to the ground. Houses which were in very good condition in 1974, today, are in very bad condition because no repairs have been carried out. Turkish school in Yolüstü village is in extremely bad condition. The cemetery in the village of Yolüstü has been completely destroyed and no longer exists. Turkish houses in the village of Yolüstü are in ruins and are being used as stables. Greek Cypriots who tried to eliminate the Turkish existence in the village, first destroyed and razed to the ground the Turkish cemetery.

Mehmet Güçlü

Under these conditions, it is impossible return to South Cyprus.

It has been 15 days since I visited my village Instinco (Tabanlı) in South Cyprus. I was so badly affected by the ruins I saw there that, I have still not recovered and because I cannot forget this dreadful sight, last night, I dreamt that I was in my village.

In my dream, my late mother, who was buried in the village, was angrily asking me "why don’t you write that these dirty Greek Cypriots are letting their animals graze on the soil that is on us? The Halassa spring which used to flow just beside us, is no longer flowing. Why don’t you write these?". On the other side, my late grandfather Hasan also turned his blue eyes to me and said "Those bad Greek Cypriots have cut my big walnut trees and loaded them on lorries and taken them away. I saw them. They were the grandchildren of Haralambi, who I used to feed . If you don’t ask for your rights, I will not forgive you". After telling me these words, my grandfather left by gloriously riding away on his white horse.

When I woke up with excitement, I realized that it was only 03:00 a.m. I took a bath and wrote this article. It is difficult to explain the raid that was carried out in my village, but I should try to explain because I promised. Hundreds of walnut trees which were grown by our grandfathers or by our generation were all cut and taken away. Now you can’t even find their traces. Of course, the Greek Cypriots benefited from the timbers of the walnut trees, which are quite expensive. They used these timbers both for carving and making furniture. This was a short way for the Greek Cypriots to make a profit.

Whereas, would it have been so bad for them to benefit from the fruits of those trees and for those trees to still be here today? The walnut tree is the king of all trees and can live more than a hundred year. For a walnut tree to be productive it must be at least 20 years old.

The 25 year old walnut trees in our village were cut down, when they were in their most productive stages and about to bear fruit and all the other plum, almond, citrus and olive trees, which generated huge incomes, dried and died from neglect. The Greek Cypriots did all this intentionally, so that the Turks would not want to return to their former places.

While the Greek Cypriots are planning to return to their former places in the north, on the other hand, they are also trying to acquire Turkish Cypriot properties in the south by buying those properties for extremely low prices. It is so sad that our authorities, who as a result of settling property issues though wrong implementations, have prepared the necessary ground for the Greek Cypriots’ ill intentions. In the implementations carried out, Turkish properties in the south were always given very low scores whereas, Greek Cypriot properties in the north were marked much higher. The scores given for the trees left in the south are unbelievably low. People who don’t have a deep love for trees and who don’t know and appreciate their value cannot perform this duty. From my point of view, the value of trees should be much higher than the value of buildings.

A building can be built in three months or even much earlier, but you need years to grow a tree. In order to bear fruit a tree should be carefully looked after for years and the Greek Cypriots, who cut down our trees in their most productive period, did the worst harm to us. Moreover, those poor people who settled the property issue of the Turkish Cypriot people coming from the south through an ignorant system of marking (giving scores) did an even bigger harm.

Despite all these injustices, it is still impossible to return to the south. I believe that going back means losing our just cause. It is in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus that we have our dignity and honor. We might lose our properties but we still have our honor and dignity.

- The state of Turkish villages in South Cyprus is devastating.

- Schools, mosques and cemeteries are in ruins since no repairs have been

carried out.

- Turkish houses in some villages are destroyed and razed to the ground.

- The walls of Greek Cypriot school are covered with words of enmity towards

the Turkish Cypriots.

There are villages over there. They seem close but are very far away... Many years ago, before 1974, these villages were homes for our people, a place to shelter, they gave them food, work, land and water. These are villages, which our people fully embraced and not hesitated to give up their lives for, in order to protect and preserve. People living in those villages paid a very high price just to live there, only because they were Turks... What they only wanted was just to live humanely. They struggled long and hard to gain their basic human right, which was the right to live and they did not deny that the Greek Cypriots had the same rights. However things went wrong. The Turkish people’s rights to live, own property and move were often violated throughout the island. Our people living in the Turkish villages unwillingly left their memories and land and continued their lives in small refugee houses.

The day has came that the Turkish people migrated as a whole for their independence. As it was also approved by the UN, they overcame many difficulties and threats and crossed over the green line and gathered in the Turkish part. After 1974, while migration towards independence was realized under severe conditions and life threatening dangers, it was also realized in accordance with the Population Exchange Agreement.

The Turkish Cypriot people, who willingly joined in the migration towards independence, deep in their hearts felt devoted to the lands where they were born and raised. However, at the same time, they accepted the realities of the situation and acted as the protector of the houses, gardens and trees left behind by the Greek Cypriots in the north, who they saw as the people of the same country with whom they exchanged their properties with. They always believed that the Greek Cypriots would do the same and protect and maintain their former houses and trees.

Elderly people, often told stories to their grandchildren and children about their former houses and the trees from which they used to eat figs, walnuts, grapes and apricots and how they would use the branches to make swings.

These villages, which were full of memories, were never out of their dreams. While experiencing these emotions, they put themselves in the place of the Greek Cypriots, who were the former owners of their present houses, and tried not to cast a shadow over the memories of those people. It is because of this reason that, after 30 years, when the freedom of movement was eased between South Cyprus and the TRNC, following the Turkish side’s initiative, our people gave back to those Greek Cypriots who came to visit them their photographs, jewelers and personal belongings having a sentimental value, which they had saved and kept for all these years.

Mutually shared tears are the most natural show of human feeling.

For our people, who said: "There is a village far away, whether we go or not it is our village", when the doors opened, their former villages which were far away became close. They visited these villages where they could not go before and wanted to see their former houses. They may have believed that, just as they did, someone might have saved and kept their belongings, which was symbolizing their memories and would hand back to them.

"What did they find?... Did they find their memories, belongings, houses or a stone heap replacing their houses?

Moreover, could they reach the cemeteries of their relatives?

In order to find answers to these questions, we set out and visited the Turkish villages left in South Cyprus.

Armed with our maps, we set out to the Turkish villages in South Cyprus. Despite the difficulties we encountered because of the hot weather, we visited our villages one by one. Taking into account the propaganda carried out by RIK television for many years to the effect that "Turkish houses, schools and places of worship in South Cyprus are under protection and Turkish Cypriots can come and settle", we expected to see beautiful and well kept houses, mosques and cemeteries. But, in every village we visited, we saw that the reality was very different.

When we turned into our villages, especially the ones which were formerly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots, from the beautiful roads connecting Nicosia, Larnaca and Paphos to each other, what we were faced with was not a pleasant sight. We were surprised to see that some of the village roads of the Paphos district in South Cyprus, which was accepted as an EU member, were not covered with asphalt. Despite the fact that our vehicle was suitable for driving in rough terrain, it was difficult to reach Dağaşan (Vretça).

Contrary to the Greek Cypriot administration’s propaganda, the Turkish Cypriot properties in the former Turkish villages, which were left to Greek Cypriot control after 1974, were in an extremely bad condition.

In particular, a large part of the schools and holy places of worship such as mosques and cemeteries were destroyed and was in ruins due to neglect. The mosques and schools are now homes for the pigeons and dead pigeons are scattered everywhere. Some walls of the mosques, were full of anti-Turkish slogans. In the big districts or villages attached to these districts, the doors and windows of the mosques were painted, closed and locked just to give the impression that they were well kept, but in fact the inside was in ruins.

It was impossible to find out who had the key for these mosques, because if the door were to be opened, it would be obvious that the inside was in ruins. We have observed and witnessed this in many places that we visited.

Although some schools in the Turkish villages are still used for teaching purposes, some of them have been turned into churches. We saw some Greek Cypriot families living in single classroom schools. There were also lots of demolished schools which were used as stables or warehouses. All Atatürk busts were destroyed and demolished. We also observed that there are some schools which were razed to the ground.

