Each street has its own history
Behind every street or highway hidden mythical heroes, charismatic leaders, people of art and literature, holy fathers, geographic names, dates - stages in the history of our country, even plants or flowers. Looking behind the boards with white embossed lettering, we found that the designation of roads is of particular interest.
After the name and birth date, perhaps the most important point for everyone is the way in which he resides or works. Can the street not a criterion for the choice of residence or work, unlike many companies understandably choose offices and shopping malls in known, but certainly over the years, the way in which we live, we feel that partially belongs to us. That is why it is useful to look and learn his own ... history!
In the following we explain by what process is the choice of naming a street, and in what exceptional circumstances decided to change the name. Also, today introduced a column, through which we will present people, places and situations behind the streets of Nicosia.With the assistance of "encyclopaedia Odonymikis towns of Cyprus" Achilles Lympouridi will enrich our knowledge, learn important information about people who have provided many in our country were honored by the Nicosia Municipality, as well as historical dates and people in the mythology.
Nicosia was serious and systematic naming streets in 1926!
"Baptism" road
The "baptism" of the roads is the responsibility of the Environment Committee of the Municipality of Nicosia, which makes recommendations to the council and this in turn takes the final decisions. As explained in Ms. Karakatsanis the magazine "Capital" the committee chairman George Christakis, the choice of names is taken into account the offer of a person in Nicosia, but generally in our country, while an attempt is made to be a consistency between the name on new roads. For example, if a street named "Kolokotronis Street", then the next route will be proposed the name of another hero from the same period. It does not matter if the same person has been honored as such by another municipality, but is a deterrent if it is given the same name in square, green space or bust installed at some point on the territory of the municipality of Nicosia.
The Environment Committee is considering seriously the possibility of escape from the trivial and focus on other names that do not have to do with people, but also sites of our island. (View the blog is that compared with other municipalities for which we can cite concrete examples, the very slow.)
The Commission accepts "bombardment" of requests from citizens and organized groups to rename streets, but, as clarified by Mr. George, the policy of the municipality does not allow changing the names only in cases of public interest.
The inconvenience suffered, moreover, the neighbors in case of roads change name, is the main reason why the Municipality of Nicosia apply this strict policy.
The first street names
As stated in book of Achilles Lympouridis the English occupation - in 1878 - finds the towns of Cyprus to have a look neglected villages, with no house somewhere - somewhere to show the superiority of the conqueror. The other premises were storey shacks, outdated and dilapidated, with yards and fences, which could not signal the existence of a continuous road. Nicosia was the largest city, had a population less than 10,000 inhabitants, while the whole population of Cyprus according to the census of 1879 amounted to 182,000. Thus, during the first decade of British occupation, the naming of roads there wasn't.
The Cyprus Street Names Book can be divided into 5 major categories: personal names (individually and collectively), geographic names, names of plants and flowers, abstract concepts, and various other names, dates in history, institutions, etc.
The first step in this direction made it in 1885 Larnaca was once the city of consulates and the main sea access the island. On the beach were built some decent houses, forming the central promenade few paths to the interior of the city. Thus, the pioneer in Larnaca hanging plates, followed by Limassol and Nicosia actually begins systematic and serious naming streets in 1926, when Mayor George A. Makrides, who was also a scholar, gave - preferably - in the streets of Nicosia era names from ancient and modern history of Cyprus. The file of the Municipality of Nicosia today numbers some 1,200 streets today.
WALK IN HISTORY AND CULTURE
In the current article will present people and places whose names were given in honor to busy streets and small, perhaps unknown to many of us, the streets of Nicosia.
- Dinokratous street
Dinokrates: A famous architect of the 4th century, contemporary of Alexander the Great.Rebuilt the temple of Artemis was burned at the time of the birth of Alexander the Great and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
- Axiotheas street
Axiothea: Ancient Cyprus heroine, wife of King Nikoklis, the last descendant of Kinyras.When in the 4th century Egyptian king Ptolemy I sent an army and conquered the palace Nikoklis, killing himself, his wife committed suicide Axiotheas not to suffer the humiliation of captivity.
- Ledra street
Ledra: Ancient city of Cyprus, identical to the current Nicosia, establishing whose written evidence we have is minimal. The most recent archaeological evidence we have for this contained in the book "Les inscriptions Chypriotes Syllabiques" adopted in Paris in 1961, Professor Oliver muffs, a French scientist specializing in Cypriot inscriptions, which mentioned some of the Cypriot Ledra, which names are inscribed on the walls of the temple at Luxor Upper Egypt.
- Vias street
Vias the Priinefs (625 - 450 BC): One of the 7 sages of antiquity, who came from Priene in Ionia, renowned for justice and his rhetoric. Among the sayings are: "The most evil people," "Listen to many", "Laleh key", etc. In a question put to the 7 sages on the what is the best city, the violence he replied: "If the tyrant always fear the law."
- Bellini street
Bellini, Vincenzo (1801 - 1835): Italian composer of melodrama great popularity in the early 19th century. Among the works are: "The sleepwalker," "Norma," "The Puritan," which performed even to this day.
- Chytron street
Chytroi: Ancient town that was in today town of Kythrea, 12 Km roughly east of Nicosia, which was founded by immigrants Thrakofryges. In that state was also migration of Greeks after the Trojan war, headed by Chytros, from which it took its name.
- Aktaionos street
Aktaeon: mythical hero, son of Aristaeus and autonomously, grandson of Apollo. Raised the Centaur Chiron, and taught him the art of hunting. He had very good dogs, who suddenly get rabies and tore it boasted that he saw Artemis naked. Centaur hands to comfort dogs who regretted and wept inconsolably, the painted image and pauses.
- Dojran's street
Dojran: City of Yugoslavia in the region of Monastir, known from the eponymous lake in the Greek-Yugoslav border with a total area of 45 sq. Km. and a depth of 8 m. The strategic location of Dojran was a battlefield in both the Second Balkan War (1913) and the First World War (1918), so that the Greek and British forces attacked and repulsed the Bulgarian who defended the area.
- Digenis Akritas Avenue
Vassilios Digenis Akritas: legendary Byzantine hero. Embodiment of the struggling Greeks to the rescue of the Greek nation from the barbarian invasions. Traditionally, the son of the ruler Mousour the Saracen and Irene, daughter of Duke Andronicus (= the Dighenis descended from two genera and Vassilios = from royal maiden name). The action is placed in the 10 century in the regions of the Euphrates against the Saracens and Spelt.
- Piale Pasha street
Piale Pasha: Admiral of the Sultan Selim sent to the general Lala Mustafa, 1570, in occupied Cyprus. The admiral said he had brought with him about 300 ships, which landed between Limassol and Larnaca.
- Acropolis street
Acropolis: Fortified hill, often rocky, encountered in many Greek cities, such as in Athens, Mycenae, Argos and Tiryns. Initially the Citadel served as a shelter of people in distress.Later there were built monuments, temples or the residence of the king. The most famous, as you rightly guessed, is that of Athens. In Mycenaean times was royal stronghold, while the fifth BC century (the famous golden age of Pericles) became a sacred place dedicated to the goddess Athena. Destroyed in 480 BC by the Persians, but rebuilt and adorned by Pericles.
This article was written by Sylvia Karakatsanis and is republished by "Protevoussa" magazine, which was published in November 2010.
