Akanthou (, ; ) is a village on the northern coast of

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 under the '' de facto'' control 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 ...

. , 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 Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

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. Akanthou was recorded to be under the fiefdom of a nobleman called Sir John Gorap in 1385. In the 14th and 15th centuries, there are records that indicate that Akanthou hosted royal ''casalia'' of the

Kingdom of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (; ) was a medieval kingdom of the Crusader states that existed between 1192 and 1489. Initially ruled as an independent Christian kingdom, it was established by the French House of Lusignan after the Third Crusade. I ...

as well as sugar plantations. 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 Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Historical sites

* Çiftlikdüzü - the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

site could be the earliest settlement in Cyprus. Since 1998, the site has been excavated by archaeologists from

TÜBİTAK The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies, support and conduct research and development, and to ...

and the Cyprus International University. It is dated to 8400 BC. The inhabitants were

hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...

s and circular adobe houses, as well as a small number of human bones, are among the artifacts found in the excavations. * Ancient city of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...

- the city is located to the east of Akanthou, between the rivers Trodia and Lukkos. It was established as a colony by the inhabitants of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

following the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

. 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. **Church of Panagia Pergaminiotisa in Pergamon -- this was originally a large

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

church with three naves and three apses, but was destroyed in either an earthquake or due to Arab raids in the 7th century. 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.

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. Around 1300 Greek Cypriots were displaced from the village following the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

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 Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

, Araklı, Osmaniye, Çaykara,

Kahramanmaraş Kahramanmaraş (), historically Marash (; ) and Germanicea (), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean region of Turkey and the administrative centre of Kahramanmaraş Province, Kahramanmaraş province. After 1973, Maraş was ...

and

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

. In the 21st century, following the construction boom in Northern Cyprus, a number of Turkish Cypriots and Europeans bought real estate in the village.

Politics

The town is administered by the Turkish Cypriot Tatlısu Municipality, founded in 1975. The current mayor is A. Hayri Orçan from the Democratic Party. In 2014, a new town hall was inaugurated.

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.Northern Cyprus
Association of Football Clubs

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Akanthou is twinned with: * Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey *

Sumqayit Sumqayit (or Sumgait; ; , ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 427,000 at the beginning of 2024, making it the List of cities in Azerb ...

, Azerbaijan (since 2005) * Altınova, Yalova, Turkey

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities in Famagusta District Populated places in Gazimağusa District Municipalities of Northern Cyprus Cittaslow