Maratha ( gr, Μαράθα, tr, Muratağa) is a small village located in the
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 ...
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 geo ...
, 7 km south of
Lefkoniko
Lefkoniko ( el, Λευκόνοικο; tr, Lefkonuk or ) is a town in the Mesaoria Plain under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus, claimed by Cyprus. Lefkoniko is the birthplace of Cypriot national poet Vasilis Michaelides and is known ...
. 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 ...
.
The village was recorded as early as the early 13th century in papal documents.
In 1974 a mass-grave containing the bodies of more than 80 murdered Turkish-Cypriots men, women and children was found here. These were the people who were
massacred
A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
by the
EOKA-B
EOKA-B () was a Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisation formed in 1971 by General Georgios Grivas ("Digenis"). It followed an ultra right-wing nationalistic ideology and had the ultimate goal of achieving the ''enosis'' (union) of Cyprus with ...
in the
Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre
Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre ( tr, Muratağa, Sandallar ve Atlılar katliamı) refers to a massacreOberling, Pierre. The road to Bellapais: the Turkish Cypriot exodus to northern Cyprus' (1982), Social Science Monographs, p. 185 of Turk ...
during 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 Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...
.
[Paul Sant Cassia, ''Bodies of Evidence: Burial, Memory, and the Recovery of Missing Persons in Cyprus'', Berghahn Books, 2007, ]
p. 237.
/ref>
See also
*Santalaris
Santalaris ( gr, Σανταλάρης, tr, Sandallar) is a small village located in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, north of Famagusta. The Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of the village were killed by EOKA-B during Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda ma ...
References
{{Famagusta District
Communities in Famagusta District
Populated places in Gazimağusa District