Lapta
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Lapta Λάπηθος / Lapithos - |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (de facto)
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| District : |
Girne
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| Geographic coordinates : | 35 ° 20 ′ N , 33 ° 10 ′ E | ||
| Residents : | 7839 (2011) | ||
| Mayor : | Fuat Namsoy | ||
| Website: | Lapta Belediyesi | ||
Lapta , ( Greek Λάπηθος Lapithos , also Lapethos ), is a place in the Girne district in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with about 5500 inhabitants. It is located west of Kyrenia (Girne) and north of Selvili Tepe , the highest mountain of the Beşparmaklar (Pentadaktylos) .
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Formally, the place also belongs to the Kyrenia district of the Republic of Cyprus .
history
The name Lapithos is identical to that of a mountain in the Peloponnese, this indicates an Achaean foundation. The area around Lapithos must have been settled even before the Achaeans, as is shown by finds from the Copper Age . The frequent occurrence of Brettidolen and Early Bronze Age Philia ceramics, whose core area is a little further south, is striking . Early Geometric graves in the area suggest ritual human sacrifices, a custom that has been documented since the Neolithic . The discovery of a shrine around 500 BC indicates the existence of a sanctuary of Aphrodite , who gives support to giving birth. Small terracotta sculpture of a birth scene from BC .
Lapta lies on the territory of the Iron Age kingdom of Lapithos .
In Byzantine times the city of Lapta was a bishopric . The findings of the 1st and 2nd Lambousa treasure point to this time .
Lapta was conquered by Arabs in the 10th century, and later it fell to the Ottoman Empire .
In the 18th century the city was abandoned for unknown reasons. The residents hiked about 1.5 km to the base of a mountain and founded Lapithos.
Lapta was in 1974 after Famagusta and Morfou with 5,540 Cyprus-Greeks (out of 370 Cyprus- Turks ) the third largest Cyprus- Greek community, whose Cyprus- Greek inhabitants were expelled or fled.
Web links
- Website of the municipality of Lapithos (in Turkish)