Tymvou - Historical Data

Historical Data

Empty citation‎ (help) The name Tymvou is believed to come from the tombs (gr. τύμβος) located in caves and caverns to the north of the present village near the airport. First written records of the name Tymbou can be found on a document from the Frankish (Lusignian) occupation of the island during the reign of the Frankish king Jacob II (1460-1473 AD). The document granted feudal rights of the area to Pierre Coul.
During the Ottoman period it was a large çiflik (farming area which included the entire village) belonging to wealthy Greek landowner in 1813 named Demetris Pavlides. From 1821 it became the property of a local Turkish administrator Halil Shindar (?). After the end of Turkish rule it returned to Greek hands.
The Greek population of the village grew from 278 in 1881 to 1133 in 1960 and 1288 in 1973.
The village church dedicated to Ayios Yeorgios (Saint George) was built in 1875. However some of the icons in the church date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.
A cave - turned church near the village dedicated to the Forty Martyrs (Σαράνατα Μάρτυρες) was later turned into a mosque named Kirklar, the name used by the occupying power for the village of Tymvou.