Tymvou ( tr, Kırklar) is a village in the central

Mesaoria The Mesaoria ( el, Μεσαορία, tr, Mesarya) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus. Geography The Mesaoria is the name given to the broad tract of plain which extends across the island from the ...

plain of

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 ge ...

. Tymvou is occupied by the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

and is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus. After 1960, the village was inhabited exclusively by

Greek Cypriots Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 ...

; in 1973, they numbered 1,288. The original population fled the village in 1974, following the

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 intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-s ...

. As of 2011, Tymbou had a population of 384. Ercan International Airport is located directly north of the village.

Location

Tymvou is located to the east of Nicosia, off the old Nicosia – Famagusta road. It lies in the Mesaoria plain, next to Yialias river, at an altitude of . To the south of the village lie the now-uninhabited villages of

Margo *** People * Margo (actress) (1917–1985), Mexican-American actress and dancer * Margo (magician), American magic performer and actress * Margo (singer), Irish singer * Margo (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name ...

and

Pyrogi Pyrogi ( gr, Πυρόι; tr, Gaziler) is a village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus, located south of Tymbou. It is under de facto control of Northern Cyprus. Today it is largely uninhabited, as the village lies within military area and can ...

, while Louroujina, south of Tymvou, is still inhabited by

Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,0 ...

Nearby airport

Tymvou Airport, the precursor of Ercan International Airport, was constructed by the British in World War II as a military airport, during their colonial rule of the island. It was abandoned after the independence of Cyprus. Following the Turkish invasion, it was expanded and today it is used as the main civilian airport of Northern Cyprus.

History

The name ''Tymvou'' is believed to come from the tombs (Greek ) located in caves and caverns to the north of the present village near the airport. First written records of the name Tymvou can be found on a document from the Frankish (Lusignian) occupation of the island during the reign of the Frankish king Jacob II (1460-1473 AD). The document granted feudal rights of the area to ''Pierre Coul.'' During the Ottoman period it was a large çiflik (farming area which included the entire village) belonging to wealthy Greek landowner in 1813 named Demetris Pavlides. From 1821 it became the property of a local Turkish administrator Halil Shindar (?). After the end of Turkish rule it returned to Greek hands. The Greek population of the village grew from 278 in 1881 to 1133 in 1960 and 1288 in 1973. The village church dedicated to Ayios Yeorgios (Saint George) was built in 1875. However some of the icons in the church date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. A cave - turned church near the village dedicated to the Forty Martyrs (''Σαράνατα Μάρτυρες'') was later turned into a mosque named Kirklar, the name used by the occupying power for the village of Tymvou.

References

{{Authority control Communities in Nicosia District Populated places in Lefkoşa District Greek Cypriot villages depopulated during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus