Agia Marina | |
|---|---|
  Agia Marina | |
| Coordinates:35°13′N33°08′E / 35.217°N 33.133°E /35.217; 33.133 | |
| Country(de jure) |  Cyprus |
| • District | Nicosia District |
| Country(de facto) |  Northern Cyprus[1] |
| • District | Lefkoşa District |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Agia Marina (Greek:Αγία Μαρίνα (Σκυλλούρας);Turkish:Gürpınar) is a village inCyprus, situated 24 km west ofNicosia. It takes its name fromMarina the Monk, the Christian saint ofByzantine Syria.[2]De facto, Agia Marina is under the control ofNorthern Cyprus.
By 1963, Agia Marina had a mixed population[3] that reportedly comprised 400Maronites and 65Turkish Cypriots.[4] In January 1964, during theCyprus crisis of 1963–64, the Turkish Cypriots of Agia Marina fled to the Turkish enclave of Nicosia.[5] During theTurkish invasion of Cyprus, all Maronites moved to the south of the island and the name of the village was changed to Gürpınar, meaning “strong, powerful spring” inTurkish.[5] From 1974 onwards, Agia Marina has been used as aTurkish military camp,[5] while its original inhabitants were not allowed to enter the village, despite the 2003 relaxations on inter-communal movement.[2]
On a nearby hill, a statue ofKemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, has been erected.[6] In 2016, the re-construction of the Gürpınar mosque, damaged in the1953 earthquake, began.[5]
By March 2017, as the Turkish CypriotYeniduzen newspaper reported, the Turkish Army began moving out of the village, ostensibly with the purpose of allowing former residents to move in, though no specific timetable for resettlement was given.[4] The chairman of the "Gurpinar (Ayia Marina) solidarity society" Mehmet Hoca stated that "the decision was taken three and a half years ago by the Turkish Cypriot authorities" in order to enable the villagers to "live together."[5]
AMushroom Fest is organised regularly in the village.[7]
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