Η ιστορία του ερμαριού που περιμένει τους ιδιοκτήτες του…

Η ιστορία του ερμαριού που περιμένει τους ιδιοκτήτες του…

Sevgul Uludag

caramel_cy@yahoo.com

Τηλ: 99 966518

Ένας από τους υπέροχους μου Ελληνοκύπριους αναγνώστες, που πάντοτε με βοηθά πολύ στις έρευνες μου για τους «αγνοούμενους» και επίσης στέλνοντας μου ενθαρρυντικά και εμψυχωτικά μηνύματα για τα άρθρα μου, μια μέρα τις τελευταίες βδομάδες μου είχε στείλει το ακόλουθο μήνυμα:
«Αγαπητή Sevgul, είμαστε από το χωριό Κάμπος (όχι πολύ μακριά από το χωριό Αμπελικού). Το 1969 μετακομίσαμε στο Δίκωμο και γίναμε πρόσφυγες το 1974. Ο πατέρας μου ήταν αγρότης και αποφάσισε να πάει στον Άη Γιάννη το Νοέμβριο του 1975. Κάποια έπιπλα και άλλος εξοπλισμός βρίσκονταν ακόμα στο χωριό. Ένα από αυτά ήταν ένα ερμάρι που χρησιμοποιούσαμε στο σπίτι που ζούσαμε μέχρι το 1993. Ο πατέρας μου μου είπε ότι το βρήκε, όχι στο σπίτι που ζούσαμε, αλλά μέσα στο κυρίως χωριό. Δεν μπορούσε να θυμηθεί όταν τον ρώτησα (δεν ήμουν εκεί αφού ήμουν στο σχολείο στη Λευκωσία). Όταν φύγαμε από τον Άη Γιάννη πήραμε το ερμάρι μαζί μας και τώρα είναι διαλυμένο στο χωριό μας Κάμπος. Υποθέσαμε ότι αν το αφήναμε, κάποιοι άλλοι μπορούσαν να το έπαιρναν και το μέλλον του θα ήταν αμφίβολο (μπορούσε να πουληθεί για λεφτά). Στην πραγματικότητα κάναμε αίτηση στο Εθνογραφικό Μουσείο της Γεροσκήπου για κάποια πιθάρια που χρησιμοποιούσαμε και είναι εκεί.
Σημειώσαμε τα ονόματα που ήταν γραμμένα στο ξύλινο ερμάρι και ελπίζαμε ότι θα επέστρεφε στους ιδιοκτήτες του. Εκτός από τις αναμνήσεις, είναι φτιαγμένο από κέδρο (πολύ καλό ξύλο) και πεύκο και τα ανάγλυφα είναι πολύ καλά. Μπορεί να αποσυναρμολογηθεί. Είμαι σίγουρος ότι μπορεί να αναπαλαιωθεί και θα είναι έργο τέχνης. Αλλά πιο σημαντικές είναι οι αναμνήσεις που κουβαλά. Κατάφερα να βρω τους ιδιοκτήτες του σπιτιού που ζούσαμε στον Άη Γιάννη και πράγματι δεν είναι οι ιδιοκτήτες, όπως μου είπαν. Αν ξέχασα κάτι, θύμισε με. Θα χαρώ να επιστραφεί στους ιδιοκτήτες, μέσω των Ηνωμένων Εθνών ή άλλου οργανισμού. Καλή σου μέρα!»
Αυτός ο αγαπητός Ελληνοκύπριος φίλος μου έστειλε επίσης τις φωτογραφίες του παλιού ερμαριού και του εσωτερικού της πόρτας του όπου είχαν γραφτεί με μολύβι τα ονόματα των παιδιών που γεννήθηκαν τη δεκαετία του '40 και του '50 και άρχισα να ερευνώ για το ποιοι μπορεί να είναι οι ιδιοκτήτες… Τον παλιό καιρό οι άνθρωποι έγραφαν τα ονόματα των νεογέννητων τους και την ημερομηνία στο εσωτερικό της πόρτας του ερμαριού… Αυτή ήταν η παράδοση… Στο εσωτερικό της πόρτας του ερμαριού αυτού, μόλις που διέκρινα τα ονόματα «Selma», «Aysel», «Yildiray» και «Halil»…
Δημοσίευσα τις φωτογραφίες και την ιστορία του ερμαριού από το χωριό Άη Γιάννης στην Πάφο για να δω ποιος μπορεί να βοηθήσει…
Ο γιος μου επίσης είχε φίλους από τον Άη Γιάννη και επικοινώνησε μαζί τους και τους έστειλε το άρθρο μου για το ερμάρι…
Ένας από αυτούς, ο κύριος Djemal Dermush που είναι ο πρόεδρος του Συνδέσμου Πολιτισμού και Αλληλεγγύης Άη Γιάννη, επικοινώνησε με το γιο μου και του είπε ότι γνωρίζει τους ιδιοκτήτες…
Ο γιος μου μου τηλεφώνησε και μου είπε να επικοινωνήσω με τον κύριο Djemal και έτσι θα μπορούσαμε να βρούμε τους ιδιοκτήτες του ερμαριού…
Κατ' ακρίβεια, δεν ήταν από τον Άη Γιάννη, αλλά από τη Μαλούντα στην Πάφο και λόγω του σεισμού το 1953, μετακόμισαν στον Άη Γιάννη…
