Limnia
Occupied since 1974 by the Turkish army

Brief history of our village
Our village, Limnia is situated about 1.5 miles from the sea and the ancient city of Salamis, founded in 1194-1184 B.C. by the Trojan hero Teucer (Tefkros) the son of King Telamon of the island Salamis off Piraeus, Greece. Zeus, the god of hospitality was the principal god of the new colony as in their own island and was known as Zeus Salaminios.

One tradition of how our village got it's name is that when the nearby villages of Paradisi and Ayios Papos were raised to the ground during the raids by the Saracens, the survivors rebuilt the village of Limnia in a less prominent position which was thought to be a dried up lake, (Limni-Limnia).

Evagoras a young descendant of Teucer established himself as king of Salamis in 411 B.C. and proved to be 'the greatest of all Cypriot rulers and politicians'. His reign marks the golden era of Salamis and the whole island. He persuaded many distinguished Athenians to emigrate to Salamis and the town according to Isocrates, was 'second to none of the Greek cities in civilisation'.

The emperor Flavian Constantine The son of Constantine the Great, rebuilt Salamis It was renamed Constantia in his honour. Salamis became once more the capital of Cyprus during the early part of Byzantine Rule (359-1191 A.D).

Alasia 1.5 miles west of Salamis was the Neolithic capital of Cyprus and archaeological expeditions have made significant discoveries. The place is regarded as the richest Mycenean cemetery in Cyprus. Limnia is also very close to the monastery and the tomb of St. Barnabas the patron of the island and the Autocephalous Cypriot Orthodox Church.

All the above demonstrate the rich Greek character of the area and explain the pride felt by the people of our village in their Greek heritage.

After the Turkish invasion of 1974 all the inhabitants of Limnia (1300 people) became refugees in their own country. Twenty four years after the invasion our beloved village is in ruins, it's churches of St.George and St.Nicholas vandalised, looted and desecrated by their use as stables. The monument of Nicodemos Mylonas a prominent figure, politician and spiritual leader of Cyprus in the late 20s, early 30s has been replaced by a statue of Kemal Ataturk the founder of the 'modern Turkish state', and the indigenous population replaced by settlers from Anatolia.