Most of the former Turkish Cypriot houses in South Cyprus were left to their own fate, destroyed, razed to the ground and demolished. Snakes and pigeons now completely occupy these houses. It is very dangerous to approach and enter these houses. A large majority of the houses in the distant villages are used as animal shelters. While roaming around these houses, which are full of animal faeces, we had to hold our breath because of the bad smell and dead pigeons were scattered everywhere... These houses are the ground for all kinds of diseases and it is not possible to understand how a blind eye has been turned to this situation, which is extremely dangerous for human health and the environment.

The state of the cemeteries was not much different. Other than the cemeteries in some of the big districts and villages attached to them, from a humane point of view, the sight of the Turkish cemeteries was dreadful. Most of the cemeteries were destroyed and left to their own fate. It was also possible to be confronted with cemeteries where sheeps and goats roam, where horses were reared and where entrances had been turned into straw houses. We were also confronted with tombstones, which were full of bullet holes and cemeteries full of emty bottles. In one of the villages, we found nothing in the place, which was described to us by a priest as being a cemetery. It was clear that, in time, the cemetery had been demolished, ploughed and turned into arable land. We were also faced with some gipsy families living under inhumane conditions in the former Turkish houses in the distant villages of Paphos, with no electricity or water. They went to South Cyprus, because they could not find their expectations in the north, but they were not pleased and satisfied with their lives in the south either. Naturally, they had good reason to complain a lot about the Greek Cypriot administration.

We also observed Greek Cypriot nationalism and Turkish enmity in some of the villages we visited. The walls of a former Turkish coffee shop, which is now run by a Greek Cypriot were covered with photographs of EOKA Terrorist Organization Leader Grivas and his friends. In another coffee shop, where a calendar published by a fundamental nationalist organization was hung, only the Greek flag was displayed not the flag of the Cyprus Republic. This atmosphere was also reflected in the face of the elderly Greek Cypriot woman who was running the coffee shop. Traces of nationalism could also be seen on the walls of primary schools. Maps drawn on the school walls of a divided Cyprus, it was written: "I don’t forget; Cyprus, Struggle, Freedom, Returning Back; Take the Turks out of our Houses".

In this section of our history, we will talk about the situation of the former Turkish villages in Paphos.

On June 11, we set off for Paphos under the guidance of our guide İbrahim Tezkan, who knows the region very well. Following our days long hard work, we managed to reach Yeşilova (Mondria), Ovalık (Timi), Aydoğan (Stavrogonno), Kukla and Kavaklı (Ayios Georgios).

Our first visit was to Yeşilova (Mandirya) village, which is located 13 km southeast of Paphos. At Yeşilova, which used to be one of the biggest villages before 1974, a large majority of the former Turkish houses are now being used by Greek Cypriots and those which are not being used are demolished.

When we visited the mosque, we saw that the door was closed and locked. The outside surface of the mosque had not been painted for years. Various objects were scattered around. The windows were broken. Pigeons were flying inside. Everywhere was full of pigeon faeces. The pulpit of the mosque was about to break. In order to enter inside, we asked the Greek Cypriot villagers who had the key, but we could not get an answer and were forced to take photographs from the broken window.

When we visited the primary school we learnt that the school was being used by Greek Cypriot students. It was well kept. On the school wall there was a map of a divided Cyprus and in capital letters it was written "WE DON’T FORGET".

The cinema belonging to Cici Buba is now used as a potatoes storehouse and a Greek Cypriot family is living in the entrance.

Lastly, we visited the cemetery. The Turkish cemetery at the village’s exit was very neglected and it was obvious that throughout the years no repairs had been carried out. Historical tombstones with epigraphs remaining from the Ottoman times were just scattered around. The mosaics of some of the tombs were broken and because of neglect many graves were lost amongst the overgrown weeds and thorns.

The grave of Martyr Derviş Ahmet Raşit, who died on 22 July 1974, was in a better situation most probably because it was visited and cleaned by his family. The cemetery’s entrance gate had been destroyed and surrounding walls and wires no longer existed.

We are in the Ovalık village of Paphos, which is 11 kms away and which used to be inhabited by both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots before 1974.

Generally, Ovalık village is well kept and clean. When we look from the outside, the mosque in the village which has a historical value is well kept and restored. The door was locked so we couldn’t see inside.

However, our attention was drawn to one thing. In the southern part of the mosque’s garden there was a small place for Greek Cypriots to vow (pledge to a God or saint). In the place where the vow was, which was made out of stone, oil vows which had been recently lit were continuing to burn. I couldn’t understand the logic of having a Greek Cypriot place of vow in a Turkish mosque. The village’s primary school was next to the mosque and was well kept since it was being used as a nursery.

When we approached the Turkish houses, where today nobody lives we saw that they were all neglected and was in ruins. The furniture inside the houses was destroyed, demolished and scattered around. Most of the Turkish houses were in a similar condition.

The cemetery in the village of Ovalık was also left to its own destiny. There we saw lots of scattered tombstones with epigraphs from the Ottoman period.

We are in Sakarya (Kukla) village, which is 16.5 km east of Paphos and where previously Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots used to live together.

The doors and windows of Sakarya village’s mosque were closed and locked. Weeds and thorns were overgrown in the garden. A large majority of the garden’s surrounding walls no longer existed. Just like the situation in most of the other villages, we could not learn who had the key to the mosque. We learnt that the prefabricated house, opposite the mosque, was used by Turkish fighters as their headquarters before 1974 and that now a Greek Cypriot family was living there.

When we visited the former Turkish houses, the doors and windows of all the houses, which were surrounded with overgrown weeds and thorns, were broken and taken away. Inside the houses, there was no furniture. It was impossible to enter some of the houses, which were being used as animal stables because of the bad smell. We were also confronted with lots of houses which were either completely demolished or about to be demolished.

The Turkish primary school was used as a Greek Cypriot school and was well kept.

The surrounding walls of the Turkish cemetery in the village no longer existed and inside was neglected. Most of the graves were razed to the ground because no repairs had been carried out. We were also faced with traces of Turkish enmity on some of the tombstones.

Photographs that were on the tombstones of brothers Ferzan Musa and Musa M. Çavuş were destroyed by using a hard tool, and it was impossible for us to identify whom the tomb stone with three bullet holes belonged to.

We were in Kavaklı (Ay Yorgi) which is located 20 kilometers east of Paphos, and which used to be only inhabited by Turkish Cypriots before 1974.

As it was the case in other villages, the mosque in the Kavaklı village was also neglected, windows were broken and there were overgrown weeds and thorns everywhere. When we entered inside, we were confronted with a terrifying sight. The mosque’s pulpit and all the furniture was demolished. The wooden stair case leading up to the area where the women worshiped was brutally broken. Some of the houses in the village, had been allocated to the Greek Cypriots.

Because the former Turkish Cypriot primary school had been turned into a Greek Cypriot primary school, it was well kept. In the place, which was described to us as being the village’s cemetery, there was no evidence at all to indicate that it was once a cemetery.

We were 26 kilometers east of Paphos at Aydoğan (Stravrogonno) village, which was only inhabited by Turkish Cypriots before 1974.

This was our guide İbrahim Tezkan’s former village. On entering the village, Tezkan, who is now 72 years old, was very excited. He was like a happy child. When we get out of the car, he immediately set out to find his former house, but he was very disappointed to see that his house too had been razed to the ground. Tezkan who said: “Our house was 40 meter squares, but it is now completely demolished", was further astonished on seeing that the other Turkish houses were also razed to the ground.

When we found the mosque of the village, we could not enter inside because the door was locked. On looking through the broken windows, we didn’t see anything different from what we saw at the places of worship in other areas, namely pigeon nests, faeces and destroyed furniture.

At the village, were confronted with two bells hanging in front of the Aydoğan primary school, and learnt that the school had been turned into a church. The door was closed and it was well kept. The building just next to the school and which used to be a sports club or culture center was in a very bad condition. Doors and windows were broken and all the furniture was vandalized.

We visited the village’s cemetery and saw that it too was neglected. Most of the graves had been demolished or razed to the ground because no repairs had been carried out through many years of neglect.

