Nebethane, Nicosia

Nebethane is an historic neighbourhood, quarter, Mahalla, or parish of central Nicosia, Cyprus.[2][3][4] Its name inherited from the Ottoman period is Turkish for police station or the guard room of the Turkish patrol.[5] Nebethane Mesjid (small mosque) in this quarter was the place where the police patrol of the city assembled for changing the guard each day, accompanied by drums and pipes.

Traditional houses in Nebethane neighbourhood

Nebethane
Nebethane
Nebethane is located in Cyprus
Nebethane
Nebethane
Location in Cyprus
Coordinates: 35°10′27″N 33°21′35″E
Country Cyprus
DistrictNicosia District
MunicipalityNicosia
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total189
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

The name is spelled Νεμπετχάνε in Greek, while the modern Turkish spelling is Nöbethane. The English spelling has varied. George Jeffery's survey referred to Neubetkhane Quarter.[5] It was Nubetkhane in the 1881 census, Nebet Khane (1891-1931, and 1982), Nebethane (1992-2001) and more recently the Greek spelling (itself a transliteration from English) rendered in Latin characters.[2][3][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Location

The quarter is situated in the centre of the old city of Nicosia within the walls. It lies between Paphos Street and Alexander the Great Street. Its western border runs along Alexios Komnenos and Artemis Streets, and in the east along Pericles and Ledra Streets.[15]

Demographics

At the last census, conducted in 2011, Nebethane had a population of 189,[2] a slight increase from its population of 175 in 2001 and 139 in 1992.[2][13][14] Before the communal troubles the population was much larger (see history).

Nebethane Mesjid
Site of Nebethane Mesjid - 2018 (looking east along Artemis St.), 1912 and 1927

Nebethane Mesjid, the mosque for the neighbourhood (currently closed), was at the junction of Artemis Street and Grammos Street. The mesjid, a one-room structure, was formerly in the middle of a large courtyard, with a fountain in the garden for ablution. The fountain is dated 1867/68, around the time the mosque was built.[16][17] It was outside the mosque that the changing of the guard ceremonies took place.[5]

At present the mesjid is hidden from the street by buildings.[18]

In 2014 Mufti Talip Atalay accompanied by the EVKAF Foundation's Chairperson Rauf Ersenal visited the mosque, after a religious ceremony at nearby Taht el Kale mosque.[19][20]

Landmarks

In the early 20th century the north-east corner of the quarter was the location of the Copperware market of Nicosia (for cooking implements and vessels),[5] in Iphaestos Street, formerly named after the market.

At present, this road and a swathe of land running east to west across the quarter is within the closed zone of the Green Line, currently the most prominent feature within the quarter.[15][21] This zone includes the western part of Artemis Street and Kykkos Avenue.

In Alexander the Great Street stands the residence of Kostas Christodoulou, built between 1920 and 1921 on the site of three older houses, features of which have been preserved in the newer building, such as a medieval doorway. The Centre of Cultural Heritage has been housed in the building since March 1993.[22][23]

History

Nebethane is one of 24 historic neighborhoods within the walls of Nicosia.[3]

During the Ottoman period it was counted as one of the Moslem quarters of Nicosia.[24] Since then the Moslem character of the neighbourhood has waned, and in 1946, Nebethane had a population of 520, consisting of 438 Greek Cypriots, 19 Turkish Cypriots, and 63 others.[3]

The population of Nebethane during British rule in Cyprus was as follows:[3][6][7][8][9][10]

DatePopulation% Turkish Cyp.
189129642%
190139224%
191137627%
192138612%
19314936%
19465204%

References
  1. Census 2011
  2. "Population Enumerated by Sex, Age, District, Municipality/Community and Quarter, 2011 – (2011 Census of the Republic of Cyprus, Statistical Service)" (in Greek). Mof.gov.cy. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  3. "Coexistence in the Disappeared Mixed Neighborhoods of Nicosia by Ahmet, A (Paper read at the conference: Nicosia: The Last Divided Capital in Europe, organized by the London Metropolitan University on 20th June 2011)"
  4. 6th edition of the publication "Statistical Codes of Municipalities, Communities and Quarters of Cyprus" (publ. Statistical Service of Republic of Cyprus)
  5. "A Description of the Historic Monuments of Cyprus" by George Jeffery, Architect. Publ. Government Printing Office, Nicosia, 1918; p. 50, section on "Twenty Five Quarters of the City"
  6. Census of Cyprus 1891, printed by Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1893
  7. Census of Cyprus 1901, publ. Government printing office, Nicosia, Cyprus, 1901
  8. Report and General Abstracts of the Census of Cyprus 1911, publ. Waterlow and Sons Ltd, London, 1912
  9. Report and General Abstracts of the Census of Cyprus 1921, publ. Waterlow and Sons Ltd, London, 1922.
  10. Report of the Census of Cyprus 1931, publ. Government printing office, Nicosia, Cyprus, 1932
  11. Census of Population and Agriculture 1960, pub. Printing Office of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1960; Vol.1, Table IV
  12. Census of Population 1982, pub. Printing Office of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1982
  13. Census of Population 1992, pub. Printing Office of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia, 1992
  14. Census of Population 2001, pub. Printing Office of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia, 2001.
  15. "Quarters of Nicosia" Prepared and published by the Dept. of Lands and Surveys, Cyprus, 1985, Revised 1997. Series DLS30. Scale 1:7500.
  16. Map of Nicosia, publ by Stanfords, Longacre, London; date 1912
  17. Article in the newspaper Yeni Düzen www.yeniduzen.com/tarihi-gezi-81521h.htm retrieved August 2018
  18. Web site of Cyprus Civil Engineers and Architects Association & Chamber of Cyprus Turkish Architects - report on Nebet Khane Masjid http://www.cyprustemples.com/templedetails.asp?id=16 retrieved Sept 2018
  19. Cyprus Mail 3/6/2014 cyprus-mail.com/2014/06/03/religious-service-in-mosque-after-51-years/ Retrieved 4/6/2014
  20. Bayrak/BRTK web site www.brtk.net/?english_posts=religious-service-mosque-51-years retrieved August 2018
  21. Map of central Nicosia on OpenStreetMap retrieved August 2018
  22. Cyprus.com website https://www.cyprus.com/listing/centre-of-cultural-heritage-house-of-costas-christodoulou/ retrieved Sept 2018
  23. Web site of Centre of Cultural Heritage heritage.org.cy/ retrieved Aug 2018
  24. ^ See "Tragedy 1821 Continuation" by Theocharides and Andreev, in Greek, pub. Nicosia 1996. Quoting census of 1831
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