From Lurucina to Akıncılar, a sad village story!
Akıncılar is a village that remains in our memory for its migrations and tearful human stories since 1974. A village most of us have never seen, and for those who wish to visit, it is one that evokes sorrow as they step into its ruins, remnants of past lives scattered along the way. Akıncılar is a place you can never reach unless you specifically set out for it, and you can’t just say, “I stopped by while passing through.” It is a village excluded from life in the North by the division lines in Cyprus, caught between vanishing and clinging to life, aged and weary. It is the only village in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) you can enter by showing identification.
Historical sources trace Lurucina's roots back to the Lusignan period in Cyprus. The remains of an old Catholic Church in the village support these claims. The village is said to have grown and developed from a few houses built around a natural spring by a Lusignan woman named Lorenza, described in sources as “a beauty beyond compare.” The mayor, Hasan Barbaros, explains that this spring, now converted into a well, overflows naturally during rainy winters. The name Lurucina is derived from Lady Lorenza. Over time, “Lorenza” evolved into “Lurucina” in everyday use.
We ask Mayor Barbaros, “Why did you change the name? Lurucina is a melodious, harmonious, and beautiful name. Why was it turned into Akıncılar?” In 1958, some Turkish Cypriot families living in the village of Piroyi were threatened with death by Greek Cypriots. The villagers of Lurucina came together and rescued these people. To honor this heroic act, the administrators of the time gave them the title “Akıncılar,” meaning “raiders.” That same year, Celal Hordan, known as a Turkish officer but whose identity later became controversial (and eventually declared an unwelcome figure), systematically traveled across Turkish villages in Cyprus, changing their names.
We ask the mayor about Celal Hordan: “Did he come to your village?” He suggests we ask the elders. At the coffeehouse, an elderly man sitting nearby says, “He did.”
Lurucina has a rich past, once a large village with a population of up to 5,000. Today, its population is only 350. The houses, built with locally sourced white stones and mud bricks unique to the region, reflect a distinctive architecture that offers fascinating panoramic views from any angle. Most of these houses, now abandoned and left to decay in parallel with the village’s tragic history, bear traces of the vibrant life that once existed. The narrow, intriguing streets combined with these ruins resemble mountain villages in France or Italy. The village was once home to highly skilled stonemasons.
With the intercommunal conflicts that began in 1963, Lurucina became a refuge. Turkish Cypriots from neighboring villages like Bodamya, Dali, Ayyos Sozomonos, Piroyi, Petrofan, and Goşşi moved to Lurucina at intervals due to security concerns. Between then and 1974, the village became home to 5,000 residents. After the geographic borders of Cyprus were established in 1974, the immigrant villagers were relocated to settlements arranged for them in the North. By 1976, Lurucina’s population dropped to 3,000. However, the village’s decline did not end there.
Mayor Hasan Barbaros explains the current population and structure of the village as follows: “Apart from three Turkish worker families living in our village, our population is 350. Around 40 people are under the age of 20, about 100 are aged between 20 and 50, and over 200 of our residents are above 50 years old."