We were 35 kilometres east of Paphos in a mountainous land called Aktepe (Asproya) village, where a large majority of former houses were Turkish owned. Former Turkish houses which were left by the Turks because of the Greek Cypriot attacks were all now completely demolished and had been turned into a green belt area.

The Turkish mosque at the entrance of the village, which had small minaret, was also locked. From the outside, the building looked as if it had been well kept, whereas in fact windows had not been painted for years and were all broken. It was impossible to see the inside of the mosque. The garden and its surroundings, were also neglected.

Aktepe primary school, which was located just opposite the mosque, was restored and painted and was being used as a house. A large majority of the former Turkish houses were demolished or turned into a green belt area. An old stone house, which was not demolished was in a very bad condition.

When we set out from Aktepe towards the east we reached Soğucak (Mamundali) village. The village was established by a shepherd called Mahmut Ali 350 years ago and was a solely Turkish Cypriot village. In 1964, Turkish Cypriots living in the village were forced to leave the village as a result of the Greek Cypriot attacks.

Prefabricated houses were built for people living in Soğucak village when their houses were completely demolished in the 1953 earthquake. The prefabricated houses, where the Turkish Cypriots used to live until 1963 are now in a very bad condition. Greek Cypriots, who came and built houses on Turkish Cypriot land turned these Turkish houses into ruins by looting the doors and windows. The furniture was destroyed many years ago. The inside of the houses, which is now being used as a straw house or animal shelter, was full of faeces, pigeon nests or snakes. Surroundings were covered with overgrown weeds and thorns and was an environmental hazard full of litter.

Today, in the village of Soğucak, which was once inhabited by Turkish Cypriots, all traces of Turkish existence such as the mosque, school or cemetery have been totally wiped out.

Following our visit to Soğucak we arrived at Dağaşan (Uretçça), which is located 43 kilometers northwest of Paphos and was once solely a Turkish village.

It was not easy to reach Dağaşan because of the dirt roads. Following Koilineia, which was the last Greek Cypriot village we passed by, we were confronted with a graveled road and had to drive very slowly.

There, we were also confronted with a neglected and ruined Turkish village. It was impossible to find single normal house which was not demolished. We wanted to think that houses were demolished in time, because of environmental conditions, however, houses even made from stone were also demolished with bulldozers. The situation in the village was as if it had just come out of a war. We could not even decide which house we should photograph.

The inside of the houses were full of animal faeces. Doors and windows were all broken and looted. As we advanced in the village we were faced with a two storey official building. There were two rooms on the first floor and a big room on the second floor. On the plate hung above the door, it was written "Marriage Registrars Office", and the sign was full of bullet holes. We could hardly read what was written because of the bullet holes. Everywhere was completely covered with overgrown weeds, thorns and litter and we had to struggle to enter the house from the back door. When we entered the room, which was written on it "Marriage Registers Office" it was full of different objects and barrels and our attention was drawn to a cabinet. We thought there might be documents in it belonging to Turks; however we could not find anything. Even, the doors and the marble floor tiles on the second floor were ripped out.

The building was about to fall down and we could easily feel this while we were walking around it.

When we reached the village square, we saw a mosque with a minaret on our right hand side, a building which used to be a sports club on our left hand side and a place where there used to be an Atatürk bust. Contrary to Atatürk busts in other villages, not only the bust had been ripped out, but the floor and concrete ground where the bust was standing had been destroyed and demolished as well. We could not enter into the building which was used as a sports club because the door was closed, but this building was also in an extremely bad condition.

When we approached the mosque, we saw that the minaret was full of bullet holes. The surrounding walls, door and windows had been recently painted. As was the case in every village we could not find who had the key for the mosque. Therefore, we could not enter inside.

When we found the village’s primary school we saw that the door, windows, and roof of the school were all broken. Inside was full of animal faeces. The school, which was once a place for education, is now a shelter for animals.

Later, we met with Sabiha Yenigüç and her family, who came from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the village to see her house. Sabiha Yenigüç was sitting with tearful eyes outside the door of her former house, which too was in ruins. The present condition of the house, where she had spent the best years of her life, had made her very sad. Sabiha Yenigüç complained that the Greek Cypriots destroyed her house and dried up her garden and trees. Her son, Cengiz Topel Yenigüç, who visited the village for the first time after 1974, also expressed his sadness at the present state of the village.

Yenigüç, stressed that, as well as the houses being demolished, the destruction of the school, Atatürk bust and other official places was an inhumane act.

When we advanced to the village cemetery, we were faced with a similar situation which was not different from what we saw in the other villages. All the graves had been destroyed and demolished and most of them were razed to the ground because no repairs had been carried out.

We left Dağaşan with these observations.

At this new series of Articles, we will convey our observations about the former

Turkish villages left in the south and the feelings of the Turkish people, who after 29

years, found the chance to visit their former villages, following the TRNC

government’s decision to open the border gates.

We will also convey the deception of the people, who were forced to migrate from the territories they were born in 29 years ago, and who have now found the opportunity to visit these places following the opening of the gates.

In our articles entitled "Lost Villages", in addition to the feelings and observations of the Turkish Cypriot people, who visited their former villages, we will also show photographs of those villages in order to verify their present condition.

In our first article, we will talk about the Dohni (Taşkent) village of Larnaca and our observations about the state of Turkish properties that were left 29 years ago.

Dohni village, in other words Taşkent with its Turkish name, which is located in between the hills, has the same architectural structure as its name.

At the center of Dohni village, where a large majority of the houses were built from stone, there used to be a small stream. The stream, which was flowing in winter, is now dry.

According to information we received, before 1974, the Turks were living on one side of the stream and Greek Cypriots on the other. We could easily see this from the area’s existing architectural structure. At the entrance of the village, the former Turkish houses on our right hand side were completely demolished and in ruins, whereas on our left hand side we could see the best examples of stone architectural works.

There was some furniture inside the Turkish houses, which were abandoned, and there were overgrown weeds everywhere.

While walking around the village, we remembered the massacre carried out by the Greek Cypriots in 1974. All men who were able to carry guns were killed in the village and that is why the village was also called ‘widowers village’.

On some of the houses, we could easily see traces of the Ottoman existence in Cyprus from the epigraphs on the walls of the houses. The abandoned Turkish houses, which were all in a state of total ruin, were on the verge of collapsing.

Eray Camgöz, who was looking for her former house, her relative’s graves and past memories in the south was shocked with what she saw in her former village of Poli.

We will continue with our visits to South Cyprus with Eray Camgöz’s memories, who used to live in the Poli village of Paphos.

Following the opening of the border gates as the result of the TRNC Council of Ministers decision on 23 April 2003, the two peoples living on the island mutually visited their former villages, houses and relative’s graves. Their aim was to be left with their memories. By remembering those days, they wanted to relive the past with sweet and bitter memories.

Eray Camgöz, explaining that they were forced to leave their houses after Greek Cypriot soldiers told them to: "Get ready and leave your houses, you will go to the Turkish side", said "We thought we would come back so we only took very limited personal belongings with us. We were very afraid. Passing Greek Cypriot soldiers were shouting to us that they were first going to kill the students and then come back and kill us on their return".

Eray Camgöz also said that in the South, they left behind lots of antique furniture, which used to belong to her mother and which was just as valuable as a house, and that she was extremely upset that her mother’s dowry was no longer there. Eray Camgöz, who first settled in the Hürriyet Secondary School, later in 1971 married in Nicosia, and did not have the chance to visit her former village until last month. When she went there to see her former house, she was totally shocked at what she saw.

Camgöz, stressing that Ottoman architecture was prominent in Cyprus, said because of meaningless Greek Cypriot behavior, the island was divided into two parts Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot and the Ottoman architecture was also destroyed and buried into history.

Camgöz pointed out that; "At Poli, they demolished and destroyed everything. They destroyed our cultural heritage, whereas, they could have protected and preserved it for touristic purposes. They ruthlessly, vandalized and destroyed Turkish villages and properties. They covered everything with cement and erased our past". Eray Camgöz and her husband stated that, they were very disappointed and upset from what they saw and could not give any meaning to why the Greek Cypriots did this. Eray Camgöz said: "Today, in many parts of the world there are places closed to traffic, but it seems that Greek Cypriots are not aware of this. The old Poli no longer exists. There is no evidence of Turkish existence in the village. It is as if no Turk ever lived in Poli. I went there to see our former house and to visit my father’s grave. However, there was no evidence of our house or the cemetery. They also demolished the Hürriyet Secondary School and built a military barrack there. My big sister’s house no longer exists. We could not see one Turkish house. There were hundreds of fruit trees around our house, but we could not even find one tree". These were the reasons why the Camgöz family was shocked at what they saw in the village.

