Armenian Cypriot dress      The period of Ottoman Rule (1571-1878)     The period of British Rule (1878-1960)

 

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The Armenians in Cyprus during the British Era (1878-1960)

Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra

researcher-scholar

 

With the arrival of the British in July 1878 and their progressive administration, the already prosperous yet small Armenian community of the island was particularly strengthened. Known for their linguistic skills, several Armenians were contracted to Cyprus to work at the various consulates and for the British administration, such as Apisoghom Utidjian - the official state translator and interpreter for Ottoman Turkish between 1878 and 1919.

 

In 1877, a year before the arrival of the British, there were 152 Armenians in Cyprus, mostly in Nicosia. The number of Armenians in Cyprus significantly increased following the massive deportations, the horrific massacres and the Genocide committed by the Ottomans and the Young Turks (1894-1896, 1909 & 1915-1923). Cyprus widely opened its arms to welcome over 10.000 refugees from Asia Minor, Cilicia and Anatolia, who arrived in Larnaca and all the other harbours, some by chance others by intent; about 1.500 of them made the island their new home.

 

Industrious, cultivated and progressive, they brought new life into the old community and did not need long to thrive and establish themselves as people of the arts, letters and sciences, capable entrepreneurs and formidable merchants, unsurpassed craftsmen and photographers, as well as pioneering professionals who introduced new crafts, dishes and sweets to the island, thus significantly contributing to Cyprus’ overall socioeconomic and cultural development.

 

Armenians were the first locksmiths, mechanics, seat, comb and stamp makers, upholsterers, watchmakers and zincographers in Cyprus. They were the first to introduce the cinema, they significantly improved the craft of shoemaking, and it was Armenians who first introduced the Armenian bastourma, baklava, dried apricots, gassosa, gyros, halva, ice cubes, koubes, lahmadjoun, lokmadhes and pompes into the Cypriot cuisine - all very popular today. Armenians also introduced two techniques of embroidery needlework: the Aintab and Marash style. There were also some Armenian factory owners (ice makers, soap makers, sock makers, tanners etc.), but - above all - there was a disproportionately large number of Armenian photographers.

Law-abiding by nature, Armenian-Cypriots always had a high profile with the British administration and many became conscientious civil servants and disciplined policemen or were employed in the Cyprus Government Railway and Cable and Wireless. Throughout the 1920s-1950s, many worked at the asbestos mines at Amiandos and the copper mines at Mavrovouni and Skouriotissa, some of whom had been trade unionists.

Additionally, Some Armenian-Cypriots participated in the 1897 Greco-Turkish War, the two World Wars (1914-1918 - in the Cyprus Muleteers’ Corps & 1939-1945 - both in the Cyprus Regiment and the Cyprus Volunteer Force) and very few even joined the EOKA liberation struggle (1955-1959). Also, the Eastern Legion (later called Armenian Legion) was formed and trained between 1916-1918 at Monarga, in the Carpass peninsula, consisting of over 4.000 Diasporan Armenian volunteers who heroically fought against the Ottoman Empire.  

 

The Armenian-Cypriot community prospered throughout the British Era (1878-1960), by establishing associations, musical ensembles, sports teams, scout, guide, dance and theatre groups, churches, cemeteries and schools in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, Famagusta and Amiandos, including the famous Melkonian Educational Institute. In many ways unique across the Armenian Diaspora, it was built just outside Nicosia between 1924-1926, thanks to the generous and benevolent donation of tobacco-trading brothers Krikor and Garabed Melkonian, in order to shelter and educate 500 orphans of the Armenian Genocide and gradually became a world-renowned secondary school.

 

Examining the British population censuses, a steady numerical increase is observed: combining language and religion data, there were 201 Armenians in 1881, 291 in 1891, 553 in 1901, 611 in 1911, 1.573 in 1921, 3.617 in 1931, and 3.962 in 1946. According to the 1956 registration of population, there were 4.549 Armenians. Following the arrival of some Armenian refugees from Palestine (1947-1949) and Egypt (1956-1957), a number of them remained.

 

In their vast majority, these Armenians were Armenian Apostolic, but there were also small numbers of Armenian Catholics and Armenian Protestants (mainly Evangelicals). Moreover, by the 1940s, Armenophony had become the norm in the community. The 1960 population census recorded 3.628 Armenians, as about 900 Armenian-Cypriots had emigrated, mainly to Great Britain, as well as Canada, the United States, Australia and elsewhere, not only because of the difficult economic conditions of the time, but mainly due to the emergency situation caused by the EOKA liberation struggle (1955-1959) and the uncertainty that some felt with the departure of the British, whom they viewed as their protectors.

 

With the Independence of Cyprus, on 16 August 1960, the Armenians, Maronites and Latins were constitutionally recognised as religious groups, which opted to belong to the Greek-Cypriot community by a referendum held on 13 November 1960. Additionally, they were represented at the Greek Communal Chamber, which acted as a lower Parliament, with jurisdiction over religious, educational and cultural affairs. Since 1965, their Representatives continue to represent their respective communities in the House of Representatives.

Photo of Zabelle Mentemedian Melikian

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

  • Hadjilyra, A.- M. (2009): The Armenians of Cyprus. Larnaca: Kalaydjian Foundation.
  • Hadjilyra, A.- M. (2016): The Armenians of Cyprus. Nicosia: Press and Information Office.
  • Keshishian, K. (2002): «The Armenian community of Cyprus: 6th century AD to present day», Cyprus Today, Vol. XL, No 1 (Jan.-April 2002), 22-40.
  • Matossian, J. (2005): My father's House, an Armenian boyhood in Cyprus. Nicosia: Lusignan Press.
  • Pattie, S. (2009): «New Life in an Old Community: Armenians in the 20th Century Cyprus», in Varnava, Andrekos; Coureas, Nicholas & Elia, Marina (Eds), The Minorities of Cyprus: Development patterns and the identity of the internal - exclusion. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 160-174.
  • Pattie, S. (1997): Faith in History; Armenians rebuilding community. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  • Siakall, A. (2016): Αρμένιοι της Κύπρου: η παρουσία τους στο νησί μέσα στους αιώνες. Λευκωσία: Φιλελεύθερος.
  • Tashdjian, V. (2009): The Armenians and the Armenian community of Cyprus. Nicosia.
  • Tourian, K. M. (1999): My Memoirs. Nicosia.
  • Hadjilyra, A.- M. (2012): Η Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία και οι Θρησκευτικές Ομάδες. Λευκωσία.