Lapithos
Encyclopedia
Lapithos or Lapethos is a town of Kyrenia District
on the northern coast of Cyprus
. According to Strabo
, the settlement was founded by Sparta
ns. In Assyrian
inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one of the eleven Cypriot kingdoms. During the Persian rule, Lapithos was settled by Phoenicians. The last independent king Praxippos was subdued by Ptolemy I in 312 BC
.
The town has been under Turkish control since the 1974 invasion
, during which four thousand Lapithiotes became refugees.
The archaeologists refer to Lapethos as colony of the Laconia
ns, built after the Trojan War
(circa 1000 BC) by Praxandros its first king. However, findings from excavations i.e. pots and pottery wheels date back its existence as early as 3000 BC. Diodoros of Sicily refers to Lapethos as one of the nine kingdoms of Cyprus, in writing on the 4th century BC.
Peisistratos, king of Lapithos, with his flotilla, together with Nicocreon
of Salamis and Stasanor
of Curion, came to the aid of Alexander the Great, helping him to capture Tyre in Phoenicia
. For this reason Alexander, the victorious army commander, declared Cyprus free from the Persians. The last king of Lapethos was Praxippos.
, Lapethos had more than 10,000 inhabitants. It formed one of the four districts of Cyprus. From ancient times, Lapithos became a centre for the processing of copper
and more importantly an earthenware centre.
During the proto-Christian period (25 BC
- 250 AD
) Lapethos experienced a great commercial drive because of the plethora of its produce, but also because of its port and its shipyard. During this period Lapethos was given the name Lambousa, "shining", maybe because of its shining wealth or because of its shining beauty and cleanliness or because of its lighthouse, which shed shining light to the surrounding region.
During the first years of Christianity
the apostles Paul
, Barnabas
and Mark
passed by Lapethos coming from Tarsus
. According to Apostle Barnabas
, Lapethos had city walls. He cites that during his second tour with Apostle Mark, they stayed outside the walls because they were not given access to the city. In late antiquity, Lapethos enjoyed great prosperity in commerce as well as in riches, art and development. Bishop of Lapithos Theodotos (circa 314-324 AD) died a martyr
in Kyrenia
while Bishop Didymos was represented at the 4th Ecumenical Synod
(451 AD
) by Saint Eulaleus or Eulampius, whose chapel can still be found near the monastery of Acheiropoiitos.
Lapethos was heavily damaged during the Arab incursions. The population often had to flee and take refuge in the interior.
Upon the liberation of Cyprus from the Arabs after the victorious expedition of Nicephorus Phocas, the Byzantine Emperor - 965 AD - Lapithos’s refugees returned to their town to rebuild it in a new location, not by the sea, but at the foot of mountain Pentadactylos
.
During the Lusignan
period. Lapithos boasted a greater population than Limassol
, Famagusta
or Paphos
. It was known under the name Le field de la Pison, believed to be a false etymology for Lapithos. It is known that a few years before the Ottoman
Turkish conquest of Cyprus (1571), 3000 troops were stationed at Lapithos under the command of Zanetto Dandolo, who was killed during the defense of Nicosia
.
(1571-1878), the Ottoman government
seized a great amount of landed property owned by Greeks. In addition, two Greek Orthodox Church
es were converted into mosque
s. In 1780 a section of Lapithos was split off to form a new village, Karavas
.
During the Greek War of Independence
on 18–21 June 1821, Konstantinos Kanaris
, captain of a fire ship, paid a visit to Lapithos in order to take provisions and to recruit men. Kanaris anchored at Asprovrisi. He was hosted at Paspallas house at Ayia Paraskevi. There they ‘staged a funeral’ burying weapons (mainly local knives) and other provisions in the local cemetery by the sea. During the following nights sailors from Kanaris’ fire ship unearthed the stuff, loaded it on board and left with sixteen new recruits. The Turkish rulers found out about the incident days later. Not surprisingly they took severe action. They beheaded the local headman Chatzelias, Hadjinicholas and another fifteen Lapithiotes in Nicosia on 9 July 1821.
leased Cyprus from the Ottomans in 1878, Lapithos was declared a municipality. Andreas Koumides took office as Mayor.
The people of Lapithos participated in the anti-colonial war of 1955-59 (EOKA
). Many young Lapithiotes were trained in the tactics of guerrilla warfare by Gregoris Afxentiou and later by Kyriakos Matsis
. Lapithos was at the forefront of the sabotage campaign against colonial rule. Bombs exploded and British troops were ambushed and attacked. For this reason the community was ordered to pay heavy collective fines. Men were detained while a curfew was often imposed.
, on the northern coast of Cyprus, on the East it borders with Karavas
, on the West with Basileia, on its South with the villages of Sysklhpos, Agridaki, and Larnaka tis Lapithou. It spreads from the high mountains of Pentadactylos
to the waters of the Mediterranean
. In fact, it rests against the background of the highest peak of Pentadactylos, the Kyparissobouno, which reaches about 1024 meters high, its highest peak, exquisite Lapithos spreads in the green reaching the Mediterranean coast.
The village was constituted of six enories (parishes). Each enoria had its own civil and religious administration. There was a community council under a chairman and an ecclesiastical authority with a Greek Orthodox
priest. Moreover every enoria had its own cemetery. The six enories were the following:
Ayia Anastasia and Ayia Paraskevi in Upper Lapithos were known as the Pano Enories (Upper Parishes). Ayios Theodhoros on the west side of the village and Timios Prodhromos and Ayios Loukas in the centre, while Ayios Minas lay to the east.
Water-loving plants like pistachio
trees, konari and kolokasi were plentifully cultivated in the Lapithos plain. Mulberry-trees were planted on the edge of the orchards in order to protect the lemon-trees from the winds and the saltiness of the sea but also to provide food for the silkworm the mainstay of the silk industry.
The green-clad orchards with their evergreen lemon-trees, citron-trees (nerantzies), tangerine-trees, grapefruit-trees, bergamot-trees and all sorts of orange-trees formed the green background of the scene as if of a painting most conspicuous in Spring as the white blossom of the trees embellished every inch of the land.
The great variety of white plums in Lapithos was perhaps unique. Red, yellowish tzianeres (very sweet and round that can be eaten unripe) but also the so-called flokkaroues (long and greenish) are varieties peculiar only to Lapithos. Plum-trees, reklot, formoses, red-leaved pournelies, mavropournelloues (small round blackish pournelles) were abundant. They provided extra income to the local farmers.
This Municipal Council stayed in office until the end of 1987, thirteen years after the invasion.
The 1974 catastrophe put all the activities of the municipality to a halt. The displaced Lapithiotes were dispersed not only around the island but also in the world at large.
The items on the agenda of the first post-1974 meeting of the Municipal Council on 13 January 1975 were as follows:
1. Jobs in the civil service for the now unemployed municipal employees.
2. Problems of the municipal employees.
3. Enlightenment campaign on the Cyprus National Problem
.
The Municipal Council meetings took place in the homes of its members until the Municipality was offered temporary offices at 37 Ammochostou Street, Nicosia, west of Ammochostos Gate. The Municipality of Lapithos found itself under the same roof with also refugee Municipality of Kythrea. The current Mayor of the town is Athos Eleftheriou.
In the Saint Theodore's interior old Byzantine
books and icons were kept. According to testimonies of Greek Cypriots exiled by the Turkish invasion, by 1975 every piece of treasure in this historic church was pillaged.
The Haydar Pashazade Mehmet Bey Mosque in Lapithos is an Ottoman style stone mosque.http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/kyrenia/lapta/index.html
Mandraki, Nisyros Island
, Greece
Milies
, Greece Sparta
, Greece
Kyrenia District
Kyrenia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is Kyrenia . It is the smallest of Cyprus' districts, and is the only one fully controlled by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey....
on the northern coast of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. According to Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, the settlement was founded by Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
ns. In Assyrian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one of the eleven Cypriot kingdoms. During the Persian rule, Lapithos was settled by Phoenicians. The last independent king Praxippos was subdued by Ptolemy I in 312 BC
312 BC
Year 312 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corvus and Mus...
.
The town has been under Turkish control since the 1974 invasion
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
, during which four thousand Lapithiotes became refugees.
Pre-Roman
Strabo says that Lapethos is a ‘construction of the Laconians and of Praxandros’. The philosopher Alexander of Ephesus called it "Imeroessa" 'attractive, passion-arousing'.The archaeologists refer to Lapethos as colony of the Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
ns, built after the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
(circa 1000 BC) by Praxandros its first king. However, findings from excavations i.e. pots and pottery wheels date back its existence as early as 3000 BC. Diodoros of Sicily refers to Lapethos as one of the nine kingdoms of Cyprus, in writing on the 4th century BC.