Eray Camgöz reminding that her father was the village muhtar and a member of the Cyprus Turkish Communal Chamber said, in December 1963, when the Turks were forcefully thrown out of their houses, the Greek Cypriot Information Office was built in the place of my father’s shop. They demolished all the Turkish villages in order to widen the roads leading to the baths of Afrodite.

During the Ottoman period, Poli was the most important settlement place. It was a place where important people were raised in Turkish history such as; Rüstem Tatar, Oktay Feridun, Hüsnü Feridun and Aydın Sami and villages such as Poli were purposely demolished.

Camgöz also stressed that; "After experiencing all these disappointments, the type of solution that we want is one that will protect and preserve our identity. Greek Cypriots shouldn’t talk about minority rights. We want to live as two separate states under equal conditions. The embargoes should be lifted through mutual concessions. This is the only thing that can save us."

The Aynikola village of Paphos is just one of the former Turkish villages where there was a struggle in 1974.

At the village, where there once used to be vineyards and orchards, there are now only demolished buildings and dried, unkempt orchards.

The houses in the village, where only Turkish Cypriots used to live before 1974, are now left to their own destiny. The mosque’s door was locked so we didn’t have the chance to go inside. However, it was not easy to approach the mosque because of the overgrown weeds everywhere.

At Aynikola (Esentepe) village, where only Turks were living before 1974, the population is now only about 100 people. Villagers who are now living in the village are using some of the houses as animal stables and other houses are in ruins. But, the Turkish houses which are being used by Greek Cypriot villagers are in good condition.

According to information we received from the Turkish people living in the village before 1974, we learnt that there used to be many vineyards in the village and wine was being produced. Nowadays, most of these vineyards are all dried up and very little wine is being produced.

Photographs

Stairs leading to the mosque were covered with overgrown weeds.

State of former Turkish houses which were left in 1974. They are about to collapse.

Abandoned Turkish house in the village.

The General Secretary of the United Cyprus Party, Özker Özgür, stated that he likes his village, Vretça, where he was born and raised very much and would one day like to live there again if it is restored to its former position and opened for settlement.

Memories are like a time tunnel which take people back to the past and whatever the bitter experiences may be, everyone has the desire to enter this tunnel and walk on that thin bridge connecting the past to the present.

The General Secretary of the United Cyprus Party, Özker Özgür, who was born in the village of Vretça, shared with us his memories.

Dağaşan (Vretça) village, just like its name is located in between the mountains and due to its geographical position was difficult to reach.

Before 1974, in the village, which is located on the slope of the Trodos mountains, only 500 Turkish Cypriot people used to live there. Özgür, stating that after 1974, Greek Cypriots who migrated to the South from the North did not prefer to settle there, pointing to the conditions brought about by daily life said: "Greek Cypriots did not settle in our village not because it was a Turkish village, but because it was too far from the center and just as is the case in other Greek Cypriot villages, the young people preferred to migrate to more developed, bigger places where there were work opportunities".

Özker Özgür, who visited his former village, stated that the village was in ruins, nobody was living there, it was deserted and resembled a ghost town.

Özker Özgür, referring to the Greek Cypriot’s propaganda to the world, to the effect that: "We place great importance on religious places and show respect, but the Turks are not like us", stressed that with these realities, the Greek Cypriots have weakened their own policies.

Pointing out that the village was full of his childhood memories Özgür said, the Cyprus problem forced people to leave their territories and houses and neither the policy of partition nor Enosis was of any good. Özgür said: "Before, on the village wall, it was written partition, volkan and we were told either partition or death, whereas now there has been partition and we have died also."

Özgür, pointing out that after 1974 he visited the South in 1990, upon an invitation from an association, drew attention to one point by saying: "In the village, while the school and houses were demolished, because no repairs had been carried out, the mosque was in quite good condition and well kempt, whereas the mosques in big cities were all demolished and in their places car parks were built. There is a contradiction here. Greek Cypriots are behaving politically".

On remembering his childhood memories with tearful eyes, Özgür said: "I was a thin and lean child. Our school was very far and every time I went to school, I used to fall down. I always had a wound on my left knee which never healed. One day, we went to pick mushrooms and I fell down. My father took me to the orthopedic and it was a very painful experience which I will never forget. We were all together, about 40-50 children at the school and had two teachers. In winter, everyone would take some wood from their houses to school to keep warm." Özgür comparing the present condition of Dağaşan with its past condition, pointed out that he was upset and missed the old days.

Özgür said; "I like Dağaşan and in the event of it being restored to its former position and opened for settlement, I would one day like to live again there".

Mirata; "It was 1967... Geçitkale was no longer old Geçitkale, everywhere was destroyed and in ruins. People were irritated and anxious about their future..."

"We should not be pessimistic, let the Greek Cypriots be pessimistic. We saw that Greek Cypriots were different from how they had been portrayed to be and they saw that we were not in deprivation, as they were led to believe".

Erdoğan Mirata, who was born in Geçitkale in 1931, started his words by saying that he left his village as a teenager... Following the opening of the border gates, he went to his village to see his house and remember his memories.

Mirata, explaining that he spent the best years of his childhood in Geçitkale, (Köfünye), expressed his disappointment by saying: "There were no traces of my school, our orchards and olive trees, where we used to sit under its shadow."

Mirata pointing out that their house was on the main road connecting Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia and that because of its location, today, a Greek Cypriot family is living there said: "They did not protect and preserve anything that we left behind, especially the bust built in memory of our martyrs, the primary school the thousand year old, olive trees, orchards, water well, cemetery, or factories producing olive oil, flour, cotton and plastic were all destroyed and in ruins".

Mirata explaining that on 15 December 1967, a bust was built in the village square in memory of the martyrs, said on his visit to the village after 29 years, he was shocked to see that this bust had been demolished and destroyed. He said this was an insult to the Turkish Cypriot people’s past and inhuman.

Erdoğan Mirata pointing out that the Greek Cypriot accompanying him on his visit to his village was ashamed at seeing the destruction made to Turkish history and wanted to take him out of the village, said: "The Greek Cypriot, who guided and accompanied me during my visit to South Cyprus, last week visited his own village in the North and was also shocked at what he saw. The reason he was shocked was that his house was in a much better condition than he had left it and that is why he was ashamed about what they had done to Turkish Cypriot properties left behind in the South.

Following the opening of the border gates everyone saw the realities. Mirata said: "We should not be pessimistic, the Greek Cypriots saw that, we are different from how we were portrayed to be and at the same time we were not living in deprivation, as they were led to believe."

In Cyprus, which is the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean, Turks and Greek Cypriots are living...

Some places were under Greek Cypriot domination and others were under Turkish domination. There were some places where Turks and Greek Cypriots used to live together. As the years passed, Greek Cypriot atrocities increased and innocent people were killed just because they were Turks.

After 29 years, on 23 April 2003, following the TRNC Council of Ministers decision, these people started to visit their former villages, houses and relive their memories.

Hasan Esat Hilmi, who is currently living in Şirinevler, wanted to visit his former village, Falya, (Gökçebel) and remember his childhood memories.

While he was traveling towards Falya with great excitement, he was unaware about what he would find. He only expected to find his village as he had left it. When he arrived at the village with these feelings, he became very upset on seeing the current condition of the village, which was in ruins due to neglect and completely abandoned.

Hasan Esat Hilmi pointing out that the Gökçebel village was inhabited by Turks and had a population of 300 said, villagers used to earn their livelihood from farming and agriculture. Hilmi said he was shocked when he compared the past and present condition of the village. Hilmi, explaining that he could not find words to express his feelings said all the houses were destroyed and demolished. Places where we spent our childhood were all abandoned and turned to animal stables and pigs, horses and bulls were being bred everywhere. Instead of the orchards, which used to go on for kilometers, there were only dried weeds everywhere.

Hilmi explaining his disappointment said, it was not possible to approach the village because of the dirt, rubbish, overgrown weeds and thorns. He said: "The village had been turned into a hell and I wanted to commit suicide when I was confronted with this view."

Another Turkish Cypriot, Türkan Zurnacı, who used to live in Falya before 1974, also wanted to share her feelings with us about the present state of the village.

In 1974, when we had to leave our house and village, I became very upset, because the only place which I could say was mine was my village where I had spent my childhood and had lots of memories. I also have a child and I don’t want her to live the same experiences.

The Greeks came to our door and told us that if we hand over our weapons they would not kill us. I was very frightened and hugged my mother and cried. "I cannot express my feelings with words," said Türkan Zurnacı while crying.

Zurnacı, explaining that she was shocked on seeing the present condition of her village said: “I could imagine that our village was neglected, because no body was living there, but not to this extent. The village was like a ghost town. Greek Cypriots, who are living in the village, when they saw us, shut their windows and doors. We used to have a very beautiful house with wooden doors, furniture and fountains. They took everything. We could not approach the fountains at the entrance of the village because of the overgrown weeds and thorns."

Zurnacı, explaining that while traveling towards her village she remembered all her memories one by one said: “There was a turpentime tree I used to play around, and this was the only thing that remained from my childhood memories. I sat and cried under the tree for hours."

Türkan Zurnacı, pointing out that she wanted a settlement to be found to the process that we are in, said I want to know my future. My father has land there. Last year they offered us one trillion six hundred billion Turkish Liras to sell, but we refused. My problem is not an issue of money I hope to settle there again and cultivate my land.

My biggest desire is to die in the land where I was born."

Photographs of EOKA leaders hung on the walls of a coffee shop in Koççat.

We are in Koççat, which was once the biggest Turkish village in the Lefkoşa district.

A large majority of Turkish houses in Koççat are completely demolished and those remaining were in such bad condition that they were on the verge of collapsing. The houses in which Greek Cypriots settled are in good condition. The door and windows of the mosque near the village square were closed and locked. We were unable to see inside of the mosque because the key was nowhere to be found. In the village square, we saw a Turkish coffee shop with a vine in its garden, which was built in 1937. A big Greek flag was hoisted on the coffee shop.

The old Greek Cypriot woman sitting under the vine is now running the coffee shop and she did not give us a warm welcome. We asked for coffee and she in turn asked the foreign girl working for her to make it. The photographs hanging on the walls inside draw my attention. While my friends were chatting with the Greek Cypriot women, I got my camera and went inside. It was as if inside was not a coffee shop but an EOKA museum. EOKA terrorist organization leader Grivas’ photograph was hanging on the opposite wall. On the other walls, were photographs of other EOKA leaders such as, Markos Dragos and Kriyakos Natsis. Framed photographs of 9 EOKA members, who were hanged during the British period for various murders, were also hanging on the other walls. "Hanged EOKA Fighters" were written under the photographs. Other framed photographs showed various other EOKA members armed with weapons in various different places. Under the photographs it was written: "EOKA Struggle, Between 55-59".

We also spotted a calendar hung on the wall of the coffee shop. This was a calendar of the Filyo Religious Orthodox Organization, which was extremely nationalistic as well as an EOKA organization that was established in 1952. On this calendar, there was a photograph of youths wearing military clothes and carrying Greek flags. Under this photograph was written: "Freedom Needs Passion And Courage".

After taking my photographs, I went outside to drink my coffee before walking around in Koççat. The doors and windows of the Turkish primary school were closed. Some windows were broken and it was obvious that the surroundings had not been cleaned for many years. Desks and chairs once used by the Turkish school children were all broken and thrown behind the school. Just like its surroundings, the school toilets were dirty and unkept. A Greek Cypriot woman, who approached us, told us that ballot boxes were placed in a room of the school during elections and that at other times the school was always closed.

When we came to the cemetery we saw that, there was no door nor walls. The weeds in the cemetery had only been cleaned because it was in a central location in the village. However, most of the graves were razed to the ground and those remaining were demolished. The head stones were all demolished. We even saw one grave which had been opened and dug. We were startled to see that skeleton bones were scattered everywhere. The grave was also used as a rubbish tip and there were even other kinds of litter including empty bottles.

We left Koççat with these observations.

We are now in Matyat, 26 kilometers south of Lefkoşa. As a result of EOKA attacks, Turkish Cypriots living in the mixed village of Matyat were forced to flee their village in 1964.

We first visited the mosque. The surrounding of the mosque was well kept. The garden gate, door and windows of the mosque were all locked. We were only able to see the mosque from outside. An old Greek Cypriot man, on seeing that we were taking photographs, approached us. He told us that he was the village priest and a refugee living in a Turkish house. We asked him to show us the location of the Turkish houses, school and cemetery. He told us that in a wide field opposite his house there used to be Turkish houses but they were all now demolished and in its place new houses had been built by the Greek Cypriots. He directed us to a hill where there was a school and said: "You won’t find a building there. They demolished it all. You will only find the foundations". He also showed us a field in the opposite direction as being the place of the cemetery.

Walking around the dried weeds and thorns, we tried to find the school. Just as the priest told us we finally found the foundation of the school, which was completely demolished.

Later, we headed towards the field where the cemetery used to be. However, here, we saw neither a grave nor a tomb stone.

We are visiting Çayönü (Paramal), which used to be a mixed village and is 30 kilometers west of the Limassol-Baf main road.

At Çayönü, we were shocked at what we saw everywhere. It is impossible to be confronted with this type of devastation anywhere.

We first visited the village mosque. Everywhere, other then the walls of the mosque, was broken, demolished and vandalized. If it is appropriate to say, neither the roof, nor the doors, nor the windows existed. This devastation was not because the mosque was left to its own fate, but because it was done intentionally. Inside the mosque we were faced with a devastating view, everything including the pulpit of the mosque was broken and demolished. We also saw some broken furniture, which had been placed inside the mosque and broken bottles were scattered everywhere. Pigeons and their faeces completely covered the mosque.

Anti-Turkish slogans were also written on the walls.

Secondly, we visited the village school, which was next to the mosque. There, we were confronted with the same picture. The school was in a very bad condition and there were no tables or desks inside the school. The toilets were broken and even the Atatürk bust in the garden was broken. Where ever we looked, we were confronted with a shameful picture. We left the school with these observations and went to the area where the Turkish Cypriots used to live.

There, we couldn’t even find one house that was which were usually made from stone due to the natural environment of the area in good condition. Everywhere was in ruins. We also learned that, from time to time, British soldiers staying at the Agrotur Base carry out military exercises in the region where these houses are. We also saw some sign-posts related to this. Inside the Turkish cemetery, which was shown to us by a Greek Cypriot shepherd, another shepherd’s goats were grazing on the grass. Goats were on top of the graves and some were even sleeping there. The whole area was covered with goats faeces. Most of the graves no longer existed due to neglect, whereas others were on the verge of disappearing amongst the weeds and thorns.

We left Çayönü with these observations and without finding anything in good condition, that once belonged to the Turks.

We are now in Düzkaya (Evdim), 31 kilometers west of Limassol, and which was a mixed village before 1974. Greek Cypriots now live in some of the former Turkish Cypriot houses in Düzkaya. Some Turkish houses were demolished, to be replaced by green fields.

Compared to other places, the inside and outside of the mosque with the minaret, looked to be in good condition.

There were three martyr graves in the mosque’s garden and these graves were partially demolished due to neglect.

We were later taken to the Turkish cemetery by a Greek Cypriot living in the village. When we looked through the open iron door, it was impossible to say that this was a cemetery. It was impossible to see anything other than overgrown weeds, thorns and big trees.

The cemetery room, just left to the iron door, was being used as an animal shelter and straw house. It was difficult to move amongst the overgrown weeds, thorns and trees. Most graves were razed to the ground and demolished. It was also obvious that the remaining graves would soon disappear. Not to be bitten by a poisonous snake or buy we left the cemetery.

