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Akanthou

Ακανθού (Greek)
*Tatlısu* (Turkish)
Akanthou Ακανθού (Greek); Tatlısu (Turkish);
Municipality
	The current mosque and former church in Akanthou
	Akanthou
	Coordinates: 35°22′27″N 33°45′21″E / 35.37417°N 33.75583°E
Country (de jure)	Cyprus
• District	Famagusta District
Country (de facto)	Northern Cyprus
• District	Gazimağusa District
Government
• Mayor	A. Hayri Orçan
Population (2011)
• Total	1,459
Website	Tatlısu Turkish Municipality; The municipality in NC eGov portal

Akanthou (Greek: Ακανθού, pronounced [a̠ka̠nˈθu]; Turkish: Tatlısu) is a village on the northern coast of Cyprus. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus. As of 2011^[update], it had a population of 1,459.

History

The first settlement that can be linked with the modern-day Akanthou was in the Kouphes area, 2 miles to the northwest of Akanthou. Akanthou was established between the 7th and the 10th century at the place where the river passing through the village meets the sea. Following the Mamluk Arab raids in Cyprus, the coastal location was abandoned and the village moved to its present-day inland location. The name Akanthou, according to local tradition, comes from the name of a thorny bush present in the area, which is said to have provided protection for a beautiful woman, Anthousa, whom the Arab sailors tried to take captive.^[4]

Akanthou was recorded to be under the fiefdom of a nobleman called Sir John Gorap in 1385.^[4] In the 14th and 15th centuries, there are records that indicate that Akanthou hosted royal casalia of the Kingdom of Cyprus as well as sugar plantations.^[5]

It was the place of landing for Ottoman troops under Çıfıtoğlu Ahmet Pasha that came to Cyprus to suppress the rebellion headed by Boyacıoğlu Mehmet Agha against Ottoman rule between 1680 and 1687/88. General Louis Palma di Cesnola wrote in 1877 that the village relied on its production of halloumi. Around 2,000,000 halloumis were produced each year in the caves around the village and exported to cities abroad such as Smyrna, Port Said and Alexandria.^[4]

Historical sites

Çiftlikdüzü - the Neolithic site could be the earliest settlement in Cyprus. Since 1998, the site has been excavated by archaeologists from TÜBİTAK and the Cyprus International University. It is dated to 8400 BC. The inhabitants were hunter-gatherers and circular adobe houses, as well as a small number of human bones, are among the artifacts found in the excavations.^[4]
Ancient city of Pergamon - the city is located 5 km (3 mi) to the east of Akanthou, between the rivers Trodia and Lukkos. It was established as a colony by the inhabitants of Pergamon in Asia Minor following the Trojan War. The city survived for over a millennium. It was frequently struck by pirate raids, and a tunnel was constructed that provided a way of escape to the sea. The raids were associated with mass rape of women and plunder, and the raiders would take away the women and the animals. The city was finally abandoned due to such raids. The inhabitants moved to Akanthou.^[4]
- Church of Panagia Pergaminiotisa in Pergamon -- this was originally a large Byzantine church with three naves and three apses, but was destroyed in either an earthquake^{[citation needed]} or due to Arab raids in the 7th century.^{[citation needed]} The present-day church was built in the 11th or 12th century. Its walls were filled with ornate frescoes, but these were stolen following the Turkish invasion in 1974. They were found in Germany in possession of the thief, Aydın Dikmen, in 1997 and returned. The church was restored in 2009.^[4]

Demographics

Historically, the village was predominantly populated by Greek Cypriots according to census data. The 1831 census, recorded the adult male population as 10 Turkish Cypriots and 163 Greek Cypriots.^[7] Around 1300 Greek Cypriots were displaced from the village^[7] following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. The village was then chosen as the place of resettlement for the displaced Turkish Cypriots of Mari, but only 100 were resettled in the village as they mostly insisted on being closer to the cities. The village was nevertheless renamed Tatlısu in 1975 after the Turkish name of Mari. The rest of the village was repopulated by Turkish farmers who were settled from areas such as Konya, Adana, Araklı, Osmaniye, Çaykara, Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep. In the 21st century, following the construction boom in Northern Cyprus, a number of Turkish Cypriots and Europeans bought real estate in the village.^[7]

Politics

The town is administered by the Turkish Cypriot Tatlısu Municipality, founded in 1975.^[8] The current mayor is A. Hayri Orçan^[9] from the Democratic Party.^[10]

In 2014, a new town hall was inaugurated.^[11]

Culture, sports, and tourism

Turkish Cypriot Tatlısu Sports Club was founded in 1950, and now in Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) K-PET 2nd League.^[12]

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Akanthou is twinned with:

Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey^[13]
Sumqayit, Azerbaijan (since 2005)^[14]
Altınova, Yalova, Turkey^[15]

References

^ In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus unilaterally declared independence from the Republic of Cyprus. The de facto state is not recognised by any UN state except Turkey.
^ Northern Cyprus High Election Board [Northern Cyprus High Election Board], Northern Cyprus High Election Board
^ "KKTC 2011 Nüfus ve Konut Sayımı" [TRNC 2011 Population and Housing Census] (PDF) (in Turkish). TRNC State Planning Organization. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Bağışkan, Tuncer (18 May 2013). "Akatu (Tatlısu) ile çevresinin tarihi geçmişi…" (in Turkish). Yeni Düzen. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
^ Coureas, Nicholas (2005). "Economy". In Nicolaou-Konnari, Angel; Schabel, Chris (eds.). Cyprus: Society and Culture 1191-1374. BRILL. p. 111.
^ Daily Kibris, 19 December 2014 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine New building of Tatlisu Municipality opened
^ ^a ^b ^c "Akanthou". PRIO Cyprus Center. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
^ Tatlisu Municipality Archived 2017-04-18 at the Wayback Machine History
^ "Başkanin Kaleminden" (in Turkish). Tatlısu Municipality. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
^ "Ahmet Hayri Orçan, %47.96 ile ipi göğüsledi..." (in Turkish). Kıbrıs Postası. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
^ "New Tatlısu town hall inaugurated". BRT.
^ Northern Cyprus Archived 2015-06-18 at the Wayback Machine Association of Football Clubs
^ "'Tarsus'". © Tarsus. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
^ "Bakü-İstanbul-KKTC 'yerel yönetim' hattı". © Sumqayit. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
^ "'Altınova'". © Altınova. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-10-20.