Gönyeli (Greek: Κιόνελι, romanized: Kioneli; Turkish: Gönyeli) is a town in Cyprus, near the capital city Nicosia. It is de facto under the control of Northern Cyprus. Over the years the town has merged with North Nicosia, making it connurbated with the city.[3] Its population as of 2011[update] is 11,671.
Gönyeli
| |
|---|---|
 Monument of National Struggle and Liberation in Gönyeli | |
  Gönyeli Location in Cyprus | |
| Coordinates: 35°12′59″N 33°18′17″E / 35.21639°N 33.30472°E | |
| Country (de jure) | Cyprus |
| • District | Nicosia District |
| Country (de facto) | Northern Cyprus[1] |
| • District | Lefkoşa District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ahmet Yalçın Benli |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
| • Total | 11,671 |
| • Municipality | 17,277 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Website | Turkish Cypriot municipality |
History edit
Before the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571, the area consisted of empty fields. Upon the conquest, two families from Anatolia settled and founded Gönyeli, that of Kurt Ali from Anamur and Mehmet Efendi from Aksaray.[3] Over time, as the families grew in population, the village grew as a farming community speaking Turkish. Gönyeli was one of the first towns to be captured following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.[4]
Culture edit
The football club Gönyeli Spor Kulübü is based in Gönyeli. Gönyeli's stadium, Ali Naci Karacan Stadı (named for journalist Ali Naci Karacan), houses football matches as well as concerts and the annual 23 April Children's Day events.
Every July, the Gönyeli International Folk Dance Festival takes place in the town center. The event lasts one week, with groups of dancers from countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey performing traditional folk dance.
Gönyeli is a popular town for students looking to rent accommodation as it is about 15 minutes driving distance from the Nicosia-based Near East University.
International relations edit
Twin towns – sister cities edit
Gönyeli is twinned with:
Kızılcahamam, Ankara, Turkey (since 2009)[5]- Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey[6]
References edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ KKTC 2011 Nüfus ve Konut Sayımı [TRNC 2011 Population and Housing Census] (PDF), TRNC State Planning Organization, 6 August 2013, p. 17
- ^ a b İncirli, Serhat (7 June 2010). "Gönyeli kentleşti" (in Turkish). Kıbrıs. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ^ I Uluslararası Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Öğrenci Kongresi, 11-13 Eylül 2006 İstanbul Kültür Üniversitesi: bildiriler. Istanbul Kültür University. 2008. ISBN 9789756957783.
- ^ "Kızılcahamam - Twin Towns". ©Kızılcahamam-City.sk. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ^ "Sarıyer - Twin Towns". © Sarıyer-City.sk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-10-19.