Pergamos (; tr, Beyarmudu) is a Turkish Cypriot village in

Larnaca District Larnaca District ( el, Επαρχία Λάρνακας, tr, Larnaka kazası) is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital is Larnaca. It is bordered on the east by Famagusta District, on the north by Nicosia District and on the west by L ...

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 ...

, 4 km north of

Pyla Pyla (; ) is a village in Larnaca District, Cyprus. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being Athienou, Troulloi and Deneia. Pyla is located in the eastern part of the island, adjacent t ...

, almost surrounded by the British

Sovereign Base Area Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territory o ...

(SBA) at

Dhekelia Dhekelia Cantonment ( el, Φρουρά Δεκέλεια, tr, Dikelya Cantonment) is a military base in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus, administered as the Sovereign Base Areas. It is located in the ...

.PRIO web site http://www.prio-cyprus-displacement.net/default.asp?id=383 retrieved Aug 2018 Pergamos 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 ...

. Under Ottoman rule it was in the Caza of Famagusta and initially remained so under British rule.Census of Cyprus 1881, printed by Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1884 Around 1920 it was moved to Larnaca District.Report and General Abstracts of the Census of Cyprus 1911, publ. Waterlow and Sons Ltd, London, 1912Report and General Abstracts of the Census of Cyprus 1921, publ. Waterlow and Sons Ltd, London, 1922

Name

The origin of the name is uncertain and may be associated with ancient

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

or Bergamo in the Venice region of Italy. Considering the Venetians settled in Cyprus before the Ottomans, it is highly possible they are the ancestors of the Turkish Cypriots of Pergamos. The Turkish Cypriot name became Beyarmudu in 1958, meaning lord's pear. Pergamos was actually called Pergama and is visible on a map which was published by Jacomo Franco in Venice 1570. Origin of word “Bergamot”: French bergamote, from Italian bergamotta, from Ottoman Turkish bey armudu, lord's pear (equivalent to modern Turkish bey armudu) : bey-lord; see bey + armut, armud-, pear (from Persian amrūd, from Middle Persian ūrmōd) + -u, possessive suff.]

Demographics

Pergamos had a population of 87 in 1881 (first British census). During the British period it was almost solely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots, which it remains. In 1960 there were 826 inhabitants, all Turkish Cypriots.Census of Population and Agriculture 1960, pub.Printing Office of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1960; Vol.1, Table IV In 2011 the population was 1,196, a slight decrease from 1,270 in 2006. Some Turkish Cypriots who were displaced to Pergamos during the 1960s have remained since in the village.

Current conditions

Apart from the area within the SBA, it lies within the Turkish sector under the

De facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

control of

, in the new Famagusta district of the Turkish Cypriots. Pergamos is the site of a Green Line crossing checkpoint. That and the proximity of the SBA has assisted economic development in the area.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Pergamos is twinned with: *

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea c ...

, Istanbul, Turkey * Kepez, Antalya, Turkey *

Karaman Karaman, historically known as Laranda (Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. According to ...

, Turkey (since 2013)

References

Communities in Larnaca District Populated places in Gazimağusa District Border crossings of Cyprus Borders of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Municipalities of Northern Cyprus {{cyprus-geo-stub