Galateia

Not to be confused with Galata, Cyprus.
Galateia
belediye
Γαλάτεια (Greek) Mehmetçik (Turkish)
Mehmetçik City Hall
Mehmetçik City Hall
Galateia is located in Cyprus
Galateia
Galateia
Location in Cyprus
Coordinates: 35°25′20″N 34°4′20″E / 35.42222°N 34.07222°E / 35.42222; 34.07222
Country (de jure) Cyprus
 • DistrictFamagusta District
Country (de facto) Northern Cyprus[1]
 • Districtİskele District
Government
 • MayorCemil Saricizmeli
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total
3,729
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
WebsiteTurkish Cypriot municipality

Galateia (Greek: Γαλάτεια, Turkish: Mehmetçik, "Little Soldier")[3] is a village in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, located on the Karpass peninsula. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus, where it is a municipality belonging to the district of Iskele.

A traditional Turkish village sitting high on a hillside overlooking the valley below,[3] Galáteia is most famous for its summer grape festival,[4][5] for which people travel from all over Cyprus and the world to attend.[3]

Renowned for the grapes harvested from its vineyards,[4][3] they are one of the most exported products to other areas of Cyprus. It is also well known for producing wine,[4] a Cypriot pomace brandy called Zivania,[3] and a traditional grape sweet called Sucuk.[3]

History

Throughout the Turkish Cypriot struggles of independence and during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Galáteia was one of the avoided locations during the events. This was because it was believed that the village was a hotbed of Turkish-Cypriot millitancy through memberships of paramilitary groups such as Volkan and TMT during the turbulent times of the struggle for independence (1955-1959) and post-independence (1963-1974) period. Another reason the village was avoided was due to the speculation that Turkish-supplie arms and weapons were stored in the village, with tanks. This speculation was due to a tactic used by the Turkish-Cypriot commanders in which they would remove exhausts from tractors which would produce the sound of a tank.

Grape festival

Initially intended to simply provide villagers with shopping opportunities,[4] Galáteia's grape festival evolved to become a celebration of all things related to grapes.[4][3][5] The festival originally included more cultural activities as well,[4] but over the years this element has gradually declined.[4] In 2007, efforts began to reintroduce cultural elements as a separate festival to be held just before the grape festival.[4]

Festival activities include cooking with grapes, making grape sweets,[3] and winemaking,[3] as well as various symposiums.[4]

Galáteia's grape festival helps to both bring the economic and cultural importance of the grapes and vineyards of her district to the fore[4] and to promote local viticulture.[4]

Culture, sports, and tourism

The Turkish Cypriot Mehmetçik Sports Club was founded in Galáteia in 1943, and in 2015 was in the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) K-PET 2nd League.[6]

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Northern Cyprus

Twin towns – Sister cities

Galáteia is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ^ In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus unilaterally declared independence from the Republic of Cyprus. The de facto state is not recognised by any UN state except Turkey.
  2. ^ KKTC 2011 Nüfus ve Konut Sayımı [TRNC 2011 Population and Housing Census] (PDF), TRNC State Planning Organization, 6 August 2013, p. 17, archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-06
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Description of Mehmetçik
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Culture and Grape Festivals in Mehmetcik, North Cyprus
  5. ^ a b Galáteia Grape Festival
  6. ^ Northern Cyprus Archived June 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Association of Football Clubs
  7. ^ "Osmangazi - Twin Towns". © Osmangazi-City.sk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  8. ^ "Bağcılar- Twin Towns". © Bağcılar-City.sk. Retrieved 2013-10-19.