First Greek Cypriot to settle in the north after 1974 has passed away

Nicolas Skourides, the first Greek Cypriot to settle in the north after 1974, passed away according to an announcement on Tuesday, in Turkish-Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen.

In 2018, the then 78-year-old Skourides, reclaimed the title deed to his 349 square meter plot of land in Larnaca tis Lapithou, on the south side of the Pentadaktylos mountain range towards the west. The land rights were returned to Skourides, after much wrangling, by the immovable property commission in the north.

The plot stood empty as his ancestral home had been demolished but despite setbacks, Skourides forged ahead with the construction of a home, stating at the time, “I want to die, where I was born.”

According to Yeni Duzen, Skourides told the newspaper in an interview shortly before his death, that he was one of the last to leave the village on August 15, 1974, and that when he returned in 2003 and saw his family home destroyed, he fell ill for months.

“Despite my discouragement, I did not stop visiting my village. So much so, that I preferred to come to the village and drink my daily coffee with the Turkish Cypriots,” the refugee is quoted as saying.

Skourides’ funeral will be held at the Holy Church of Agios Georgios in Agios Dometios on Tuesday, January 17 at 12.00pm.