Learn the truth about Turkish Cypriots = hit cc for subs
Lala Mustafa invaded in the summer of 1570 from the coast of Larnaca, leading the Ottoman fleet with 180,000 troops. There were no Turks waiting to welcome him at the pier.
He disembarked, advanced inland, and slaughtered anyone who did not fall to their knees to bow before him. He easily reached the outskirts of Nicosia and camped at Nissou and the surrounding area to organize his final attack.
The Venetians, who ruled all of Cyprus at the time, were expecting the invasion—it was their worst nightmare. They demolished churches, old buildings, and huts and, within just three years, rapidly constructed the walls of Nicosia. That is, they built as much as they could, because only the first defensive belt was completed when the Ottoman attack came. They compacted the city so it could better withstand assault and planned to erect a second ring of walls, but they did not have time. The fortification project was designed by Paolo Savorgnan, the chief fortifications architect of the Venetians in their Mediterranean territories. He was the same man who designed the fortifications of Heraklion, Crete, and elsewhere.
Diversion of the Pedieos River and the moat
In their design, the Venetians diverted the course of the Pedieos River and attempted, if possible, to fill the moat with water. They wanted to make the task of would-be conquerors even more difficult. They did not manage to do much: the Ottoman host thirsted for new conquests and blood.
The struggle was relentless. Repeated assaults by Islamic fanatics were repelled by Venetian cannons, and the defenders rotated shifts for more than a month on the bastions. At the moat of Bayraktar—where the relevant mosque stands today—the line was broken. The standard-bearer managed to climb the walls and plant the banner. When the Anatolian troops saw this, they stormed in, flooding into the city and attacking the rear of the heroic Venetian fighters. Bayraktar was killed on the spot, but the damage had been done. The Ottomans, thirsting for blood, rape, and plunder, entered Nicosia. The defenders had run out of gunpowder, and the end had come for the aristocratic and other families of the city. Ottoman swords worked without pause. Mounted and foot soldiers, shouting battle cries, beheaded whoever they encountered.
Description by an English traveler
Characteristic is the description of an English traveler of the time who had been trapped in the city and survived the massacre:
“…The nurse was running with her lady along the street to hide when a Turkish dagger cut through the air and her lady’s head, which spun like a ball in the air. The nurse stopped, opened her apron, caught it, and ran carrying her mistress’s severed head to hide. She had not taken many steps before she too was beheaded by Ottoman fury. Neither nurses nor servants, nor noblewomen, nor young or old, nor small children of Venetian origin were spared by the invaders. The order was: ‘Kill them all.’”
Along with them, members of the local population—Greek Cypriots who were in the service of their Venetian lords—were also executed. Most of the Greek population survived, as did some Venetians who fled to the hills and central Cyprus. Foreign sources insist that the city’s streets were stained red with the blood that flowed. In proportion to the population, the massacre is described as greater than that of the Fall of Constantinople.
Even worse followed in Famagusta, with the execution of Marcantonio Bragadin and the entire Venetian aristocracy, despite the agreement that they would surrender the city and depart with their galleys.
How Turkish Cypriots originated
The Ottomans conquered Cyprus in 1571, and it is evident that there was no Turkish element on the island at that time. After establishing their rule and eliminating the Venetians, they divided the territory into districts and left small garrisons to oversee them. The fleet and the main body of the army departed elsewhere. The question that arises is how so many Turkish Cypriots are present today, how they emerged, and how they have become part of the Cyprus problem.
There are many theories and interpretations from scattered historical sources regarding their presence.
They were individuals who converted from the Greek and Maronite communities of Cyprus in order to escape heavy taxation and to gain the benefits of the ruling class. These individuals adapted according to political eras and circumstances.
Panayiotis Hatzidimitriou writes that a significant percentage of the so-called Linobambaki today constitutes a large part of the Turkish Cypriot community. As he explains, these Cypriots share the same origins as Greek Cypriots. He notes that proof of this is the many Turkish Cypriot villages bearing the names of saints.
Dr. Phaedon Th. Papadopoulos, Doctor of Theology and scholar of religion, analyzes the issue of the Linobambaki—crypto-Christians of Cyprus—who, due to unbearable taxation and other pressures under Ottoman rule, declared themselves Muslims. However, when Cyprus passed under British colonial rule, a large percentage of the Linobambaki collectively rejoined the Christian Orthodox community. The policy of the British colonial authorities, disputes within the Church of Cyprus over the archiepiscopal throne, and other factors played a significant role in halting their reintegration.
Common roots
Conditions under British rule did not allow all crypto-Christians, known as Linobambaki, to return to the Christian community.
In two books by Dr. Phaedon Papadopoulos, the composition of the Cypriot population is documented in detail.
With British control of Cyprus, Linobambaki returned en masse to the Christian community. In some communities, census records show residents listed as Muslims in one census and as Christians in the next. Thousands of inhabitants declared themselves Muslim by religion and Greek as their mother tongue.
There are examples of communities where residents collectively returned to Christianity. According to Dr. Papadopoulos’s study, such villages are found mainly in the Limassol district, including Akrounta, Agios Tychonas, Mathikoloni, Monagroulli, Palodia, Fasoula, Foinikaria, Pyrgos, Pano Kivides, and Limnitis. Other examples are recorded in the districts of Nicosia, Larnaca, Paphos, and Famagusta. Large percentages of the population in many other communities are also recorded as having joined the Christian faith.
The Linobambaki
According to Mr. Papadopoulos, the name “Linobambakos” comes from a two-sided fabric, cotton on one side and linen on the other. The cotton outer side represents the apparent identity of the crypto-Christians, while the inner side symbolizes their hidden religious identity.
He has published two books on the Linobambaki of Cyprus, presenting important documents:
“Turks, Muslims, or Crypto-Christians (Linobambaki)? An Introduction to the Co-inhabiting Element” and
“The Territorial and Demographic Aspect of the Cyprus Problem: Maps and Percentages in the Light of History.”
The books include census documents showing entire villages recorded as Muslim in one census and Christian in the next. A letter dated January 6, 1882, from residents of the villages Ambelia and Pyrgos in Tillyria to the British District Commissioner of Nicosia is also published, requesting to be registered as Christians.
Document
The phenomenon of Linobambaki returning to Christianity was particularly evident in the Tillyria region, widely regarded as Linobambaki. The letter reads:
“Most Honorable District Commissioner of Nicosia, Mr. Inglis,
We, the respectfully undersigned Linobambaki of the village of Ambelia and Pyrgos of Tillyria in the district of Lefka, present this humble petition to inform Your Excellency that until now, being Orthodox Christians in secret for fear of the Turks governing Cyprus, we were compelled publicly to appear as Mohammedans. Now, living under the free and tolerant government of Her Majesty the Queen of the great English nation, we are encouraged not to conceal our religious convictions and declare that henceforth we wish openly to profess the Christian Orthodox religion…
Ambelia, January 6, 1882.”
Interruption of reintegration
According to Dr. Papadopoulos, the period 1878–1914 was crucial for developments concerning the Linobambaki community. During this time, some communities permanently returned to Christianity, while others remained in Islam. The scale of returns suggested that eventual full reintegration into the Orthodox community might occur, but this did not happen.
Reasons cited include lack of consistent support from the Orthodox leadership, British administrative discouragement and bureaucracy, mixed marriages and long-term Muslim identification, and uncertainty about Cyprus’s political future, including rumors of Ottoman return.
Evidence
Evidence includes not only saint names in Turkish Cypriot villages but also numerous churches and chapels in those villages. There were entire communities where Turkish Cypriots knew no language other than Greek. For example, in Louroujina (Nicosia district), until 1930, students of the so-called Muslim school and their parents spoke Greek and invoked the Virgin Mary in times of distress. Greek was also exclusively spoken in the Turkish Cypriot village of Galinoporni in Karpasia. Even today, there are elderly Turkish Cypriots whose only language is Greek. In one census, several thousand residents declared themselves Muslim by religion and Greek as their mother tongue.
During British rule, the Church assisted some Linobambaki communities in returning to Christianity, including support for building churches and schools. However, this effort was not universal and lacked continuity.
The role of Evkaf
Religious and other leaders of the Islamic community worked to retain Linobambaki within the Muslim sphere. With the initiative of Evkaf and support from wealthy Muslims, mosques and schools were built in villages of Tillyria.
Dr. Papadopoulos argues that very few Turkish Cypriots have roots in the geographical area of Turkey. Muslims who came during Ottoman rule originated from various regions, including Syria, but gradually adopted a Turkish identity. The core of the Turkish Cypriot population, it is argued, consisted of crypto-Christians (Linobambaki). It is also difficult to define Turkish Cypriots strictly as Muslims, since many are not religious and do not maintain Islamic sentiment, while some retain Christian religious sentiment.
Villages of Saints and Turkish Cypriots
According to the 1960 census tables, Cyprus had 634 settlements, of which 117 were purely Muslim (Turkish Cypriot). However, this does not mean these communities were always Muslim; historical testimonies indicate a Christian past for the overwhelming majority.
There are purely Turkish Cypriot villages bearing saints’ names, such as Agios Epiphanios Soleas, Agios Theodoros Tillyrias, Agios Ioannis Selemanni, Agios Thomas, Agios Andronikos, Agios Efstathios, Agios Iakovos, Agios Symeon, Agios Chariton, Agios Georgios, Agios Ioannis, and others.
The long-time Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash originated from the village of Agios Epiphanios Soleas, where early census records show the vast majority of residents listed as Christians; in later censuses all residents are recorded as Ottomans.
