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Pyla ( (); ) is a village in
Larnaca District The Larnaca District, or simply Larnaca (also Larnaka), is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital is Larnaca. It is bordered on the east by Famagusta District, on the north by Nicosia District and on the west by Limassol District. A sma ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being Athienou,
Troulloi Troulloi or Troulli ( []) is a village in the Larnaca District, Cyprus. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus, United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being Pyla, Athienou and Deneia. In 2011 ...
and Deneia. Pyla is located in the eastern part of the island, adjacent to the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia. From a legal point of view, it is administered as all other areas controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus, but policed by UN peacekeepers. The village is special in the respect that it is the only settlement in Cyprus still inhabited by both its original Greek Cypriot and
Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...
inhabitants. 850 of the inhabitants are Greek Cypriots and 487 are Turkish Cypriots. The village has three churches and one
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
. Pyla- Kokkinokremos is an archaeological site dating to the Late Bronze Age.


History

Pyla is among the oldest villages in Cyprus. The village was first inhabited during the Middle Ages. On several old maps it is marked with the names Pila or Pilla. The name of the village is Greek which leads to the assumption that the village existed during the Byzantine years. The name "Pyla" is after the Greek word "πύλη" (entrance), probably because it was the only way to travel to the plain of Mesaoria. The University of Central Lancashire has a campus in the village, the only British university to have a site on the island.


Pyla Tourist Area

Pyla Tourist Area is the area that neighbours the sea and belongs to the administrative division of the village of Pyla. Several of the most luxurious hotels in Cyprus are located in the tourist area of Pyla, such as: Golden Bay, Lordos Beach and Sandy Beach. This strip is lined with a mix of taverns and restaurants, as well as tourist shops and boutiques, which all run parallel to the beachside which offers organised facilities, as well as kiosks and ice-cream stands. Pyla Tourist Area continues through the new Larnaca-Dhekelia sea road, onwards to the C.T.O. (Cyprus Tourist Organisation) beach.


Sports

Currently, Aspis FC is the only football club in the village of Pyla. Also, the village hosts a volleyball club, named Finikas.


2023 crisis

On August 18, 2023, Turkish soldiers from the Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command, Security Forces Command, de facto Turkish Cypriot Police and Turkish-Cypriot civilians alike came in conflict with UNFICYP soldiers and vehicles for blocking a road attempted to be built by the Turkish authorities in the island, which plans to connect the village of Arsos that lies within the occupied side to the village of Pyla in the buffer zone, bypassing the road in the northeast that passes through British military base checkpoints. UNFICYP, citing its duty to maintain the status quo, stated its intentions to halt and stop the road construction through peaceful means. Footage that reached media outlets and social media reflects UN jeeps blocking the construction site of the road with Turkish construction vehicle operators removing the vehicles forcefully. This assault on the UN forces drew international condemnation from
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
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, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the
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and the
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. Criticism from UN and Cypriot authorities stated that the construction would have negative repercussions on the stagnant negotiations to resolve the island's division. Three peacekeepers were seriously injured and required hospitalisation. The Turkish president accused the UN force of bias against Turkish Cypriots and added that Turkey will not allow any “unlawful” behavior toward Turks on Cyprus. The U.N. Security Council said that the incident was a violation of the status quo that is contrary to council resolutions and condemned the assault on the peacekeepers. The U.N. Secretary-General
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
said that “threats to the safety of U.N. peacekeepers and damage to U.N. property are unacceptable and may constitute serious crimes under international law." On October 9, 2023, both the Turkish side and UNFICYP announced that they have reached an agreement and, further, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu stated that the construction of the road will continue.


Famous people from Pyla

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Anna Vissi Anna Vissi (, , ; born 20 December 1957) is a Greek Cypriot singer. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed with Minos EMI#Merger with Minos Matsas ...


References

{{Authority control Communities in Larnaca District