Eliophotes: cultural heritage and community

2011-08-27T11:05:00.000+01:00

I decided to officially archive this blog on the day my DPhil was confirmed. But I have waited for the electronic publication of my thesis, Interrogating Archaeological Ethics in Conflict Zones: Cultural Heritage Work in Cyprus, to announce the archiving. From now on, I will blog at Conflict Antiquities.

On Conflict Antiquities, I will concentrate on illicit antiquities trading, organised crime and political violence in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. As I explain in an introduction to Conflict Antiquities,

I want to study the history of the trade in conflict antiquities; and to explore the relationship between the trade in conflict antiquities and the funding of conflict and violence.

2010-04-24T15:45:00.002+01:00

Eliophotes/Alifodez was a Turkish Cypriot village. It had thirty-two houses, a mosque, a church, a school, a coffee shop, a cooperative, a fountain, and almond, fig and olive groves, as well as other farmland (Adalı, 2000: 130-137, cited by Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 11).

Jack Goodwin (1978: 283) judged that '[m]ost residents had left for economic reasons prior to the 1963-4 intercommunal disturbances'.

During the intercommunal violence, though 'some also protected them', their Greek Cypriot neighbours in Kato Moni village 'intimidated' and 'forced' the remaining Turkish Cypriots in Alihodes to leave (Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 10).

Demolition

In November 1975-August 1976, Greek Cypriot refugees refused to live in the decayed abandoned houses, and in 1977, 'some of the old bldgs [buildings]' were 'demolished' during 'road improvement' (Goodwin, 1978: 283). Yet "road improvement" was not all that happened.

Their buildings damaged by looting in 1964 and/or by Greek Cypriot National Guard exercises after 1974, in the 1980s, Greek Cypriot society 'intentionally forgo[t]' the Turkish Cypriot community 'by demolishing the entire village' (Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 13), apart from the church and the fountain.

Tragically, the local Turkish Cypriots had built and looked after the church for pilgrims, but their village was destroyed as 'a danger and an eyesore for pilgrims to the church' (Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 13).

Ironically, the destruction of the buildings enabled quarrying in the village, which damaged the church (Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 10).

Information, interpretation

This information affirms Turkish Cypriot journalist Hasan Karaokçu's (2003) report that the village was 'razed to the ground', and my interpretation of the archaeological remains as an 'abandoned village, destroyed' (Hardy, 2009).

Propaganda

Constantinou and Hatay's (2010) study of Cyprus, Ethnic Conflict, and Conflicted Heritage also confirms the official Turkish Cypriot claim that the village was 'erased [yok edilen]' (Erçakıca, 13th June 2007, cited in KKTCC, 2007).

However, their study apparently contradicts former Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktaş's (2004: 61) claim that the mosque was damaged or destroyed before the 20th of July 1974 (if only because it was demolished after). (Obviously, any evidence of damage done before 1974 would have been destroyed by the mosque's demolition after 1974).

Value

The respectful coexistence of Turkish Cypriot Agioi Eliofotoi and Greek Cypriot Kato Moni was an example of the bicommunal life possible in Cyprus.

The remains of the Turkish Cypriot buildings in Alihodes are an important negative heritage; but the Turkish Cypriot-curated Greek Gypriot church is an equally important positive heritage, and still stands as a beacon of religious coexistence.

Bibliography

Adalı, K. 2000: Dağarcık [repertoire]. Nicosia: Işık Kitabevi Yayınları.

Constantinou, C M and Hatay, M. 2010: "Cyprus, ethnic conflict, and conflicted heritage". Ethnic and Racial Studies [iFirst, 13th April, 1-20].

Denktaş, R R. 2004: The Cyprus Problem: What it is – how can it be solved? Lefkoşa: Cyprus Research and Publishing Centre (CYREP).

Hardy, S A. 2009: "Eliophotes: An abandoned village, destroyed". Cultural Heritage in Conflict [weblog], 30th January. Available at: http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspot.com/2009/01/eliophotes-abandoned-village-destroyed.html

Karaokçu, H. 2003: "The present conditions of Turkish Cypriot villages in south Cyprus 3". Diplomatic Observer. Available at: http://www.diplomaticobserver.com/news_read.asp?id=838 [Also available at: http://www.trncinfo.com/TANITMADAIRESI/2002/ENGLISH/SOUTHCYPRUS/koylerenglish.htm]

KKTCC (Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanlığı [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Presidency]). 2007: "Erçakıca 'Mülkiyet Sorununu Kıbrıs Sorunundan ayırmak ve sadece Rumların Sorunu diye lanse etmek İnsafsızlık' [Erçakıca: 'it is an injustice to separate the Property Problem from the Cyprus Problem and to present it as only the Greeks' problem']". Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanlığı [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Presidency], 13. Haziran. Şu adreste bulunabilir: http://www.kktcb.eu/index.php?tpl=show_announ&id=84

Goodwin, J C. 1978: An historical toponymy of Cyprus. Nicosia: Jack C. Goodwin.

