Lefkoniko ( el, Λευκόνοικο; tr, Lefkonuk or ) is a town in the Mesaoria Plain 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 ...

, claimed by

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 ...

. Lefkoniko is the birthplace of Cypriot national poet

Vasilis Michaelides Vasilis Michaelides ( el, Βασίλης Μιχαηλίδης, before 1853–18 December 1917) is considered by many and often referred to as the national poet of Cyprus. Michaelides was born in Lefkoniko, a village in the Famagusta District of ...

and is known for its lace.

Geçitkale Air Base Geçitkale Air Base or Lefkoniko Airport is a military airfield of the Turkish Air Force near Lefkoniko ( tr, Geçitkale, links=no) in Northern Cyprus. Construction was completed around 1990. During the renovation of the Ercan International Airpo ...

of the Turkish Air Force is near Lefkoniko.

History

In 1909, the first co-op in Cyprus was founded in Lefkoniko and, in 1939, the municipality of Lefkoniko was established. In a 1955 anti-British demonstration, schoolboys burned the town post office. A collective fine of $2,000 was placed on the inhabitants of Lefkoniko and the

Governor of Cyprus This article lists the colonial governors and administrators of British Cyprus. Hitherto Ottoman Cyprus, a territory of the Ottoman Empire, a British protectorate under Ottoman suzerainty was established over Cyprus by the Cyprus Convention of ...

ordered a 24-hour curfew on Lefkoniko until it was paid.

Demographics

Before 1960, Lefkoniko was inhabited both by Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The latter were the minority. With the exception of a family of three, all Turkish Cypriots fled the town in the Emergency years. Greek Cypriots were displaced to the south of the island during the 1974

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...

, and Lefkoniko was repopulated by Turkish Cypriots from

Kofinou Kofinou ( el, Κοφίνου; tr, Köfünye or ) is a village located in the Larnaca District of Cyprus. It is situated where the roads from Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol trisected, prior to the by-pass built in the 1990s. History Cyprus was ...

and nearby

Artemi Artemi ( gr, Αρτέμι, tr, Arıdamı) is an abandoned village in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, located 9 km north of Lefkoniko on the south side of the Kyrenia mountain range. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus, ...

, which was abandoned. In 1960, Lefkoniko had a population of 2,358. It was the 8th most populous settlement in

Famagusta District Famagusta District ( gr, Επαρχία Αμμοχώστου, Eparchia Ammochostu; tr, Mağusa kazası) is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is the island's most important port, Famagusta. History Most of the district has b ...

and 32nd in the whole of Cyprus. , its population was 1,253.

Sports

Turkish Cypriot Geçitkale Günay Spor Kulübü was founded in 1955, and is now in

Cyprus Turkish Football Association The Cyprus Turkish Football Association ( tr, Kıbrıs Türk Futbol Federasyonu, KTFF) is the governing body of football in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Established on 29 October 1955, during British colonial rule in Cyprus, it was ...

(CTFA) BTM 1st League. Also Geçitkale Women’s Team was founded in 2012 and currently playing in the top league of CTFA Women’s League.

International relations

Cittaslow

In June 2018,after long efforts, Lefkoniko finally joined to Cittaslow (slow city) network and received their official certificate of conformity and their flag during the general assembly. Therefore Lefkoniko has won the fourth Cittaslow title in the

TRNC 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 island of Cyprus. Reco ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Lefkoniko is twinned with: * Yalova, Turkey

Tourist attractions

Archangelos Michael Church

The construction of the church dates back to the 12th century. The church has an arcade along the south side and a double aisle with a chamber at the south west corner of it. The church also has a painting of Archangelos Michael covering a wall. Renovation works are fully funded by EU within Cultural Heritage Programme that European Commission implements through

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

. Renovation works have started in October 2016 and completed in a year (October 2017). The total cost was 430,000 Euro.

References

External links

* * {{Famagusta District Municipalities in Famagusta District Populated places in Gazimağusa District Municipalities of Northern Cyprus Cittaslow