History/Tarih P.3
Village history Part 3. Köy Tarihi üçüncü bölüm
Lurucina tarihin Türkçe çevrisi sayfanın son bölümünde
It was Sunday March 12, 1815 when William Turner, Esquire landed in Cyprus. His mission was to visit Dali (Idalion) in search of ancient artefacts/antiques. Though his passage through Luricina (Looretzena as he wrote it) was short, he left an eyewitness description of the surrounding area’s produce or lack of it, the way people dressed, lived, spoke and felt. As many of our families have connections to Dali then his account makes it all the more interesting. Mr Turner gives us some idea as to the conditions prevailing in 1815.
The following is Mr Turners account of that day. [1]
March 20. Mr H. having been kind enough to lend me his horse, a small grey of the country, with an English saddle, at a quarter before seven I set off with İbrahım, one of Mr V.’s Janissaries, mounted on a small mule, to visit the site of the ancient Idalium, famous for the death of Adonis. It is now a small village, five leagues’ (hours’) distance from Larnaca, a little more than half-way between that town and Nicosia. Our road lay through an extensive plain of a dry but fruitful soil, not one-tenth part of which was cultivated, and that by a miserable wooden plough, drawn by two oxen or mules. The plain is bordered by mountains very insignificant in height, which bore a singular appearance from their tops being naked and of a sandy white, while their base was covered with brown moss. Along the road which, however, was in general too stony to need or admit any care, I observed some remains of a brick pavement, probably Venetian. In an hour we came to the village of Aracipou, consisting of about twenty five house; and we passed two others, Gotzi containing ten, and Looretzena, about thirty houses. Near Gotzi was a mountain in shape a complete sugar-loaf, which contained on its peak a small Greek Church, of the lower Empire (of which construction there are several Greek Churches about the island), that had a very picturesque effect. At half past ten we arrived at Idalium (a small village of a hundred houses, still to my great delight called Thali) which is situated in a plain better cultivated than the surrounding country, being very fruitful in corn, grapes (whence they make the common red wine of the country, sold for eight paras an oke), beans, and cotton, and surrounded by small mountains near it. whence perhaps issued the boar fatal to Adonis. We went to the house of a peasant, who admitted us very cordially, and his wife shook hands with us our entering, contrary to the custom of countries in the Levant, which is either to kiss hands or to carry the hand to the forehead. They gave us some eggs which with bread and cheese and wine brought by Ibrahim, made me a good dinner. The master of the house and his family made themselves so serviceable, and were so civil, that I supposed them Greeks, and was astonished when he told me he was a Musulman, as well as his wife and six children. He went to Constantinople four years ago, he said, to fight against the Russians; and after serving six months in the Turkish army received 70 piastres as pay. His wife was weaving cotton, which in its raw state sells here for three and a half piastres an oke. His cottage was neat and clean, and consisted of only one room with mud walls and a mud floor,of which one half was raised above the other. After dinner the peasant offered to conduct me to a very fine antique building in the neighbourhood, and on my assenting led me about two miles through rich fields full of the productions before-mentioned, and shaded by long rows of olive trees, and watered by a small river: the tout ensemble, with the mountains round, made a pleasing prospect. On my way my guide complained bitterly of the tyranny of the government, who exacted from each cottager 150 piastres yearly. When we came to the antique he had boasted of, I found it was a small Venetian building, on which I had left it immediately, and he led me to the site of the ancient Idalium, which is about a quarter of a mile to the north of the village, between two small mountains, part of which it covered: here, he said, according to a tradition in the village, stood a large city formerly, and though there were no walls standing, yet the tradition was supported by an amazing number of stones scattered about the fields and the mountains, and by two small water troughs that appeared ancient. I had not been able to borrow at Larnaca any volume containing Bion’s Idyll on the death of Adonis, but fortunately my pocket Anacreon contained, among some few pieces of other poets, Theocritus, XXX, ‘The dead Adonis,” which I read on the spot with enthusiastic pleasure. From the site of the ancient city I had a very advantageous view of the modern village, with its small mountains, behind which were others in the distance of a considerable height: but it is infested by the curse of a modern Cyprus, pools of stagnant water, which were drying and brewing fevers apace. At a quarter past three I left Thali, rather disappointed at not having been able to find a single antique. We met several peasants on the road driving large flocks of sheep and goats: their prevailing dress was a white turban, white jacket and white shalwar (trousers): that of the women was the common Greek dress, with a large white vest to shade them from the sun. When we were about half-way, Ibrahim made me turn aside from the road, a narrow pass between two rocks, to look at a tomb of a poor Greek, who had been found dead on the road, having been found dead with the fever, and, it is supposed, drank too copiously of a pool of water near which his body was found. The rocks that we passed were very white, and scooped out into natural basins by the rains. We passed a little after sunset the village of Aracipou, where I got some delicious milk, warm from the goat, the flocks being just returned. Hence we proceeded by glimpses of the moonlight, which was at intervals obscured by clouds. When we were drawing near Larnaca we met four Greek peasants on donkey’s; as the first in passing us saluted us with “Good evening,” Ibrahim struck him with the switch in his hand, returning his salute with “anasiny siqdim” (the common Turkish expression of anger or contempt): immediately he and the other three alighted with great expedition: when I asked Ibrahim why he struck the man, he said it was because he had not alighted in passing me; and I found on enquiry that every Rayah here is forced to alight whenever he meets a Turk of rank. I of course, charged Ibrahim, who had insisted on the same respect being paid to me, not to be so punctilious on my account in future. At half past seven we reached Signor Vondiziano’s house. I could not observe my thermometer at noon to-day, but at nine in the evening it was 56. We passed on the road several camels, which attain here their full size and perfection: my horse was not, like the Grecian horses of old, either frightened or disgusted by them.
In my correspondence with Nazim Beratli who is considered one of the leading historical researchers on the history of the Turkish Cypriots, he kindly informed me of an Ottoman archive document during the siege of Famagusta in 1571, which recorded the transfer of civilians from the besieged city to “Lourigina”. [2]
Together with Paolo Paruta born in 1540 in Venice who recorded the siege in “Storia della Guerra di Cipro”, and Fra Angelo Calepio a Cyprus doctor in Theology of the order of Preachers, & Vicar General of the Province of Terra Santa who was also an eyewitness of the capture of Nicosia in 1570, together they have left us a vivid account of the Ottoman capture of Famagusta. [3] Some of the information acquired from these sources have given us an opportunity to put together certain events that may have directly or indirectly effected Lurucina itself.
At the height of the siege, with food running short, the Venetian officers took the decision to force all the civilians outside the city walls. This would give the defence garrison more time to resist the Ottoman’s in the hope that relief would be forthcoming from Venice.
Paolo Paruta described the expulsion of “Perhaps eight thousand in all, who went to the surrounding villages without interference from the Turks”.[4]
Nazim Beratli’s discovery of the Ottoman archive document explains how (probably the Latins) the expelled civilians from Famagusta were given two options, the choice was either to convert to Islam or risk being beheaded. They accepted Islam and some were then relocated to “Lourigina”. Angelo Calepio also wrote the circumstances at the time giving us a consistent recorded history of the situation prevailing in 1570/71 and the aftermath.
Fra Angelo Calepio. “From the capture of Famagosta right up to the harvest of the following year there fell a great dearth on the realm of Cyprus, and those very few poor gentlemen who remained in the island, having been ransomed together with citizens of Nicosia, struggled to make a living as muleteers (Kiraci) and hawkers of wine, cloth and other little things, a very different life from their old one. The citizens of Famagosta remained for the present in their houses, but many were driven out by the Turks who came to lodge there, and then took possession.
An envoy arrived from Famagosta to confirm the treaty made by Mustafa with the citizens. They were allowed to live as Christians, provided only that there should be no one of the Latin Church. To these the Turk would grant neither church, house nor any privilege. The Latin’s in Famagosta were thus compelled to dissemble their faith and rites”.[5]
Based on the above, the conclusion has to be that the ultimatum and transfer to Lurucina must have been Latin families rather than Orthodox, the reason being that the Orthodox Greeks were not seen as the enemy, therefore it was upon the Venetian Latin people that the pressure to convert were imposed. Subsequent events in the aftermath of Ottoman rule gives credence to the above. What happened to these families who came to be known as “Linobambaki’s” is still a matter for speculation. As mentioned on other pages on this site, it seems they survived until new waves of migrants like the Katri’s, Mehmet Said’s, Siliono’s, Suleyman ‘Zabuni’s’, Sari Mehmet’s and others began to flood into the village in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.
There are off-course some family trees that we have not being able to trace their origins.
One thing is clear however the knowledge and understanding of our roots is at a much more advanced level then it’s ever been. No doubt much more needs to be found, but slowly and surely the gentle mist hanging over our past has begun to clear. In time much more will become apparent.
Bu bölüm 1831 Osmanlı nüfus sayımı sonuç istatistikleri ile ilgilidir . Bunlara çabuk bir gözatma , Luricina veya o zamanki tescilli ismi Luricine/ Buricina olan bu köyün tamamı ile farklı bir köy olduğu yalın gerçeğini tüm berraklığı ile ortaya koyar. Kişi başına düşen toprak mülkiyeti kişi başına 21 dönüm her erkek Turk’e, (Osmanlilar, Kadinlari nüfus rakamlarına dahil etmezdi ) ve 27 dönüm her erkek Rum’a olmasına rağmen, tarım ürünlerinin doğası çok farklıydı. Zeytin ağaçları ve üzüm bağları ekim ve kullanimi kısıtlı idi. İncir , badem ,narenciye ya da meyve ağaçları ise hiç yoktu. Hatta köyümüzün sonraları meşhur olan ünlü üzüm bağları ise sadece 112 Müslümanlara ve 53 Hıristiyanlara ait olanla sınırlıydı. 1885 Lord Kitchener haritalarında (arşiv malzemesi sayfa 1) da görüldüğü gibi üzüm bağları için kullanılan araziler büyük büyüme gösterdi ve 1931 nüfus sayımında 700% artış göstererek 1099 dönüme ulaştı. Açıkça görülüyor ki , ağırlıklı olarak adaya 1700 lü yılların sonlarında ve 1800 lü yılların başlarında yeni gelen büyük toprak sahibi göçmenler yeterli olmadıkları bazı tarım yöntemlerini sonradan geliştirdiler. Ne yazıktır ki hayvancılık ve hayvan sayıları için bir istatistik elde edilmemiştir , bu nedenle çoban sayısını veremiyoruz , ancak hiçbir ağılın kayıtlı olmamasi çok ilginçtir. Üzüm bağları için kullanılan arazinin az miktarda olması , yeni Müslüman göçmen nüfusun özellikle şarap üretmeye ilgi duymaması ile açıklanabilir. Rumlarin şarap endüstrisinin gelişmesi ve daha sonraki yıllarda Kıbrıslı Türklerin alkol keyfinde yaşanan büyüme bu özel üründe , daha sonraları köye “stafillo-horgo“ (asma köy) takma adının verilmesine kadar varacak bir değişim sağladı. Badem, incir ve elma gibi ürünlerin de daha sonradan tercih gördüğü açıktır. Ayrıca dükkan olarak tescil edilmiş bir tek konut yoktur. Yapılan satışlar kişisel bazda veya takas şeklinde gerçekleşmiş olmalı.
Bu nüfus sayımının en yalın sonucu, herhangi bir su kuyusunun ya da su deposunun kaydının olmamasidir. Irmak, köy sakinlerinin su ihtiyaçlarını karşılamış olmalı , ve böylece köydeki su kuyusunun Lorenzia tarafından bulunduğunun bir efsane olduğu da kanıtlanmış oldu.
This is the English version of the above written Turkish translation
This section deals with statistics from the results of the Ottoman census of 1831. A quick glance and the stark realisation that Lurucina, or Luricine/Burucina as it was registered was a completely different village at that time is crystal clear. Though the land ownership per person of the population was 21 dönüms per adult male for the Turkish ( Women were not included in the Ottoman census’s) & 27 dönüms per adult male for the Greeks , the nature of farming produce was very different. Only a limited amount of olive trees and vineyards was used for cultivation. Fig trees, almonds, citrus, or fruit trees were nonexistent. Even the famous vineyards which our village later became famous for was limited to only 112 dönüms Muslim owned and 53 dönüms Christian owned. The 1885 Lord Kitchener maps shows the growth of land used for vineyards grew massively and the 1931 census registered 1099 donums (vineyards) which was over 700% in a hundred years. Its clear that the predominantly new Turkish migrants of the late 1700’s/early 1800’s were large landowners with little skill in certain aspects of farming which they later acquired. Sadly no statistics for husbandry or other animals have been acquired, therefore we cannot verify how many may have been shepherds. Its interesting that no sheep pens were registered. The small amount of land used for vineyards could be explained in that, the new Muslim emigrant population were not particularly interested in the produce of wine. The growth of the Greek wine industry and the Turkish Cypriot enjoyment of alcohol in later years transformed this particular produce, which gave the nickname of the village stafillo-horgo (vine village). Its also clear that almonds, figs, apples etc were a later addition. In addition there was not a single property that was registered as a shop. If any exchange or sales were undertaken this must have happened on a personal barter basis.
The most stark result found in this census was that there was no water well or water tank of any sort. The stream must have supplied the water needs of the inhabitants, therefore the myth that the village well founded by Lorenzia has finally proven to be just that, a myth.
Nüfus /population— 104 Muslims. 25 non Muslims
Hane/dwellings— 39 (Muslim owned) 13 (Christian owned)
Dükkan/shops— 0
Hamam— 0
şira-hane— 0
Mandira/sheep pens— 0
Tarla, arsa, frahti, çiftlik,havlı, duhan, hasillak— 2098 dönüms (Muslim owned). 621 dönüms (Christian owned)
Bağ, bahçe— 112 dönüms (Muslim owned) 53 dönüms (Christian owned)
Değirmen dolap, havuz, kuyu / wells, water tanks, water pools, water holes— 0
Ceviz ağacı/ walnut trees— 0
Dut ağacı (Berry trees)— 0
Fındık ağacı— 0
Harup ağacı— 0
Zeytin ağacı/Olive trees — 130 Muslim owned & 24 Christian owned
Incir ağacı— 0
Badem ağacı— 0
limon, portokal ağacı, lemon, orange trees.— 0
Ahur, samanlık, develik.— 0
Kamışlık, kavaklık— 0
Ayva, armut, elma, nar ağacı— 0. [6]
The population during British rule.
The village was mixed until the 1950’s, but Turkish Cypriots (Muslims) since the early 1800’s constituted the majority. As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, the Muslim (Turkish Cypriot) share of the population was almost 81%. In 1891 this percentage increased to 88%. Throughout the British period the Turkish Cypriot population continued to increase, while the Greek Cypriot percentage declined. By 1960, there were only three Greek Cypriots left in the village.
Displacement:
The first conflict-related displacement occurred when Greek Cypriots fled the village in the 1950’s as a result of inter-communal tensions created by the EOKA struggle. Although no one was displaced from the village during the inter-communal strife of the 1960’s, the village became an important reception centre for displaced Turkish Cypriots. Richard Patrick recorded almost 1,000 displaced Turkish Cypriots still living in the village in 1971; for the same year he also estimated the population of the village at 2,800. The majority of these displaced persons came from nearby villages such as Potamia/Dereli (089), Piroyi/Gaziler (093), Nisou/Dizdarköy (076), Dali (024) and Agios Sozomenos/Arpalık (008). In addition, in the first months of 1964, Petrophani/Esendağ (370) villagers also sought refuge in the village for a short time but later returned to their homes. After the division of the island in 1974, most of village’s fertile land ended up in the buffer zone or south of the Green Line and the village itself became a semi-militarised zone, most of its inhabitants and the displaced families from the 1960s were relocated to empty Greek Cypriot villages in the north. While the Turkish Cypriots of Louroujina chose to move to the village of Lysi/Akdoğan(167), most of the 1960s displaced families settled in Argaki/Akçay (020) in the Morphou/Güzelyurt area. It is important to note that, despite the insistence of the Turkish Cypriot leadership, almost 300 Louroujina Turkish Cypriots chose to stay in the village, which is now surrounded by the buffer zone and military barricades. Today, the only access to the village is through a Turkish military camp in Piroyi/Gaziler(093) village.
Current Inhabitants:
Currently the village is occupied by its original Turkish Cypriot inhabitants who chose to stay there. The 2006 census put the village’s population at 462
Akıncılar/Lurucina ARAZİ (Donum) 1971. Size of Lurucina land ownership
Kuru Ziraat 10.000
Sulu Ziraat 300
Vakıf Arazi 15
Hali veya Mera 6.185
Toplam 16.500 [7]
[1] EXCERPTA CYPRIA pages 429-31. Published at the Cambridge University press warehouse 1908
[2] Nazim Beratli correspondence on 11/03/2012.
[3] Excerpta Cypria . Published at the Cambridge University press warehouse 1908 pages 96-119 & Calepio 122-162
[4] Excerpta Cypria . Published at the Cambridge University press warehouse 1908. Page 111
[5] Excerpta Cypria . Published at the Cambridge University press warehouse 1908. Page 161
[6] Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü.1831-3 Osmanlı Nüfus Arşivleri . State National archives of The Republic of Turkey. 1831 Ottoman census Page 145. “Osmanlı İdaresinde Kıbrıs, Nüfusu-Arazi dağılımı”
[7] Haşim Altan ”Kıbrıs’ta Türk Malları”. (Turkish property in Cyprus) 1972 Page 989
[8] P.R.I.O Peace Research Institute of Oslo(Parici)
.
0 Comments