Gönyeli (; ) is a 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 ...

, near the capital city

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 ...

. It is '' de facto'' under the 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 ...

. Over the years the town has merged with

North Nicosia North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( ; ) refers to the largest settlement and the ''de facto'' capital of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality. , North Nicos ...

, making it connurbated with the city. Its population is 11,671.

History

Before the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571, the area consisted of empty fields. Upon the conquest, two families from

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

that of Kurt Ali from

Anamur Anamur is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,430 km2, and its population is 66,846 (2022). It is the westernmost district of that province, bordering on Antalya Province. Anamur contains Anatolia's southernm ...

and Mehmet Efendi from Aksaray, settled here and founded Gönyeli. Over time, as the families grew in population, the village grew as a Turkish-speaking farming community. Gönyeli was one of the first towns to be captured 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 Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

in 1974.

Culture

The football club Gönyeli Spor Kulübü is based in Gönyeli. Gönyeli's stadium, Ali Naci Karacan Stadı (named for journalist Ali Naci Karacan), houses football matches as well as concerts and the annual 23 April Children's Day events. Every July, the Gönyeli International Folk Dance Festival takes place in the town center. The event lasts one week, with groups of dancers from countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey performing traditional folk dance. Gönyeli is a popular town for students looking to rent accommodation as it is about 15 minutes driving distance from the

-based Near East University.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Gönyeli is twinned with: *

Kızılcahamam Kızılcahamam is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Ankara Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,623 km2, and its population is 26,872 (2022). It is 70 km north of the city of Ankara, near the motorway to Istanbul. Its elevati ...

, Ankara, Turkey (since 2009) *

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

, Istanbul, Turkey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonyeli Communities in Nicosia District Populated places in Lefkoşa District Suburbs of Nicosia Municipalities of Northern Cyprus