Mrs Spyroula was born in 1934 in Smirni, in Asia Minor from Greek parents. Her family moved to Cyprus with her when she was eight months old. She was therefore raised in Agios Kasianos, an area in Nicosia, where she also went to the primary school. In that area Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were living together. Their children though went to separated schools. In their neighbourhood there were many Turkish Cypriots girls with which Mrs Spyroula was friends with and they spent a lot of time together. Their bond was so strong that they felt like they were sisters. Mrs Spyroula’s mother spoke Turkish fluently, besides Greek, so Mrs Spyroula spoke Turkish pretty well. Hence, when she was talking with her Turkish Cypriot friends they used both Greek and Turkish since as she told us most of the Turkish Cypriots spoke Greek as well.
Mrs Spyroula was married in 1952 and consequently moved to an area close to Agios Kasianos called Kaimakli where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were living together. They all trusted each other; something that is shown in the trade exchanges they had between them; such as milk, halloumi, maxalepi and other food exchange, in which if someone could not pay instantly no problem was raised since he could pay later on. Mrs Spyroula’s house was next to the house of a Turkish Cypriot family, the family of Turiem. The two women were very close friends, they were exchanging food and they were raising their children together. They had a good relationship and helped each other when needed. But, unfortunately, in 1963 things started to change because of the conflicts between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. In this period the husband of Turiem was killed so she moved with her family to Mantres, where only Turkish Cypriots were living. So the two friends were parted.
In 2010, Turiem came back to her old neighbourhood to visit her old friend. She did not find Mrs Spyroula though because she had moved in Vorios Polos, an area very close to Kaimakli. In Mrs Spyroula’s old house now lives her daughter Dimitra. Dimitra lied to Turiem that her mother had moved to a distant place in Cyprus, named Alambra, because as Mrs Spyroula told us her daughter was afraid to tell the truth. However, Mrs Spyroula would like very much to see her old friend again. In a trip to Larnaka, organized by a Greek Cypriot organization in which people from both communities participated, Mrs Spyroula found out that Turiem died some time later after she came to see her and she was very sad to hear that. In that event Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots enjoyed themselves very much and reminisced the good moments they had lived together in the past. They danced, ate, drunk and sung in both Greek and Turkish.
Mrs Spyroula describes the time she was living with the Turkish Cypriots as a very happy one. They were all living together in peace and harmony. Every day they would drink coffee with her Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot friends all together and they were also giving food to one another. More specifically she talked about the great celebrations of both communities. In Christmas and Easter the Greek Cypriots would give to the Turkish Cypriots the sweets they made; like kourampiedes, flaounes and red eggs and the latter would visit the formers at that day to wish them happy holidays and drink coffee. Moreover, the Turkish Cypriots participated in the celebrations of Easter that is playing traditional games. Similarly, in Bayram the Turkish Cypriots would offer their friends their traditional foods; like pies, kateifi and ekmek and the Greek Cypriots would go to the Gate of Kyrenia to the Turkish Cypriots celebrations.
The Turkish Cypriots would also go to the fairs that took place at the yards of the Greek Orthodox churches at the day the Saint of each church was celebrated, like at the fair of Saint Kasianos and Saint Georgios. In these and other events some of the songs heart that were both in Greek and Turkish, as Mrs Spyroula told us, had the same music. Furthermore, in occasions like weddings the two communities were together as well. Mrs Spyroula remembers the beautiful wedding ceremonies the Turkish Cypriots had and the great parties that followed. The Greek Cypriots were invited to the weddings officially with a wedding invitation, as she enthusiastically pointed out, and they brought to the couple a wedding gift, such as plates, glasses and general household utensils, despite their poverty. In the same way the Turkish Cypriots received an invitation for the weddings of the Greek Cypriots and celebrated the happy event with them. As Mrs Spyroula pointed out this habit continues up until nowadays since Turkish Cypriots still invite their Greek Cypriots friends to their weddings and vise versa.
Mrs Spyroula also stated that there were cases of mixed marriages between people of the two communities. She remembered a case of a Greek Cypriot widow with a son, who remarried with a Turkish Cypriot man. As Mrs Spyroula explained, he was very good to his wife, he raised her son and her grandchildren and “had her like a queen” as she remarked. This is a reality even today since, as we were told, at a trip of Mrs Spyroula in the occupied area she met a Greek Cypriot who was married to a Turkish Cypriot woman; they lived happily together running a lovely restaurant.
Another point that was brought up, is that nowadays Mrs Spyroula visits occasionally the Greek Orthodox churches, like Saint Andreas Monastery, in the occupied areas. In these trips all the people participating use to drink coffee and eat at both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot restaurants in order to support both communities as she emphasized. She also mentioned that everyone there treated the Greek Cypriots very well.
She concluded that the years she had spent with the Turkish Cypriots, her brothers as she many times called them, are unforgettable and that she misses that time. She emphasized that there were no feelings of wickedness between them since there was nothing that divided them despite their cultural, religious and other differences. Mrs Spyroula is optimistic that a solution at the Cyprus Problem will be found eventually and the two communities will be able to live again together in peace. “I wish we can live again together and live happily” she mentioned at the end.DEMOGRAPHICS
Occupation: Retired. Worked in factories and restaurants.
Age: 75
Sex: Female
Nationality: Cypriot Greek
Where now lives: Vorios Polos, Nicosia, Cyprus
Where lived during the events described during the interview: Agios Kasianos and Vorios Polos in Nicosia
Any other demographic information you think is important: Origins from Smirni in Asia Minor.
Interview conducted Fall 2010 by Skevi, Jennifer, and Maria, University of Cyprus Department of English Studies