Kythrea ( or ; ) is a small town in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, 10 km northeast of

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

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

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

History

Kythrea is situated near the ancient Greek city-kingdom of

Chytroi Chytri (or Khytri, ) was one of the ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus in antiquity. It was located in the centre of the island, in the territory of Chytraea, west of Mesaoria. Today the modern town of Kythrea (Kyrka) has preserved the ancient name. An ...

, which was founded by Chytros, son of

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

and grandson of the grandson of the Athenian King Akamas. According to one tradition, the name Kythrea derives from Chytroi (Χύτροι > *Χυτρέα > Κυθρέα). According to another tradition, it derives from the name of the Greek Ionian island

Kythera Kythira ( ; ), also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira, is an Greek islands, island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, altho ...

, from where millstones were transferred to Kythrea's watermills. In Delphic Theorodochoi inscription, one inscription mentions the Chytroi. With the spread of Christianity in Cyprus, Chytroi became a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The first bishop, whose name is known is Pappus, is mentioned in the Life of

Epiphanius of Salamis Epiphanius of Salamis (; – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, at the end of the Christianity in the 4th century, 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic Churche ...

as having been bishop for 58 years of the "miserable town of Chytria", and as having died a martyr at some unspecified date, which must have been under either the pagan emperors

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Λικίνιος; c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign, he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that ...

Maximinus II Galerius Valerius Maximinus, born as Daza (; 20 November 270 – July 313), was Roman emperor from 310 to 313. He became embroiled in the civil wars of the Tetrarchy between rival claimants for control of the empire, in which he was defeated ...

, or the

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

. The acts of the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

(451) show that Bishop Photinus was represented there by his deacon Dionysius, and those of the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...

in 767 that Bishop Spyridon attended in person.Michel Lequien
''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus''
Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 1067-1070 Contemporary documents are lacking concerning Demetrianus, whom Henri Grégoire described as perhaps the most obscure of the local saints of Cyprus. The medieval

Leontios Machairas Leontios Machairas or Makhairas (Greek: Λεόντιος Μαχαιράς, French: Léonce Machéras; about 1380 - after 1432) was a historian in medieval Cyprus. The main source of information on him is his chronicle, written in the medieval Cyp ...

is the earliest writer to make even a brief mention of his name. According to the oldest Life of Demetrianos, published in the 18th century, he became bishop in around 885, was captured by Arabs and taken to Egypt with many of his faithful, but by his prayers obtained the liberation of all. No longer a residential bishopric, Chytri is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. Kythrea is a remarkable archaeological area. One outstanding statue discovered in the area is the bronze statue of Roman Emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

, exhibited in the

Cyprus Museum The Cyprus Museum (also known as the Cyprus Archaeological Museum) is the oldest and largest archaeological museum in Cyprus, located on Museum Street in central Nicosia. The museum is home to the most extensive collection of Cypriot antiquities ...

in Nicosia. In the Middle Ages, Kythrea hosted flourmills that belonged to the

King of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (; ) was a medieval kingdom of the Crusader states that existed between 1192 and 1489. Initially ruled as an Independent state, independent Christian state, Christian kingdom, it was established by the French House of Lusi ...

, powered by its water springs. At the end of the 13th century, flour produced in the Kythrea mills provided the supply for the production of bread in the capital, Nicosia. The Kythrea municipality was established in 1915. The small town was watered for millennia by the Kefalovrysos spring; however, shortly after the 1974 Turkish invasion, the water stopped flowing. Other forms of the name include Chytri, Cythraia, Cythereia, Cythroi, Chytrides, Chytros and Chytria. Majority of the survivors of the

Alaminos massacre Alaminos massacre (Turkish: ''Aleminyo katliamı)'' was a massacre of 13 or 15 Cypriot Turkish civilians in the village of Alaminos which happened on 20 July 1974. A year later the survivors of the massacre fled to Kythrea. The massacre The m ...

in 1974 from Alaminos later found refugee in Kythrea.

Administration

The town is administered by the Turkish Cypriot Municipality of Değirmenlik founded in 1975. The current mayor is Ali Karavezirler from the

Republican Turkish Party The Republican Turkish Party (, CTP; ) is a social-democratic political party in Northern Cyprus. The party was founded in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, a lawyer, in opposition to the leadership of Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş. On 30 ...

(CTP). He was elected to the post in 2018, garnering 54.1% of the votes. He replaced Osman Işısal, the mayor elected in 2014 from the same party. Displaced inhabitants of Kythrea, now located in

and elsewhere, maintain a municipality in exile. It shares premises with the similarly-displaced municipality of

Lapithos Lapithos or Lapethos (; ) is a town in Cyprus. ''De facto'', it is under the control of Northern Cyprus. Archeologists claim that Lapithos was founded by the Achean brothers Praxandros and Cepheus. According to Strabo, the ancient settlement o ...

at 37 Ammochostou Street, Nicosia.

Demographics

After its Greek Cypriot inhabitants were displaced in August 1974, the town was repopulated by displaced Turkish Cypriots. The main origin of the Turkish Cypriots that settled in the town is the village of Alaminos, but inhabitants of many other villages were also relocated here. There are some Turkish people that have settled in the town as well, mostly hailing from the

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Culture, sports and tourism

Prior to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Kythrea was the home of the football club

AEK Kythreas AEK Kythreas (Greek: ΑΕΚ; ''Aθλητική Ένωση Κυθρεας'', Athlitiki Enosi Kythreas) is a Cypriot football club, formerly based in Kythrea, a village under ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Since 1974 due to the Turkish ...

. Değirmenlik Environment and Publicity Association was founded in 2008. Değirmenlik Association of Culture and Arts is a non-governmental organization that is active in the town, and it annually organizes the Festival of Culture and Arts since 2009. The members of the association participate in festivals abroad. The Municipality of Değirmenlik has a folklore group that is open to children. Değirmenlik Sports Club was founded in 1975, and now in Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) K-PET 1st League. Kythrea's Sadik Cemil Football Stadium has "FIFA Recommended Star 2"-standard. The town is home to Değirmenlik High School.TRNC MEBNET
Accessed 23 July 2022.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Kythrea is twinned with: *

Gebze Gebze (), formerly known as Libyssa, is a municipality and district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 418 km2, and its population is 407,019 (2022). It is situated 65 km (30 mi) southeast of Istanbul, on the Gulf of Izmit, ...

, Kocaeli, Turkey (since 1996) *

Canik Canik is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 264 km2, and its population is 100,641 (2022). It is located to the east of the city center of Samsun. Canik means land of Tzan/Can Laz people and became one of the ...

, Samsun, Turkey (since 2015)

References

{{Nicosia District Municipalities in Nicosia District Populated places in Lefkoşa District Municipalities of Northern Cyprus Greek colonies