Peisistratos, king of Lapithos, with his flotilla, together with Nicocreon
Nicocreon
Nicocreon was king of Salamis in Cyprus, at the time of Alexander the Great's expedition against Persia...
of Salamis and Stasanor
Stasanor
Stasanor was a native of Soli in Cyprus who held a distinguished position among the officers of Alexander the Great.-Stasanor, officer of Alexander:...
of Curion, came to the aid of Alexander the Great, helping him to capture Tyre in Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
. For this reason Alexander, the victorious army commander, declared Cyprus free from the Persians. The last king of Lapethos was Praxippos.
The Roman, Byzantine and Luisignan Period
During the period of the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Lapethos had more than 10,000 inhabitants. It formed one of the four districts of Cyprus. From ancient times, Lapithos became a centre for the processing of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and more importantly an earthenware centre.
During the proto-Christian period (25 BC
25 BC
Year 25 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday or a leap year starting on Wednesday or Thursday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
- 250 AD
250
Year 250 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Gratus...
) Lapethos experienced a great commercial drive because of the plethora of its produce, but also because of its port and its shipyard. During this period Lapethos was given the name Lambousa, "shining", maybe because of its shining wealth or because of its shining beauty and cleanliness or because of its lighthouse, which shed shining light to the surrounding region.
During the first years of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
the apostles Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, Barnabas
Barnabas
Barnabas , born Joseph, was an Early Christian, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. In terms of culture and background, he was a Hellenised Jew, specifically a Levite. Named an apostle in , he and Saint Paul undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts...
and Mark
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
passed by Lapethos coming from Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
. According to Apostle Barnabas
Barnabas
Barnabas , born Joseph, was an Early Christian, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. In terms of culture and background, he was a Hellenised Jew, specifically a Levite. Named an apostle in , he and Saint Paul undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts...
, Lapethos had city walls. He cites that during his second tour with Apostle Mark, they stayed outside the walls because they were not given access to the city. In late antiquity, Lapethos enjoyed great prosperity in commerce as well as in riches, art and development. Bishop of Lapithos Theodotos (circa 314-324 AD) died a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
in Kyrenia
Kyrenia
Kyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
while Bishop Didymos was represented at the 4th Ecumenical Synod
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
(451 AD
451
Year 451 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcianus and Adelfius...
) by Saint Eulaleus or Eulampius, whose chapel can still be found near the monastery of Acheiropoiitos.
Upon the liberation of Cyprus from the Arabs after the victorious expedition of Nicephorus Phocas, the Byzantine Emperor - 965 AD - Lapithos’s refugees returned to their town to rebuild it in a new location, not by the sea, but at the foot of mountain Pentadactylos
Pentadactylos
The Pentadaktylos is a mountain mass which makes up the western half of the Kyrenia Mountains, a long, narrow chain which runs 160 km along the Northern coast of Cyprus. Both the Greek name and the Turkish name for these mountains come from the five finger-like projections of a mountain...
.
During the Lusignan
Lusignan
The Lusignan family originated in Poitou near Lusignan in western France in the early 10th century. By the end of the 11th century, they had risen to become the most prominent petty lords in the region from their castle at Lusignan...
period. Lapithos boasted a greater population than Limassol
Limassol
Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...
, Famagusta
Famagusta
Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus and is capital of the Famagusta District. It is located east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island.-Name:...
or Paphos
Paphos
Paphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...
. It was known under the name Le field de la Pison, believed to be a false etymology for Lapithos. It is known that a few years before the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Turkish conquest of Cyprus (1571), 3000 troops were stationed at Lapithos under the command of Zanetto Dandolo, who was killed during the defense of Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
.
The Ottoman Period
Under Ottoman ruleCyprus under the Ottoman Empire
The Eyalet of Cyprus was created in 1571, and changed its status frequently. It was a sanjak of the Eyalet of the Archipelago from 1660 to 1703, and again from 1784 onwards; a fief of the Grand Vizier , and again an eyalet for the short period 1745-1748.- Ottoman raids and conquest :Throughout the...