[This was developed from an introductory post on Cultural Heritage in Conflict from 30th January 2009.]

2009-12-15T15:00:00.013Z

Eliophotes: abandoned village, destroyed

[Thanks to Dave S's comment on the Evretou photo blog, I will try to give each site photo blog a proper introduction.]

I had cross-posted the introduction from Cultural Heritage in Conflict; but I've edited and expanded it above.

[Original post on 30th January 2009; cross-posted on 15th December 2009.]

2009-01-29T22:25:00.000Z

Eliophotes: building 12b7 - "IAN", "ANDRE[W]"?

2009-01-29T22:20:00.004Z

Eliophotes: building 12b6 - "ΛΟΚ [LOK]". ~~LOK was Lochos Oreinon Katadromon (Λόχος Ορεινών Καταδρομών), the Mountain Commandos' Company or Hellenic Raiding Force, which was a British-created Greek fascist paramilitary.~~

[Corrected on the 17th of June 2009.]

The crossed-out information above is correct, but irrelevant to this graffiti in this village.

Before, I didn't want to say that Greek Cypriot commandos were also called LOK, because I hadn't had access to any reliable sources. But, luckily, a Greek Cypriot friend, DT, mentioned it to me on Cyprus Forum:

DT. wrote:
Sam you do know ΛΟΚ (Λοκατζιδες [Lokatzides]) is the present day commando forces of the National Guard right?
In continuation of this you do know that LOK conduct war games till this day in deserted villages (obviously since they can't enter inhabited ones). Its common place for them to inscribe ΛΟΚ at places where they frequent for training.

2 of my mates who are in the commandoes will be away for the weekend on exercises in 3 deserted villages (which they wouldn't appreciate me naming right now.)

This is a problem I don't know how to solve. The more recent destruction in National Guard and Commando war games and other military exercises does not only destroy the villages; it destroys the evidence of the previous destruction.

2009-01-29T22:15:00.001Z

Eliophotes: building 12b5 - "ALI S."/"AUS".

2009-01-29T22:10:00.001Z

Eliophotes: building 12b4: "32MK".

2009-01-29T22:05:00.000Z

Eliophotes: building 12b3 - "67B".

2009-01-29T22:00:00.000Z

Eliophotes: building 12b2 - "68B".

2009-01-29T21:55:00.004Z

Eliophotes: building 12b1 - "67B", "68B", "32MK", "ALI S."/"AUS", "ΛΟΚ [LOK]".

[Updated on the 17th of June 2009.]

And while DT's there, he's giving me a comprehensive education:

67B means the seira that those soldiers were from.... [B is the summer draft; A is the winter draft.]

67B means that the inscriptions were made between 1985 and 1987 by the 67B group since thats when they would have been drafted.

As Get Real! notes,

If you add 18 years to that you get the draft year.... [So, "67B" would be "ESSO 85".]

But soldiers always graffiti the first.

2009-01-29T21:50:00.000Z

Eliophotes: building 12a

2009-01-29T21:45:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 11b5

2009-01-29T21:40:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 11b4

2009-01-29T21:35:00.002Z

Eliophotes: buildings 11b3

2009-01-29T21:30:00.002Z

Eliophotes: buildings 11b2

2009-01-29T21:25:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 11b1

2009-01-29T21:20:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 11a; the church in the distance is Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T21:15:00.000Z

Eliophotes: building 10

2009-01-29T21:10:00.001Z

Eliophotes: building 9

2009-01-29T21:05:00.001Z

Eliophotes: building 8b

2009-01-29T21:00:00.000Z

Eliophotes: building 8a

2009-01-29T20:55:00.000Z

Eliophotes: building 8

2009-01-29T20:50:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 7b

2009-01-29T20:45:00.001Z

Eliophotes: buildings 7a, including the ablution fountain (abdest çeşmesi).

This was Turkish Cypriot villagers' fountain for washing before prayer in the mosque. Now there are no local Turkish Cypriots, and there is no mosque. The Christian pilgrims have re-imagined the fountain as a font of holy water (Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 15).

Constantinou, C M and Hatay, M. 2010: "Cyprus, ethnic conflict, and conflicted heritage". Ethnic and Racial Studies [iFirst, 13th April, 1-20].

[Notes were added to this photo blog post on 24th April 2010.]

2009-01-29T20:40:00.008Z

Eliophotes: building 6c1 - an unidentified building (with a confusing feature), and the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes.

Eliophotes: building 6c2 - a close-up view of the confusing feature.

[Corrected on 13th November 2010.]

I had previously thought that the round feature was the base of a minaret, but it was not; Eliophotes buildings 6a was the mosque.

[Photo captions corrected on 13th November 2010.]

(I have moved my discussion from this post to that one.)

2009-01-29T20:35:00.001Z

Eliophotes: buildings 6b, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T20:30:00.002Z

Eliophotes: buildings 6a.

[Updated on 13th November 2010.]

That wall is the remains of the mosque (c.f. Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 11 - fig. 3).

I've moved the discussion of 18th June 2009 here from a photo of the ruins of building 6c:

Turkish Cypriot journalist Hasan Karaokçu (2003) said that '[o]nly the village fountain and mosque remained'. ~~I can't believe he wanted to say church but accidentally said mosque. He must have meant this ruin.~~

[Updated on the 18th of June 2009.]

On Cyprus Forum, Oracle commented that,
your assumptions and sweeping statements continue into putting words into other people's mouths on your own blog ...

"Eliophotes: buildings 6[a] - the mosque and the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes. Turkish Cypriot journalist Hasan Karaokçu (2003) said that '[o]nly the village fountain and mosque remained'. I can't believe he wanted to say church but accidentally said mosque. He must have meant this ruin."

How scientific is that: "I can't believe ...." ?

and: "He must have meant ..." !
So, I will try to explain more clearly.

There are only two standing "buildings" left in the village, if you include the fountain; otherwise, there is only the church. All of the other buildings are ruins, rubble, or disappeared; some of the ruins and rubble are disappearing, as the soil erodes down over them, and the plants grow up over them.

Either, Karaokçu was discussing every building in the village, and when he said that '[o]nly the village fountain and mosque remained', he mistyped "church" as 'mosque'; or he meant "the mosque is (now) a church"...

Or, Karaokçu was only discussing the condition of Turkish Cypriot places within the village, and when he said that '[o]nly the... fountain and mosque remained', he meant "the only remaining Turkish Cypriot places in the village are the fountain and the mosque", in which case, this ruin is the mosque, and by 'remain[ing]', he meant "destroyed but identifiable".

I assume he was only discussing the present conditions of Turkish Cypriot places within the village, and he meant this ruin, this destroyed but identifiable mosque, remained.

I assume this ruin is identifiable as a mosque because of the semi-circular part of the building shown more closely below. Domestic buildings do not have similar semi-circular parts. It appears too small and solid to be a church apse. So, I assume this is the base of a minaret.

[Turkish Cypriot refugees from Alihodes identified this ruin as the mosque; the ruin was identifiable to its former local community.]

Karaokçu, H. 2003c: "The present conditions of Turkish Cypriot villages in south Cyprus 3". Diplomatic Observer. Available at: http://www.diplomaticobserver.com/news_read.asp?id=838. Also available at: http://www.trncinfo.com/TANITMADAIRESI/2002/ENGLISH/SOUTHCYPRUS/koylerenglish.htm.

2009-01-29T20:25:00.001Z

Eliophotes: buildings 5b, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T20:20:00.002Z

Eliophotes: buildings 5a, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T20:15:00.001Z

Eliophotes: buildings 4b, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T20:10:00.001Z

Eliophotes: buildings 4a, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T20:05:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 3

2009-01-29T20:00:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 2d

2009-01-29T19:55:00.001Z

Eliophotes: buildings 2c, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T19:50:00.000Z

Eliophotes: buildings 2b, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes

2009-01-29T19:45:00.002Z

Eliophotes: buildings 2a, including the Church of Ayioi Eliophotes.

There was a church in the Orthodox Sufi Muslim, Nakşibendi Turkish Cypriot village, because the Turkish Cypriot villagers 'built' and 'tended' the church for Christian pilgrims (Constantinou and Hatay, 2010: 12).

Constantinou, C M and Hatay, M. 2010: "Cyprus, ethnic conflict, and conflicted heritage". Ethnic and Racial Studies [iFirst, 13th April, 1-20].

[Notes were added to this photo blog post on 24th April 2010.]

2009-01-29T19:40:00.001Z

Eliophotes: building 1