Later, we found the Turkish primary school, where a cross was erected on top of the school. The Greek Cypriots had even turned this three roomed primary school into a church. We could not enter inside because the door was closed. Inside was full of various icons, statues and furniture belonging to the Christian religion. Although difficult, we managed to take a couple of photographs through the window. We then proceeded to the Greek Cypriot primary school, which was just next to the Turkish primary school. A Cyprus map, showing the names of the places left behind in the north by the Greek Cypriots in 1974, was hung on the wall of the Greek Cypriot primary school, where Greek Cypriot school children gather every morning. Under the map, it was written: "I don’t forget and I am struggling". On top of the map it was written "Cyprus, Struggle, Freedom, Return".

On another wall at the school’s entrance, there was a picture of small children carrying Greek flags and flowers, and in a speech bubble??? from their mouths was written the words: "Take the Turks out of our houses, I want my missing father back, freedom to our Cyprus".

The Greek Cypriot Administration has prohibited visits to the village of Gossi (Three Martyrs) in South Cyprus. Following the opening of the borders under certain conditions, in accordance with the TRNC Council of Ministers of April 23, the real face of the Greek Cypriots, who at various times have issued statements and reports to the effect that the Turkish villages in the South are ready to receive those Turkish Cypriots who are willing to return, was revealed.

The Greek Cypriots were disturbed that following the opening of the border gates the Turkish Cypriot people would see for themselves that more than 90 per cent of the Turkish villages in the South had been razed to the ground.

The Greek Cypriot Administration has prohibited visits to the Turkish village of Gossi, which is known as the "Three Martyrs" village after three Turkish Cypriots, Özkan Hasan, Yılmaz Hasan and Mehmet Betmezoglu, lost their lives on July 19, 1958 after falling into a Greek Cypriot trap when they went to the village to start the motor pump bringing water to the village.

The Greek Cypriots began to prevent Turkish Cypriot visits to their former homes in the Three Martyrs village.

The former residents of the Three Martyrs village, who want to visit their former village following the new regulation allowing Turkish Cypriot to cross over to South Cyprus in their cars, have been prevented from doing so recently because the Greek Cypriot claim that the village is in a "military zone" and that there is a military camp just 1.5 kms of the village.

The Greek Cypriots, being disturbed from the fact that all Turkish Cypriot houses in the village were razed to the ground, are compelling those Turkish Cypriots who are visiting their former village to leave the village.

Besides the houses, the mosque and the village school were also completely destroyed. The school garden is now being used as a ware house.

The cemetery, which is another place that was destroyed by the Greek Cypriots following the migration of Turkish Cypriots from the village, is now being used as a field. The residents of the Three Martyrs village, who previously had the opportunity to visit the village, could not even find one grave where they could pray or lay flowers.

We are in Çamlıca (Bladanisya), 50 kilometers west of Limasol, which was once a Turkish village.

In the village, houses in which Greek Cypriots settled are in good condition. Compared to other villages there are more empty houses in Çamlıca. These houses, which were left to their own fate, are about to collapse. The Atatürk bust in the village square has disappeared. We went to see one room of the primary school in Çamlıca. In the house, which is located in the garden of the school, two old Greek Cypriot people are living there. They told us that we could see the school, but inside the school there was only broken furniture.

The surroundings of the village mosque had not been cleaned for years. Some of the windows were broken and inside was filthy.

We went to the village cemetery. There, the overgrown weeds had not been cleaned and the graves were also on the verge of collapsing due to neglect. Very few tomb stones existed.

Gökağaç, which used to be a Turkish village before 1974, is 40 kilometers west of Limassol.

Some of the houses in the village were razed to the ground and Greek Cypriot had settled into the remaining houses from the outside. The village mosque looked as if it was in good condition. The door was closed so we could not take photographs of inside. When we went to the village school, we saw that both the gate and door were locked. Overgrown weeds and thorns were everywhere and the toilets were demolished because of neglect.

We saw some furniture, such as a bed, table and similar things in some rooms of the school and the villagers told us that, a group of American archeologists were carrying out archeological diggings in the area and that this group was staying at the school and had the key.

Although some weeds had been cleaned. The village cemetery was not in good condition. As was the case in most of the other villages, lots of graves had also disappeared in this village. The tomb stones of the graves were all broken.

We left Gökağaç with these observations.

We are in Dizdarkoy (Nisu), which is 18 kms from Lefkoşa and which used to be inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots before 1974. The Turkish Cypriots were forced to leave the village during the 1963 Greek Cypriot attacks.

First, we visited the village mosque with the minaret, which was built during the Ottoman period. Looking from the outside, we saw that the minaret was one of the Turkish works that was not demolished. There were a crescent and star which was made out of stone, on the walls of the windows. The minaret, although it was neglected, was not in bad condition. Inside the mosque, pigeons were flying and everywhere was covered in pigeon faeces. The furniture inside the mosque was vandalized and broken. The pulpit of the mosque was also broken.

We found the school with one classroom in the village. As was the case in the mosque, the door and windows of the school were also decorated with a crescent and star. The iron gate of the school dated from the Ottoman period. The front door and the two windows were painted brown and were closed. When we went behind the school, we were confronted by a Greek Cypriot woman. She told us that, she was living in the building which used to be the school and that she had built extra rooms. In the area where there used to be Turkish houses, we saw that most of the houses were either demolished or left to their own fate. The Turkish cemetery in the village was very neglected. The tombs were all broken and due to neglect many graves were lost.

We were in Dali, which used to be inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots before 1963. Following the Greek Cypriot attacks of 1963, the Turkish Cypriots were forced to leave the village. Turkish houses in Dali were all demolished. In some of the Turkish houses, which were made out of sun-dried brick, Greek Cypriots were living. When we visited the village cemetery, most of the graves were lost because of neglect, whereas the grave of Dervis Ali Kavazoğlu who was killed in 1965, had been carefully looked after. Just next to grave there his bust.

The primary school in the village is now being used as a kindergarten. According to information we received from the headmaster, the Turkish school used to have only one room and the Greek Cypriots later built extra rooms.

Later, we found the village’s historical Turkish mosque, which had a minaret and was built by Ziya Paşa, who was the Cyprus Governor in 1839. The door and windows of the mosque had been painted just to give the impression that it was being looked after. The iron gate of the mosque was locked. We entered the garden by jumping over the gate. Epigraphs belonging to the Ottoman period and prepared by Ziya Paşa could easily be seen on the door. Because the mosque’s entrance door was locked we could not go inside. However, since the door was ajar, I could see inside and it was a very frightening sight. Everywhere was in ruins and dirty. Furniture of religious value was vandalized. With my digital camera, I took some photographs of the inside of the mosque.

We were in Mersinlik, which is located 50 kms west of Limassol and between Evdim and Çamlıca. Mersinlik used to be inhabited by only Turkish Cypriots before 1974.

Houses in which the Greek Cypriots settled into after 1974 were all well preserved. A few houses, which were not used by the Greek Cypriots were left to their own fate. However, as was the case in other villages, we did not see any signs of deliberate destruction in this village. Only the Atatürk bust which was at the centre of the village, was demolished and destroyed. The village primary school was in a good condition since it was being used by the Greek Cypriots as a school.

The village mosque was not in good condition. The door was open and we could see inside where there were no signs of a serious destruction. Also the mosque had not been turned into a pigeon nest.

We couldn’t take a photo of the village cemetery, because we couldn’t find it.

Once upon a time, there used to be villages, where Turkish Cypriots had lived for years. The villages survived the 1963-1974 events, when 103 villages were wiped out and were protected by their Turkish Cypriot inhabitants at all costs. Houses, villages and settlement areas were full of memories, ancestral graves and places symbolizing lifelong feelings and emotions… After 1974, the inhabitants of these villages joined the migration for freedom for a free life and settled in the North of the island, with all their memories and emotions.

For 29 years, they protected and preserved their new settlement places in the North which they had changed with the Greek Cypriots, in accordance with the Population Exchange Agreement. The Turkish Cypriot people lived here (in the North) without changing and destroying any of the memories of its former inhabitants. During this period, imagining that their former homes and villages still remained and protected, they lived by keeping their memories alive. They always believed in Greek Cypriot propaganda that Turkish houses and villages were being protected and preserved. That is until they went to see their houses and villages.

