Tzami Tzentit (, ), is a district of the municipality of

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

Location

It borders

Tsiflikoudia Tsiflikoudia (Greek: Τσιφλικούδια, Turkish: Chiftlikler) is a municipality in the province of Limassol in Cyprus. Location Tsiflikoudia is part of the Limassol district. It is situated south of Limassol (and the settlement of Zakaki) ...

to the west, Arnaoutogeitonia to the northwest, Katholiki to the northeast, Ayia Napa to the east and Agios Antonios to the south. Its southeastern part is coastal. The old port of Limassol was built on this site. In its place today is a fishing port with tourist and entertainment facilities.

History

The Tzami Tzentit area was the largest

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 ...

district of Limassol since the beginning of Turkish rule. It was the center of the Turkish Cypriot trade, economic and educational activities in Limassol, with multiple coffee shops, warehouses, houses and a cinema. Tzami means mosque and the area got its name from the Tzami Tzentit Mosque.

Religious and listed buildings

An important building in the district is the Tzentit Mosque (Friday Mosque). It is located on the banks of the river Garyllis, at the western end of

Angiras Angiras ( (stem), , , nominative singular , , , rendered Angirā in Hindi) was a Vedic rishi (sage) of Hinduism. He is described in the ''Rigveda'' as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, as well as stated in othe ...

street. It was built in 1835 by Hatzi Ibrahim Aga (known as Koproulou), after promising to build a temple in the area if he returned safely from the Battle of Accra in Palestine. The mosque was destroyed in 1894 due to flooding of the river. It was rebuilt in 1909. The Tzentit Mosque is also known as Cami-i Cedit (New Mosque) or Koproulou Ibrahim Mosque or Camisi Dere (Stream Mosque). The mosque used to have a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

. In addition, the medieval castle of Limassol is located within the administrative boundaries of the district.

June 2020

On 1 June 2020, Tzentit Mosque was attacked with molotov bombs and racist statements were sprayed on the walls. The incident was mentioned in the Turkish newspaper

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

and discussed by all political parties in the Republic of Cyprus and by the president of

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

. The Mayor of Limassol,

Nicos Nicolaides Nicos Nicolaides (; 1884–1956) was a Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot painter and writer. Early life Nicolaides was born the son of poor parents in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 3 April 1884. A sister, Maria, followed him two years later. He was only s ...

, in the next day assured that actions will be taken so that such incidents cannot easily take place in future.

Area Map

References

{{reflist Quarters of Limassol