(1571-1878), the Ottoman government
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
seized a great amount of landed property owned by Greeks. In addition, two Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
es were converted into mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s. In 1780 a section of Lapithos was split off to form a new village, Karavas
Karavas
Karavas is the sister village of Lapithos in theKyrenia District of Cyprus. The village resides in the Turkish Occupied Part of Cyprus It is built on the ruins of Lampousa one of the ten ancient Greek city-kingdoms of Cyprus...
.
During the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
on 18–21 June 1821, Konstantinos Kanaris
Constantine Kanaris
Constantine Kanaris or Canaris was a Greek Prime Minister, admiral and politician who in his youth was also a freedom fighter, pirate, privateer and merchantman.-Early life:...
, captain of a fire ship, paid a visit to Lapithos in order to take provisions and to recruit men. Kanaris anchored at Asprovrisi. He was hosted at Paspallas house at Ayia Paraskevi. There they ‘staged a funeral’ burying weapons (mainly local knives) and other provisions in the local cemetery by the sea. During the following nights sailors from Kanaris’ fire ship unearthed the stuff, loaded it on board and left with sixteen new recruits. The Turkish rulers found out about the incident days later. Not surprisingly they took severe action. They beheaded the local headman Chatzelias, Hadjinicholas and another fifteen Lapithiotes in Nicosia on 9 July 1821.
The British Rule
Soon after the BritishBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
leased Cyprus from the Ottomans in 1878, Lapithos was declared a municipality. Andreas Koumides took office as Mayor.
The people of Lapithos participated in the anti-colonial war of 1955-59 (EOKA
EOKA
EOKA was an anticolonial, antiimperialist nationalist organisation with the ultimate goal of "The liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke". Although not stated in its initial declaration of existence which was printed and distributed on the 1st of April 1955, EOKA also had a target of achieving...
). Many young Lapithiotes were trained in the tactics of guerrilla warfare by Gregoris Afxentiou and later by Kyriakos Matsis
Kyriakos Matsis
Kyriakos Matsis was a Greek Cypriot guerrilla member of EOKA. He was Yiannakis Matsis' brother who is Member of the European Parliament for Cyprus- Early life :Matsis was born in Palaichori, Cyprus...
. Lapithos was at the forefront of the sabotage campaign against colonial rule. Bombs exploded and British troops were ambushed and attacked. For this reason the community was ordered to pay heavy collective fines. Men were detained while a curfew was often imposed.
Geography
Situated about 14 Kilometers west of KyreniaKyrenia
Kyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
, on the northern coast of Cyprus, on the East it borders with Karavas
Karavas
Karavas is the sister village of Lapithos in theKyrenia District of Cyprus. The village resides in the Turkish Occupied Part of Cyprus It is built on the ruins of Lampousa one of the ten ancient Greek city-kingdoms of Cyprus...
, on the West with Basileia, on its South with the villages of Sysklhpos, Agridaki, and Larnaka tis Lapithou. It spreads from the high mountains of Pentadactylos
Pentadactylos
The Pentadaktylos is a mountain mass which makes up the western half of the Kyrenia Mountains, a long, narrow chain which runs 160 km along the Northern coast of Cyprus. Both the Greek name and the Turkish name for these mountains come from the five finger-like projections of a mountain...
to the waters of the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. In fact, it rests against the background of the highest peak of Pentadactylos, the Kyparissobouno, which reaches about 1024 meters high, its highest peak, exquisite Lapithos spreads in the green reaching the Mediterranean coast.
The village was constituted of six enories (parishes). Each enoria had its own civil and religious administration. There was a community council under a chairman and an ecclesiastical authority with a Greek Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
priest. Moreover every enoria had its own cemetery. The six enories were the following:
Ayia Anastasia and Ayia Paraskevi in Upper Lapithos were known as the Pano Enories (Upper Parishes). Ayios Theodhoros on the west side of the village and Timios Prodhromos and Ayios Loukas in the centre, while Ayios Minas lay to the east.
Farming and Crops
Lapithos has fertile land and rich water resources due to its headspring (Kefalovryso). A variety of trees are cultivated. Citrus, especially lemon-trees, thrive producing 11-12 million lemons per year. It was the greatest production in the island. The lemon-tree grown in the Lapithos area (Lemonia Lapithiotiki) is well known in Cyprus. The orchards of Lapithos filled the place with their green colour. In springtime every span of the land smelled sweetly. The scent of lemon blossom was omnipresent. Olive-trees thrived especially in the hilly areas. Carob-trees also prospered. They provided the so-called ‘black gold’ at a time when commerce was not at its best.Water-loving plants like pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
trees, konari and kolokasi were plentifully cultivated in the Lapithos plain. Mulberry-trees were planted on the edge of the orchards in order to protect the lemon-trees from the winds and the saltiness of the sea but also to provide food for the silkworm the mainstay of the silk industry.
The green-clad orchards with their evergreen lemon-trees, citron-trees (nerantzies), tangerine-trees, grapefruit-trees, bergamot-trees and all sorts of orange-trees formed the green background of the scene as if of a painting most conspicuous in Spring as the white blossom of the trees embellished every inch of the land.
The great variety of white plums in Lapithos was perhaps unique. Red, yellowish tzianeres (very sweet and round that can be eaten unripe) but also the so-called flokkaroues (long and greenish) are varieties peculiar only to Lapithos. Plum-trees, reklot, formoses, red-leaved pournelies, mavropournelloues (small round blackish pournelles) were abundant. They provided extra income to the local farmers.
Former Municipality
When Cyprus became British Colony in 1878, the British set about re-organizing the administrative structure of the island. Thus Lapithos became one of the ten new ‘municipalities’. Both the Mayor and the Municipal Council were democratically elected by the people of Lapithos. As a result competent personalities were elected in office, who strived for the progress and well-being of the small town.This Municipal Council stayed in office until the end of 1987, thirteen years after the invasion.
The 1974 catastrophe put all the activities of the municipality to a halt. The displaced Lapithiotes were dispersed not only around the island but also in the world at large.
The items on the agenda of the first post-1974 meeting of the Municipal Council on 13 January 1975 were as follows:
1. Jobs in the civil service for the now unemployed municipal employees.
2. Problems of the municipal employees.
3. Enlightenment campaign on the Cyprus National Problem
Cyprus dispute
The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....
.
The Municipal Council meetings took place in the homes of its members until the Municipality was offered temporary offices at 37 Ammochostou Street, Nicosia, west of Ammochostos Gate. The Municipality of Lapithos found itself under the same roof with also refugee Municipality of Kythrea. The current Mayor of the town is Athos Eleftheriou.
Churches and Mosques
The town is divided into six parishes. Each one of the six bears the name of the saint to whom the parish church is dedicated. Starting from the west plains the traveller finds the parish church of Ayios Theodhoros Stratilatis – Saint Theodore the Victorious Army Commander. Next, one finds the parish church of Apostolos Loukas – Apostle Luke – and finally the parish church of Ayios Minas – Saint Minas. On the hills there are another two. First, the church of Ayia Anastasia – Saint Anastasia – situated in a commanding spot with a large yard surrounding it in which there is a primary school. Then, on higher ground, there is the largest of parish churches in the village, that of Ayia Paraskevi – Saint Paraskevi. This is also the location of the Kefalovryso – headspring. Last but not least, right in the town centre, lies the Church of Timios Prodhromos – Holy Prodhromos, dated back to the 18th century, the oldest in Lapithos.In the Saint Theodore's interior old Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
books and icons were kept. According to testimonies of Greek Cypriots exiled by the Turkish invasion, by 1975 every piece of treasure in this historic church was pillaged.
The Haydar Pashazade Mehmet Bey Mosque in Lapithos is an Ottoman style stone mosque.http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/kyrenia/lapta/index.html
Twin towns — Sister cities
Lapithos is twinned with the following Greek Municipalities:Mandraki, Nisyros Island
Nisyros
Nisyros is a volcanic Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, situated between the islands of Kos and Tilos. Its shape is approximately round, with a diameter of about , and an area of . Several other islets are found in the direct...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Milies
Milies
Milies is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality South Pelion, of which it is a municipal unit. It is a traditional Greek mountain village, at a height of 400 m on Mount Pelion. It is 28 km from...
, Greece Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, Greece
See also
- KyreniaKyreniaKyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
- Kyrenia DistrictKyrenia DistrictKyrenia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is Kyrenia . It is the smallest of Cyprus' districts, and is the only one fully controlled by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey....
- Turkish invasion of CyprusTurkish invasion of CyprusThe Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
- Cyprus disputeCyprus disputeThe Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....