Tymbou () is a village in the central

Mesaoria The Mesaoria (, ) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus. Geography The Mesaoria is the name given to the broad tract of plain which extends across the island from the Bay of Famagusta in the east to ...

plain of

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 ...

. Tymbou belongs to the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

and is 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 ...

. After 1960, the village was inhabited exclusively by

Greek Cypriots Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greeks, Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest Ethnolinguistic group, ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming al ...

; in 1973, they numbered 1,288. The original population fled the village in 1974, 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 ...

. As of 2011, Tymbou had a population of 384.

Ercan International Airport Ercan International Airport is the primary civilian airport of the unrecognised '' de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is located about east of Nicosia, near the village of Tymbou. The airport only serves flights to and from Turkey. His ...

is located directly north of the village.

Location

Tymbou is located to the east 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 ...

, off the old Nicosia – Famagusta road. It lies in the Mesaoria plain, next to Yialias river, at an altitude of . To the south of the village lie the now-uninhabited villages of Margo and

Pyrogi Pyrogi (; ) is a village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus, located south of Tymbou. It is under de facto control of Northern Cyprus. Today it is largely uninhabited, as the village lies within military area and can only be visited with permissi ...

, while

Louroujina Louroujina ( []; , previously or ) is a village in Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus, located within the salient (geography), salient that marks the southernmost extent of northern Cyprus. It was one of the largest mixed Cypriot villages before the Tur ...

, south of Tymbou, is still inhabited by

Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

Nearby airport

Tymbou Airport, the precursor of

, was constructed by the British in World War II as a military airport, during their colonial rule of the island. It was abandoned after the independence of Cyprus. Following the Turkish invasion, it was expanded and today it is used as the main civilian airport of Northern Cyprus.

History

The name ''Tymbou'' is believed to come from the tombs (Greek ) located in caves and caverns to the north of the present village near the airport. First written records of the name Tymbou can be found on a document from the Frankish (Lusignian) occupation of the island during the reign of the Frankish king Jacob II (1460-1473 AD). The document granted feudal rights of the area to ''Pierre Coul.'' During the Ottoman period it was a large çiflik (farming area which included the entire village) belonging to wealthy Greek landowner in 1813 named Demetris Pavlides. From 1821 it became the property of a local Turkish administrator Halil Shindar (?). After the end of Turkish rule it returned to Greek hands. The Greek population of the village grew from 278 in 1881 to 1133 in 1960 and 1288 in 1973. The village church dedicated to Ayios Yeorgios (Saint George) was built in 1875. However some of the icons in the church date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. A cave - turned church near the village dedicated to the Forty Martyrs (''Σαράνατα Μάρτυρες'') was later turned into a mosque named Kirklar, the name used by the occupying power for the village of Tymbou.

References

{{Authority control Communities in Nicosia District Populated places in Lefkoşa District Greek Cypriot villages depopulated during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus