History being lost as homes demolished say Greens

The Green party has condemned the demolishing of ten traditional Turkish Cypriot houses in the Paphos village of Androlykou, stating that cultural heritage and history is being lost.

The Greens said that the houses were demolished by the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties, which it pointed out is tasked with protecting them until a resolution to the Cyprus problem is found.

The Cyprus Mail made several attempts to contact the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties at the interior ministry, but no one was immediately available for comment.

In an announcement on Monday, the Greens said the houses could have been repaired and utilised by people in need but instead became rubble.

Many dilapidated Turkish Cypriot properties in the government-controlled areas are available to refugees to repair and live in, but according to the Greens there may have not been adequate interest for the properties in question.

Androlykou is a small village in the Akamas region which is well known, amongst other things, for the first marriage in the newly independent Republic of Cyprus between a Turkish Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot.

Their story inspired a Cyprus-made Romeo and Juliet styled film titled Akamas that was screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2006.

When in 1975, over 600 of the Turkish Cypriot villagers left for the north under the terms of the post-war population exchange, some Turkish Cypriots opted to remain in Androlykou, hopeful that the Cyprus problem would be quickly solved.

As of 2016, there were six Turkish families with mixed marriages living in the village.