Diorios or Dhiorios ( gr, Διόριος, tr, Tepebaşı) is a village in the

Kyrenia District Kyrenia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια; tr, Girne). It is the smallest of Cyprus' districts, and is the only one controlled in its entirety by the unrecognised de facto state o ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, 2 km west of

Myrtou Myrtou ( gr, Μύρτου, tr, Çamlıbel) is a town in the Kyrenia District of Cyprus, north of the city of Morphou. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Name origin There are several traditions as to how the village got ...

. It is under the ''de facto'' control of

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

Etymology

For its name various versions exist that have stood the test of time. One of them claims that it took its name from the two kingdoms that existed in the region. Another version is because it faces two hills (mountains). A third version notes that owes its name from two streams that flowed to the ground, while a fourth says it was so named because it was in ancient times, the hill of the father of the Olympian Gods,

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

.Whichever the version one thing is certain: that Diorios is a very beautiful and enchanting village of

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

Location and history

Located in a magnificent natural setting on the south side of the plateau of

, in dense forests that spread throughout the village and joined by a magical way with the sea of Agia Eirini all the way up to

Kormakitis Kormakitis (Cypriot Arabic: ; el, Κορμακίτης, ''Kormakítis''; tr, Kormacit or ) is a small village in Cyprus. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Kormakitis is one of four traditionally Maronite villages in Cy ...

. Diorios was a mixed village (Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots) which has excellent views of the Bay of

Morphou Morphou ( el, Μόρφου; tr, Omorfo or ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominantl ...

, the mountain of old Epia, the port of Xeros and ancient

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

. Diorios is known to date for the unique, red tulips. The vegetation of the Cyprus tulip «Tulipa Cypria» or "laledes" by the locals, where flourish in abundant quantities during the months of March and April, is characteristic of the region. Tepeba%C5%9F%C4%B1_K%C3%B6y%C3%BC

From a geological point of view, the administrative area of the village is dominated by sandstones, flysch of

Kythrea Kythrea ( el, Κυθρέα or ; tr, Değirmenlik) is a small town in Cyprus, 10 km northeast of Nicosia. Kythrea is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. History Kythrea is situated near the ancient Greek city-kingdom of Ch ...

and to a lesser extent, alluvial deposits, especially along the river basins of the region. On the deposits, were developed xerorentzines and territories terraroza . The average annual rainfall in the village area is reached by the homonymous state forest. In the remaining areas were before 1974 mainly cereals, carob and olive trees. Diorios' population increased from 1881 until 1946. In 1881 the inhabitants numbered 387 and increased to 432 in 1891. In 1911 the inhabitants were 614 (402 Greeks and 212 Turks), while in 1946 amounted to 795 (517 Greeks, 271 Turks and 7 others). In the next census in 1956, a decrease of inhabitants numbered 622 (374 Greeks, 246 Turks and 2 others). Later there was increasing again in 1960 the villagers were 873 (514 Greeks and 359 Turks). The Turkish villagers abandoned it in 1964, because of the hostilities between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. In 1973, the Greek population of the village numbered 600 inhabitants. After the village was captured by Turkish troops during the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

in the summer of 1974, many Turkish Cypriots returned to their village, and later many settlers from Turkey settled there under the Turkish plan for demographic change in the occupied areas of Cyprus. A few Greek Cypriots had remained trapped in their village after the Turkish invasion. They were only 16 people in October 1975 and they were forced to leave Diorios, following all the other Greek refugees. In September 1976 the last of the Greek villagers was expelled. The village church dedicated to Agia Marina, was built in 1850 over an older church. In 1973 worked the new church of St. Marina in another village location. The old church was damaged during the invasion of 1974 and is in ruins till now, the newer temple located in a military area said was used as a hospital. Other chapels of the village is St. John, Prophet Zachariah, St. Black, Prophet Elias, Archangel Michael, St. George (Mahania forest area), St. George (Trimithias area) of the Holy Cross, and Agiopetras St. Nicholas. In 2012, the Community Council-in-exile created an emblem for Diorios. Turkish Cypriots organize Tulip Fest each year.Kibris Postasi, 16 March 2013
Tulip Fest

More info about the village

File:Agia Marina 2012 front.jpg, A Front picture of Agia Marina church in Diorios Village File:Agia Marina 2012 Back.jpg, A back picture of Agia Marina church in Diorios Village File:Diorios View1.jpg, A view of Morfou gulf on a foggy day File:Diorios View2.jpg, A view of Kormakitis from Diorios File:Diorios View3.jpg, A view of Kormakitis from Diorios Diorios is the second larger administrative area in the village of

(the largest is

). Its administrative limits reach to the southern border of the Nicosia-Kyrenia. Most of the administrative area of the village is covered by a dense pine forest, while in other areas the villagers cultivate mainly cereals, carob and olive trees. Diorios forest occupies an area of 8,400 acres, i.e. 1,124.4 hectares and the village covers an area of 27,587 acres or 36.9 square miles.

External links

References

{{Kyrenia District Communities in Kyrenia District Populated places in Girne District