Lefkoniko ( el, Λευκόνοικο; tr, Lefkonuk or ) is a town in the Mesaoria Plain under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus, 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 ge ...

. Lefkoniko is the birthplace of Cypriot national poet Vasilis Michaelides and is known for its

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

. Geçitkale Air Base of the

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known to ...

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

Demographics

Before 1960, Lefkoniko was inhabited both by

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

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 ...

. The latter were the minority. With the exception of a family of three, all Turkish Cypriots fled the town in the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

years. Greek Cypriots were displaced to the south of the island during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and Lefkoniko was repopulated by Turkish Cypriots from Kofinou 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 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 (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 Cittaslow is an organisation founded in Italy and inspired by the slow food movement. Cittaslow's goals include improving the quality of life in towns by slowing down its overall pace, especially in a city's use of spaces and the flow of life a ...

(slow city) network and received their official certificate of conformity and their flag during the general assembly. Therefore Lefkoniko has won the fourth

title in the TRNC.

Twin towns – sister cities

Lefkoniko is twinned with: *

Yalova Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. The town has a population of 156,838, while the population of the surrounding Yalova Province is 291,001 . A largely modern town, it is ...

, 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