Statement about Lefkonico

LEFKONICO (WHITE HOUSE) THEN + NOW
 

It’s history and people

The village of Lefkonico is situated in the north-eastern part of the Mesaoria plain, on the island of Cyprus. This plain is to be found between the mountain ranges of Troodos [to the south] and Kyrenia [to the north]. Hence the word Mesaoria; mesa, meaning “in between” and oria meaning,” the mountain ranges”. 

The village stretches right up to the “feet” of the Pendadactylos (Five-finger) mountain which is part of the Kyrenia mountain range and reaches as far down, as the centre of the plain in the south. 

The total area covered by the village comes to 52.5 square kilometres. The cultivable land of this area is 46.3 square kilometres (that is 88% of the total area covered by the village) and the non-cultivable area, which essentially consists of, the populated area of the village, the roads and the rivers, accounts for 6.2 square kilometres. 

Four rivers cross through the village from north to south and irrigate it in the winter. The annual rainfall is low, coming to approximately 310 millimetres and this fact has had serious repercussions on farming which together with stock-breeding was the main source of income for the inhabitants of the village. Due to this low rainfall dry farming was developed and the main products cultivated up until 1974 were watermelons and crops; mainly wheat and maize. 

The last years leading up to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 saw the development of the   cultivation of fruit-bearing trees, citrus, and vegetables, after the discovery of water reserves at the foot of the Pendadactylos mountains. 

The population of the village before the Turkish invasion was roughly 2,500. 

The etymology of the word Lefkonico derives from the Greek lefkon, which means white and icos which means, house; literally white house. Such a white house was built in the early years of Christendom in the area and later a settlement gradually grew and expanded around it, which bore its name. 

Sir John Myres the famous English Archaeologist ,in 1913, made findings which are proof of the existence of a settlement  at Lefkonico in the seventh century B.C. These findings further bear witness to  the piety and the artistic achievements of the inhabitants of the settlement as also does the Byzantine period in Cyprus (330 B.C-1192 A.D). Proof of this are amongst other things, the magnificent icons of this period. 

From 1192 AD. till 1489 AD. Cyprus was conquered and ruled by the Francs and during this period Lefkonico played a leading role in the island’s history; It was in Lefkonico that the uprising of the native-peasants began against their conquerors ,in 1427 and then spread to the rest of the island. The leader of this rebellion against poverty and hunger was Re Alexi and he chose Lefkonico as his base and citadel to further plan and organize this revolution.  In Lefkonico, as in other towns and villages, at the orders of Re Alexi, warehouses were opened to feed the people.  ?his did not last long however; The conquerors mustered and rallied their forces and finally crushed the rebellion capturing and hanging   Re Alexi in the capital. Re Alexi however remained a symbol of hope and resistance for the people in the Middle-Ages. 

Between 1489-1571 the Venetians conquered Cyprus and ruled the island until 1571. 

In 1571 AD. Cyprus fell to the Ottomans and they governed  Cyprus till 1878. From the records of the Archshopric in Cyprus one may conclude that at least for the first 30 years of the eighteenth century that the most populated and most productive village in Cyprus was Lefkonico. From the records it is evident that the tithes and taxes(mostly in the form of produce) was much higher for the residents of Lefkonico than for other villages. 

In 1878 Cyprus changed hands and a period of British rule ensued which lasted up until 1960.Cyprus became a British colony in 1914.  During British colonial rule Lefkonico was firmly established as the main agricultural centre of the area. 

The two most famous sons of the village were the Bishop of Kitiou, Kyprianos and Vassilis Michaelides. The former contributed to the progress and the advancement of the area and of Cyprus generally. He was considered as the father and protector of the underprivileged in society. He would not hesitate to confront the authorities in matters of social justice. He died prematurely. The latter is the national poet of Cyprus who with his verse, captured the spirit and the aspirations of the people of Cyprus. 

From independence to captivity:

The period after independence (1960) right up to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, was one of affluence and harmony. The village had become a town in all but name; It boasted among other things, a hospital, courts, a secondary and primary school, a public library, its own co-operative bank(the first one on the island), a police station, a land registry, a theatre, churches, mosques, a post office, dairy farms, factories, cinemas. It even boasted an electronic transformer station; the only one in the area. Indeed there was not a trade, profession or service that was not on offer in the village. 

This achievement was no coincidence, for the village stood at the cross-roads of other surrounding villages of the area, providing much needed services to their inhabitants and further acting as a stop-over for people en route to the main towns of the Island. Credit is due to the mayors and municipality of the village who planned with vision and much wisdom. More importantly however was the fact that the inhabitants were enterprising, resourceful but above all extremely hard working. The village had become a hub of economic, social, political and intellectual activity in the area. 
 

In the summer of 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus and to this day occupies, by force of arms, 37% of the island’s territory.  200.000 Cypriots of Greek origin and 50.000 of Turkish origin were forced to abandon their homes and live as, refugees in their own country. Lefkonico was no exception.  These refugees have not since 1974 been allowed to go back to their homes, to peacefully reside, by the Turkish Armed Forces. 

Turkey claims that the killing maiming pillaging, raping, looting and torture that it had spread that fateful summer in 1974, was done in the name of human rights…. 

Lefkonico – watermelons against military jets:

The village has been transformed in to an alien wasteland: houses have fallen into severe disrepair, many have become dilapidated and derelict. Churches, schools and other public buildings have suffered a similar fate, as have roads, bridges and other structures.  Foreign settlers from Anatolia in Turkey have not been encouraged or indeed in some areas, allowed, to settle in the village, unlike the other towns and villages which were forcefully abandoned and where the number of foreign settlers comes in total, to approximately 100.000.  The village has literally been turned into a ghost town.  The reason for this transformation is revealed below. 

Furthermore the name of the village has been changed (“to Gecitkale”), the street names too, historic and religious monuments have been knocked down and left in a ruinous state, the churches have been ransacked and stripped of their treasures.  Religious historical and archaeological treasures have found their way to art dealers all over the world. Graveyards have been vandalized and the remains of the dead have been dug out! 

Such has been Turkey’s dark and grim legacy in Cyprus. 

Turkey’s only “contribution” to this whole affair is the military airport just outside the village of Lefkonico, constructed in the fields where the inhabitants used to grow their watermelons and crops.  The village situated in what is now a highly sensitive military zone, had no chance of survival. 

The building of this mammoth airport, financed by the Turkish Government, was undertaken by a Turkish construction company which brought to Cyprus hundreds of Turkish workers and technicians for the purpose of constructing it. 

This airport is considered to be one of the biggest and most advancely equipped airfields in the region. 

This airport-airbase boasts amongst other things: a 3,180 meters runway (approximately 2 miles long) which measures 50 meters in width, an eight storey control tower equipped with the latest state of the art technology, specially built underground crypts and hangars for military aircraft, dozens of army barracks, warehouses, sentry boxes, which have been erected at different points along the airfield, anti-aircraft guns stationed along the runway, hundreds of armed soldiers which guard this vast military zone from end to end and of course the latest generation of military jets (combat-fighters) “resting” on the tarmac, bristling with weaponry. 

In addition it must further be said that flights in and out of the illegally constructed military airport/base pose a real danger to legal air traffic because the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus are prevented by the Turkish occupying regime from exercising any control afforded to them by IATA over this part of Cyprus which lies in the FIR Nicosia.