Lysi (, or ) is a village located in the

Mesaoria The Mesaoria (, ) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus. Geography The Mesaoria is the name given to the broad tract of plain which extends across the island from the Bay of Famagusta in the east to ...

plain in

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 ...

, north of the city of

Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...

. 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 ...

. Lysi is also the administration center for the villages of Beyarmudu, Paşaköy, Pile and Vadili. In 1960, there were 3,700 Greek Cypriots living in the village and approximately 6,000 in 1974, when they all fled because of the Turkish invasion and the subsequent partition of the island. The arrival of Turkish settlers from mainland Turkey and of Turkish Cypriots displaced from other villages in the southern part of Cyprus changed the demographics of the village. In the centre of the village there is a late 19th-century

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

church, covered in a thick layer of Gothic decoration copied from the great medieval cathedrals of Famagusta and

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

. The church was built by the inhabitants of Lysi who volunteered their work over several years. After the Turkish occupation of Lysi the church was looted, all its Christian icons and other Christian interior decorations were removed and was turned into a mosque. The diminutive 14th-century church of St. Evphemianos, southwest of the village, enjoys a lonely position, shaded by a clump of eucalyptus just above a water course. This small church depicted some of the most beautiful and well-preserved Byzantine mosaics found on the island of Cyprus. The mosaics were later purchased by the Menil Foundation in Texas, USA on behalf of the

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus () is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; ...

and have been on long-term loan to the Menil ever since. The loan agreement came to an end in February 2012. West of the village, along the tarmac road to Arsos village, there is a distinctive hillock capped with rounded boulders. Halfway down its southern face is a Greek Archaic nympheum, a small natural cave that archaeologists found filled with votive statuettes. The silhouette of the sibyl's hill hovers as a visual echo of the

Pentadaktylos The Kyrenia Mountains (; ) is a long, narrow mountain range that runs for approximately along the northern coast of the island of Cyprus. It is primarily made of hard crystalline limestone, with some marble. Its highest peak is Mount Selvili, ...

mountains on the northern horizon. About farther west along this road, the other side of Arsos, is the hamlet of Tremetousia, the site of

Richard the Lion Heart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

’s victory over Isaac Comnenus. The ruinous church and the buildings on the northern edge are the remains of an 18th-century rebuilding of the ancient monastery of St Spyridon. The remains of the saint lay buried here for a few centuries before being removed to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, and eventually to the island of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Notable people

* Andreas Moleskis * Grigoris Afxentiou

References

{{Authority control Municipalities in Famagusta District Populated places in Gazimağusa District Greek Cypriot villages depopulated during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Municipalities of Northern Cyprus

Notable people

See also

References