After a short break, we continued with our visits to Turkish villages in South Cyprus. What we were faced with was no different from what we had already seen before. We started with the villages in Lefkoşa. We couldn’t find Alifodes village, Aybifan and Arpalık.

As a response to our question, "What happened to Alifodez?", Greek Cypriots living in the neighbouring village asked us, "Is mukhtar Aziz Efendi still alive? What is Faiz doing?"

Aybifan village, which is on the skirts of the Trodos mountains and which we know from President Denktaş’ book entitled ‘Karkot Brook’, which is a collection of some of his own memories and full of the memories of Turkish Cypriots who were forced to flee their village, is no where to be seen.. We tried to find out what had happened to this village by asking Greek Cypriots in the neighbouring villages. The reply we got was very interesting and intriguing. “That was Denktaş’ village. We don’t know what happened either.”

All Turkish houses in Arpalık had been destroyed. While the historical church in the village was being restored, it was obvious from the hundreds of bullet marks on the walls of the village mosque that the mosque was being used as a target range for military exercises. Although the eucalyptus trees in the cemetery were still there, the only remains of the cemetery were a few broken stones. Following is a description of the state of the Turkish Cypriot villages we visited in the Lefkoşa region.

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.

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 Onbaşı, 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.

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.

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 Denktaş’ father.

Aybifan is very close to Flasu and immediately after leaving Flasu we came to the Karkot Brook, which President Denktaş 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 Denktaş’ 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 Denktaş’ 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.

After Aybifan, we moved on to the village of Alifodez, 35 km from Lefkoşa. 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.

We were driving towards Arpalık (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 Arpalık (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 (Goşşi).

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. Arpalık 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.

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 Arpalık cemetery was completely annihilated.

We left the ghost village of Arpalık with these observations.

We were in the Turkish villages of Paphos namely, Altıncık, Kalkanlı 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 Altıncık with pride and mentioning its beauty, were disappointed to see that their village was demolished and had disappeared. Altıncık 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 Kalkanlı and Çakırlar (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.

We travelled north towards Altıncık (Hirsofu). We easily found Altıncık, 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 İbrahim 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.

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 DİKKO-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.

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 Altıncık village.

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

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 Altıncık.

After we left Altıncık, 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 Kalkanlı (Arodez), which was solely a Turkish Cypriot village before 1974. Kalkanlı, 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 Kalkanlı.

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 Kalkanlı 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.

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 Kalkanlı. 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.

In Kalkanlı, 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 Kalkanlı with these observations in Kalkanlı.

We started driving towards Çakırlar (Tera); another Paphos village, after we completed our observations in Kalkanlı. Çakırlar, 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.

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.

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.

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 Çakırlar.

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 Çamlıbel, 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.

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.

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.

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 Kumyalı 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.

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.

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 ESENDAĞ NOT DESTROYED BUT USED AS STABLES
WHAT REMAINS FROM THE THREE MARTYRS VILLAGE IS RUINS...
NO TRACE OF ITS CEMETERY
Lefkoşa, 6 August, 2003 (TAK – Hasan Karaokçu)
We were going to the Turkish Cypriot village of Esendağ, 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 Esendağ 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 Esendağ, Three Martyrs’ and Vuda.

We are heading towards Esendağ, 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 Lefkoşa-Larnaca main road. There was no sign post for Esendağ. We proceeded according to our map. The sign posts only showed the Greek Cypriot village of Athineu. It was as if Esendağ was a lost village. As we proceeded towards Athineu we noticed a gravel road on the right. We spotted Esendağ approximately 1.5 km ahead towards the south. We proceeded through the gravel road. When we looked from the distance, we could see that Esendağ 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.

Leaving the cemetery, we headed towards Esendağ. 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 Esendağ 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 Esendağ 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 Taşkent and Alaminyo, where all the men had been massacred. Taşkent 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 Taşkent, 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 Taşkent, Ötüken, Civisil and Alaminyo:

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

Taşkent, 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.

Taşkent 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 Taşkent 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 BOĞAZIÇI
AREA TURNING POINT IN CYPRUS HISTORY BECAUSE OF EVENTS THEY’VE EXPERIENCED
Lefkoşa, 9 August 2003 (TAK, Hasan Karaokçu)

Every Turkish Cypriot village has a place in Cyprus history, but the villages of Geçitkale and Boğaziçi, 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 Boğaziçi, 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 Lefkoşa, 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 “Şehit 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.

BOĞAZIÇI (AYTOTORO)
The village of Boğaziçi (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 Boğaziçi 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 Boğaziçi 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 Boğaziçi 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
Lefkoşa, 2003 (Tak, Hasan Karaokçu)
The villages of Yalova (Piskobu), Binatlı (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 (sabır ağaçları) 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 Binatlı, another village of Limassol. Binatlı village, is located 6 km northwest of Limassol and is divided into two parts, upper and lower Binatlı. We first went to upper Binatlı, 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 Binatlı was not as bad as it was in the other villages. What happened in Binatlı 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 Binatlı. 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 Binatlı, 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 Binatlı. In Lower Binatlı, 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 Binatlı’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 Binatlı was turned into a Maronite Church.

We carried on with our work in the cemetery in Lower Binatlı. 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 Binatlı, 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 Binatlı, 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 Binatlı Sports Club and of the Turkish coffeeshop, next to it. A Greek Cypriot man recognized Özel Tahsin, who has been the President of Binatlı Sports Club for many years, and invited us to have coffee. After we completed our work we went inside the Binatlı 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 Binatlı.

REMAINING TURKISH CYPRIOT VILLAGES IN THE SOUTH
HOUSES IN BEŞIKTEPE 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
Lefkoşa, 12 August 2003 (TAK, Hasan Karaokçu)
Once upon a time, Malatya (Meladya), Beşiktepe (Melandra), Tatlıca (Zaharga), Tabanlı (Istinco) and Yakacık 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 almond, fig carob and walnut trees. We don’t want to forget to mention the desire of hardworking people, who clearly valued their lands and were eager to work their productive lands. The village had brooks and fountains... Some of them were created as a result of the geographic conditions and others were built throughout history. The hardworking and sacrificing people of this village, after 1974 also willingly joined in the migration for freedom to the North. They also brought with them to the North memories of their stone houses and trees, which they had left behind. Memories of their houses, fig, almond, walnut and olive trees, which they had kept alive in their mind, became stronger and stronger each day. For years, they didn’t forget the memory of their houses and villages. They hoped that one day when they returned to their village they would  find someone who had looked after their houses.

However, the situation in this lovely village was no different from all the others. Infact it was even worse, because, today, in the place where Tatlıca once used to be, the wind blows and, in all sense of the word, the village is a ghost village... The running tap in the middle of Tabanlı had been  made dirty by the pigs and a few of the remaining houses here were now being used by pigs and their breeder. Houses in Beşiktepe had been demolished with bulldozers and graves in the village cemetery had also been demolished... Most of the primary schools had been turned into straw houses. These are our observations of the beautiful villages of Paphos.

MALATYA (MELADYA)
We continued with our investigations of Turkish Cypriot villages in Paphos.  On 30 July, 2003,  accompanied by our guides Mehmet Gökkuşak and Mehmet Hoca we set off on our journey towards Poli and its surrounding five villages, Malatya (Melodya), Beşiktepe (Melandra), Tatlıca (Zaharga), Tabanlı (Istinro) and Yakacık, which were all Turkish Cypriot villages.

It took us three hours to reach Malatya. Malatya, which is 35 km North of Poli is situated on a high peak. When you look to the North there is the sea and the green mountains of Paphos on the South.

At the village entrance we saw bulldozers carrying out infrastructural work. They were digging roads. On our right we found the village primary school, where  there was a date of 1910 indicating the date that the school was built. We found the mosque next to the school. Both the school and the mosque were badly neglected. The doors and windows of the primary school were all broken and it was obvious that it had been used as an animal stable for some time. Inside it was full of animal faeces. The door of the mosque was locked, so we couldn’t go inside. We managed to take some photos through the broken window.

Because Greek Cypriots had settled into a large majority of the houses in Malatya, they were well preserved. The remaining houses were all razed to the ground. Some houses which were not demolished and made out of stone had a beautiful architectural structure. Malatya cemetery was razed to the ground.

