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Guzelyurt's History
The history of Guzelyurt...
Morphou / Guzelyurt (Greek: Morfou (Μόρφου), Turkish: Omorfo or Güzelyurt) is a market town in the west of North Cyprus. Morphou was founded by Spartans who brought with them the worship of Aphrodite.
In the Middle Ages, the city was referred to as Morphou but also Theomorphou. The Morphou area grew more than half of Cyprus citrus fruits.
St Mamas, the lamb and the lion: altar painting in the church at Morphou
It contains one of the many churches in the country dedicated to St. Mamas, popularly believed to have lived as a hermit in a cave near Morphou. According to local legend, he was a hermit living in very poor circumstances and when the authorities tried to tax him, he evaded them. Soldiers were sent out and captured him but on the way back to town, he saw a lion attacking a lamb, escaped the soldiers, saved the lamb, jumped on the lion's back and in that way came to town. His bravery earned him exemption from tax, hence his traditional attribute.
Morphou / Guzelurt was an almost entirely Greek Cypriot community. According to the 1960 population census it was inhabited by 6480 Greeks Cypriots, 123 Turkish Cypriots and 32 Maronites. Between 1907 and 1948, Morphou was one of the prominent stations of the Cyprus Government Railway
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