Akıncılar

 village  Add category

 Upload a photo

Village in Turkish-occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus. Area was unilaterally declared as TRNC in 1983. The UN has declared this action as "legally invalid" calling for respect by all UN members for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.

According to the book Historic Cyprus by Rupert Gunnis (Kemal Rustem & Bro. Edition), the village was the centre of the Linobambaki. In the same book a discription of the Linobambaki is as follows:"...Linobambaki, that is, linen and cotton, a figurative expression which means a combination of Christian and Moslem. While to outward appearance they are Turks, and are so recognized by the local aıuthorities, in reality they are, at the time of the Turkish conquest, were forced to declare themselves Moslems or Orthodox Christians and they embraced Islam in order to pay no tax for 3 years after the Ottoman conquest and saving their property rights. However there are lots of other Catholics who have converted to Orthodox Christianity as well.

Many, if not all of them, had been adherents of the Latin Church, though it is still frequently a matter of dispute between the Greek bishops and the Latin priests as to which Church they rightfully belong to, each Church being desirous of claiming them as its adherents. The marriage and baptismal ceremonies of the Linobambaki are performed in secret by a priest of their choice. On the birth of a male child the rite of circumcision is evaded by means of a present of money to the Hodja. They adopt such names for their sons as are common to both Christian and Moslem, such as Ibrahim (Abraham), Moussa(Moses), Yusuf (Joseph), etc. which are being used in these lands for hundreds of years.