We wouldn’t able to find the place of  the cemetery  had it not been  for the grave surrounded with  iron railings.  In the cemetery, there was no single tombstone.

BEŞIKTEPE (MELANDRA)
After leaving Malatya, we headed east towards Beşiktepe (Melandra). The village of Beşiktepe is on a large area of land, stretching from the peak towards the valley. When we looked from the top, we saw various fruit trees, such as almond and carob trees, giving a nice view and richness to the village. The first house we saw in Beşiktepe was demolished. Whilst moving along the village we were, once more, faced with the awful realities. Almost 100 per cent of the houses were knocked down and razed to the ground by bulldozers. The village was in ruins. Three to five houses which had survived were turned into stables by a shepherd living in Beşiktepe. There were hundreds of goats inside the village primary school, where children once used to be educated. It was impossible to go inside the school because of the dirt. We carried on moving inside the village, which was completely in ruins.

We went to a house, which was the only remaining house in the area. Before we reached the house, there was a potent smell in the air. Then we realised that that house had been turned into a pig sty and we even saw lots of pigs, both in the house and in the garden. While they were roaming in their mess, the smell became even worse.

We were approached by the Greek Cypriot shepherd in the village, when he noticed that we were journalists. We asked him why the village was in such a mess. He said that when he came to the village, it was as it is now and that everyone should go back to their houses. We asked him how people would go back to their houses, since there were no houses left and they had all been destroyed. He couldn’t answer us.

We found the village Mosque with a small minaret. We can say that the mosque was the only building that had managed to survive in the village. There was a church next to the mosque. The church was in a much better condition than the mosque. The mosque was surrounded with weeds and thorns. Beşiktepe was an environmental disaster. Everywhere was very dirty and full of rubbish. This was the first village we saw which had been so badly destroyed and polluted. We headed towards the valley on the village’s dirt roads. After we got out of the village we carried on for 300 metres before we found the village cemetery. Actually, what we found was not the cemetery, but its walls. The Beşiktepe cemetery had also been razed to the ground. We saw two graves, one had been completely destroyed and the other was surrounded with metal railings. The rest of the graves had disappeared.

We completed our research in Beşiktepe with these observations.

TATLICA (ZAHARGA)
We left Beşiktepe and after driving for 10 minutes on a dirt road we saw Tatlıca (Zaharga), which used to be a small and lovely Turkish Cypriot village before 1974.

Tatlıca is 46 km Northwest of  Paphos and is situated on the highest peaks in the region and is a village which has a beautiful and wide scenery.

When we entered the village, the first thing we saw was the primary school with only one classroom. The school’s garden with a huge carob tree and a fountain, was fenced off. Tatlıca primary school was, like all the other schools in other Turkish Cypriot villages, destroyed, vandalised and  pillaged. The classroom was full of pigeon nests and feaces. A large part of the wooden floor had been vandalised and broken windows were scattered everywhere. The only thing that was in good condition was the blackboard. When we saw the condition that the school was in, we began to wonder just what condition the houses might be in Tatlıca. We didn’t see anything different than what we saw at Beşiktepe and Malatya. We had also been faced with the same painful reality in Tatlıca. Approximately, 100 percent of all the houses there, had been knocked down with dozers and were completely destroyed. It was hard for us to accept the mentality behind this. We were confronted with a much more devastating picture in all the houses that we took photos of. It was impossible to see any evidence to suggest that people used to live there not so long ago. The village looked as if it had been abandoned ages ago. The destruction in Tatlıca was very serious. It was ruthless and cruel and we had felt the same emotions in Arpalık.

We headed south and found the cemetery that was jointly used by the inhabitants of both Tatlıca and Tabanlı. What we found, however, was not a cemetery, but just its place. Even the fences around the cemetery had been taken away. The graves had been razed to the ground and vandalised. The only grave that was left belonged to a woman, named Dervişe İzzet, who died in 1971. There was no other graves or tombstones.

The lovely village of Tatlıca, in Paphos had turned into a ghost village.

TABANLI
After leaving Tatlıca with these painful observations, we started driving towards Tabanlı (İstinco) village, which was also the village of our guide Mehmet Gökkuşak. Tabanlı, used to be a sole Turkish Cypriot village before 1974, and is situated amongst the beauty of the Paphos mountains, and is surrounded by hundreds of almond, fig and carrob trees. This was proof of just how much the Turkish Cypriot people of Tabanlı used to protect their territory and how productive they were. Before we entered the village we saw a grave on a high place. Our guide told us that the grave belonged to an 18-year old boy, named Hasan Kasım, who had drowned in the sea. We went up and took some photos of the grave. The framed picture of Hasan Kasım on his tombstone was still in good condition.

Not wishing such pain upon anyone, we started our work in Tabanlı. While entering the village we saw a primary school. The primary school of the lovely village of Tabanlı had been turned into a straw house. It was full of straw. We could hardly see the blackboard amongst the straw. It was almost impossible to go inside the building. The doors were pulled out and all the panes of the iron windows were broken. Our guide, Mehmet Gökkuşak was shocked. He was deeply hurt at seeing the place where he went as a child in such a terrible condition. After Malatya, Beşiktepe and Tatlıca, we started moving, step by step, inside the village of Tabanlı, in the hope of finding a village that had survived. However, we were greatly disappointed again. All the villages in the region shared the same destiny. The villages, which the Turkish Cypriots had to leave behind after the Population Exchange Agreement of 1975, upon the orders of the Greek Cypriot administration, had all been mercilessly destroyed with dozers almost as if they were taking revenge.

Only a few houses remained in Tabanlı and these were occupied by a shepherd. Sheep, goats and pigs were being raised in these few remaining houses. The animal faeces were taken outside by the shepherd in question and gathered at the village square. The strong smell lingered everywhere, the place was in a mess. Our guide could barely find his house in Tabanlı, where he used to live before 1974. Mehmet Gökkuşak couldn’t believe that his former village, where he grew up and had perhaps spent the best times of his life, was in such a terrible condition. He couldn’t stop himself from asking: “ Is this the Greek Cypriot administration’s understanding of humanity, who call upon everyone to go back to their homes?”. He moved towards the gardens where he and his ancestors used to grow almond, carob and fig trees. His pain doubled when he saw that all the trees were dry. We continued with our observations in Tabanlı and found the Mosque. The Mosque was also a victim of neglect. Its doors and windows were all broken and inside was full of pigeon nests and faeces. We could hardly walk around the Mosque because it was surrounded by overgrown weeds and thorns.

After the mosque, we went to a place called Appiyaca, which was located at the lower end of the Tabanlı village, and where approximately 10 families used to live before 1974. There, the situation was no different. All the houses had been razed to the ground and the place was in ruins.

We completed our observations in this Turkish Cypriot village, which was ruined to the extent of being wiped out all together from the map. Our guide, Mehmet Gökkuşak was very sad to leave the village. After we got out of the village, he wanted to take a photo of us as a memory. We took our last shot with Tabanlı in the background.

YAKACIK (MAGUNDA)
We completed our journey of the Paphos region on 30 July, 2003, with the village of Yakacık. To reach Yakacık, which is 42 km north of Paphos, we first went to Poli. After driving for 3km west of Poli, we arrived at Yakacık. The village’s fame, which was solely inhabited by the Turkish Cypriots, dates back to Ottoman times. Mehmet Emin Pasha, who became the Grand Vizier three times and was also promoted to the chairmanship of the High Assembly during the Ottoman rule, was from this village.

This historically important village is located in a place overlooking the sea and has agricultural lands stretching out to the sea.

It is located on both sides of a road looking out towards the sea. As we entered the village, we saw that several gypsy families had been settled into some of the houses. The living conditions of the gypsies were bad, just like the living conditions of the rest  of the gypsies who were living in all the other villages.

Once more faced with these painful realities we carried on moving along the village. With every step that we took, we were confronted with the sight of destroyed houses. It was possible to count  the number of houses that had survived in the village on one hand. Just like the houses in all the other Turkish Cypriot villages, these houses had also been turned into animal shelters,. The houses, which were destroyed and ruined, were full of snakes and because the houses that had been turned into animal shelters were full of animal faeces, it was impossible to go inside these houses.