Cyprus was the site of early Phoenician and Greek colonies and is among the oldest in the Mediterranean, seving as a crossroads between East and West. For centuries its rule passed through many hands, including Assyrian, Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Roman. It fell to the Turks in 1571, and a large Turkish colony settled on the island.
During the rule of the island by Richard the Lionheart, he sold it to the Templars for 100,000 donars. The Templars resold the island to King Richard, who later transferred it to Guy de Lusignan. From 1571 to 1861, the island was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.
In 1878, the administration of Cyprus passed to Britain, but it remained formally part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1880 Greek and Turkish were established as the mediums for education in the schools. In 1914 Cyprus was annexed by Britain when the Ottoman Empire entered into the World War I on the side of Germany.
Limassol
While Limassol Port was not mentioned by ancient writers, investigators have found graves there dating back as far as 2000 BC.
From the 12th to 15th centuries, Limassol Port was very prosperous until the Ottomans occupied Cyprus in 1570. Frederick II, King of Germany, took Limassol Port in 1228, holding it for a year before leaving the next year. It then became a hiding place for pirates who attacked Eastern Mediterranean countries to take Muslim property. The pirates made many lords of Limassol Port rich. In 1424, the Mamelukes of Egypt sent a military force to drive the pirates out of the harbor. In 1425, they landed in Limassol Port where they took the Castle and burned and plundered much of the city. In 1426, they captured King Janus of Cyprus and took him as prisoner back to Cairo.
In 1878, Great Britain took Cyprus over. Limassol's British Governor, Colonel Warren, favored Limassol and began improvements from his first day there. Roads were cleaned and repaired. Trees were planted, and animals were taken away from the city center. Docks were built. Street lanterns were installed. The city gained a post office, a telegraph service, and a hospital. In the 1880s, the city got its first printing press and regular newspaper. By 1912, the town had electric street lighting.
By the end of the 19th Century, several hotels were in business, and a new intellectual, artistic culture was growing. The city welcomed new schools, art galleries, sports societies, theaters, music halls, and clubs. Job opportunities increased to support the local ceramics and wine industries, commerce, and tourism.
October 1, 1890, Guardian
London, United Kingdom
CYPRUS.--The Bishop of Kition (Dr. Chrysanthos Joannides) died suddenly on the 9th ult. whilst on a short visit to Nicosia. A correspondent writes:--
"A member of one of the oldest Greek families in the Island, his ablity and intelligence attracted, when he was but a youth, the notice of the then Primate of Cyprus, by whom he was persuaded to become a candidate for holy orders. Accordingly, after passing through a course of study and probation at the Archiepiscopal Training College, he proceeded to the University of Athens, where he soon distinguished himself as a painstaking student, and acquired an accurate and extensive knowledge of patristic theology as well as the classics and the literature of France. On his return to Cyprus in 1850 he was admitted to minor orders, and became deeply impressed with the need of organising elementary Christian schools throughout the island. In many villages, the Church schools had fallen into disrepair and some had been closed for want of funds; but with the help of prosperous Cypriotes in Alexandria and some of the wealthier orthodox monasteries he was able to palce several of the schools on a firmer basis, to improve their curriculum and apparatus, and generally to extend their spheres of usefulness. In 1861, being in priest's orders, he was appointed head master of the Orthodox grammer-school at Larnaca, which position he continued to hold until his elevation to the Episcopate. During the cholera epidemic in 1865-6 he was unremitting in his exertions to comfort the dying and to console the afflicted. At the time of the assumption of the government of the island by her Majesty's representative, pursuant to the Anglo-Turkish Convention of 1878, Dr. Joannides placed his intimate knowledge of the island and of the requirements of the Cypriotes at the disposal of the British officials, who have on several occasions expressed their obligations to his valuable aid and advice.
"In the spring of 1880 he was unanimously elected to the vacant see of Kyrenia, and the day of his consecration in the Primate's chapel at Nicosia by the Archbishop Sophronius, assisted by Bishops Kyprianos and Neophitos, was observed as a general holiday. In May, 1889, on the death of Bishop Kyprianos, ho was translated to the larger and more important see of Kition (which includes tho two commercial ports of Larnaca and Limassol), and he was administering this diocese to the great advantage of the Orthodox Church when overtaken by death to the profound grief of every person in the island, throughout which he was deservedly popular. The funeral rites were performed in the Phaneroumanie Cathedral on the day following the Bishop's demise. His body, fully vested in the Episcopal habit, was placed in the cathedral during the morning, and before the service commenced was visited by some thousands of people, who affectionately kissed the hand of the revered prelate. The High Commissioner, who was two days' journey from Nicosia, and unable to arrive in time for the funeral, telegraphed his sincere condolences from Mount Troodos 'at the great loss to the island of so good a man.' Business in the Christian quarter was entirely suspended; amongst Moslems also the deceased was much respected for his high character and great dignity of bearing."