Οι ιδιοκτήτες του ερμαριού ήταν ο Halil Mustafa και η γυναίκα του Fatma Suleyman… Κατάφερα να επικοινωνήσω με την Aysel Halil Mustafa (Aysel Aksu) και μου είπε την ιστορία της οικογένειας της και του ερμαριού αυτού… Είπε ότι χάρηκε πάρα πολύ όταν άκουσε τα νέα για το ερμάρι και συγκινήθηκε πολύ «Τουλάχιστον θα παραμείνει ένα ερμάρι ως ανάμνηση από τη μητέρα μας» είπε…
Η Aysel Aksu είναι η κόρη του Halil Mustafa και της Fatma Suleyman… Ο κύριος Halil λεγόταν «Sinekchi Halil» που σημαίνει κάποιος που πολεμά τις μύγες και τα έντομα… Αυτό ήταν τότε το επάγγελμα του… Ήταν «Sinekchi» και στη Μαλούντα και στον Άη Γιάννη και αργότερα στη Ζώδια…
Η Aysel ήταν μια από επτά αδέλφια… Η μεγαλύτερη κόρη Selma είχε πεθάνει… Το δεύτερο παιδί ήταν ο Altan και μετά τρίτη ήταν η Aysel… Μετά ήταν ο Suleyman που τώρα ζει στη Λύση… Μετά ο Yildiray, η Sherife και η μικρότερη ήταν η Sevcan. Η κυρία Aysel ζει στη Μόρφου, μια αδελφή στην Πεντάγια και οι περισσότεροι στη Ζώδια…
Η οικογένεια κατ' ακρίβεια δεν ήταν από τον Άη Γιάννη αλλά από τη Μαλούντα στην Πάφο, αλλά μετά τον μεγάλο σεισμό το 1953, αναγκάστηκαν να μετοικήσουν από την Μαλούντα στον Άη Γιάννη…
«Ζούσαμε σε μια παράγκα και προσθέταμε δωμάτια» θυμάται… «Μετά αγοράσαμε γη και κτίσαμε ένα σπίτι… Παντρέψαμε την αδελφή μου και τον αδελφό μου στον Άη Γιάννη…»
Τη ρώτησα για το ερμάρι… Είχαν φέρει το ερμάρι μαζί τους από τη Μαλούντα στον Άη Γιάννη όταν είχαν μετοικήσει…
«Ήμουν παιδί τότε, δεν θυμούμαι ποιος έφτιαξε το ερμάρι αυτό, αλλά είναι τουλάχιστον 80 χρονών» μου λέει.
«Είχε πάνω του σκαλίσματα και είχε συρτάρια… Ο μακαρίτης πατέρας μου έγραφε τα ονόματα και τις ημερομηνίες γεννήσεως των παιδιών του στο εσωτερικό της πόρτας του ερμαριού…
Στον Άη Γιάννη είχαμε κήπο, είχαμε περβόλια… Είχαμε ζώα, πρόβατα και κατσίκες… Κάποιοι Ελληνοκύπριοι ήρθαν και τα πήραν όλα… Τα πήραν όλα από την μάντρα και έφυγαν… Είχαμε μια «άκρια» (εργαλείο/μηχάνημα) που χρησιμοποιούσαμε για να φυτεύουμε τα χωράφια. Υπήρχε πετρέλαιο στο σπίτι… Υπήρχε ένα σπίτι γεμάτο σιτάρι… Οι Ελληνοκύπριοι ήρθαν την πρώτη μέρα που ξεκίνησε ο πόλεμος, πήραν την «άκρια», έφεραν ένα φορτηγό και φόρτωσαν όλο μας το σιτάρι… Σε ότι απέμεινε από το σιτάρι έριξαν πάνω πετρέλαιο και άναψαν φωτιά… Ευτυχώς ο πατέρας μου ήρθε έγκαιρα και έσβησε τη φωτιά μέσα στο σπίτι, έβαλε νερό πάνω στο σιτάρι και σταμάτησε τη φωτιά από το να επεκταθεί και η μητέρα μου μας έφτιαξε ψωμί με το σιτάρι που έμεινε…
Ο Άης Γιάννης ήταν Τουρκοκυπριακό χωριό, δεν ήταν μικτό χωριό… Βλέπεις, για παράδειγμα δεν μιλώ ελληνικά… Όμως η μητέρα μου μιλούσε ελληνικά διότι όλοι όσοι εργάζονταν ως εξολοθρευτές εντόμων συναντιούνταν στον ποταμό…
Ήρθαν τη μέρα του πολέμου, σκότωσαν κάποιους Τουρκοκύπριους χωριανούς, έβαλαν σάκους πάνω στο κεφάλι τους… Φοβούμασταν και τρέξαμε μακριά και μετά επιστρέψαμε αργότερα στο χωριό… Κάποιοι Τουρκοκύπριοι έφεραν ένα φορτηγό στο χωριό μας – νομίζω ίσως να ήταν από τα γύρω χωριά, όπως τη Σαλαμιού, την Αρμίνου… Έβαλαν το σιτάρι μας στο φορτηγό και έκαψαν το υπόλοιπο… Ο πατέρας μου κατάφερε να σβήσει τη φωτιά…
Υπήρχε αυτός ο θείος Djemil και μας φώναξε, «Ελάτε πίσω! Οι Ελληνοκύπριοι έφυγαν τώρα!» Και έτσι επιστρέψαμε στο χωριό μας…
Μείναμε στο χωριό για μερικούς μήνες – δεν θυμούμαι πόσο καιρό… Υπήρχαν επίσης οι Άγγλοι στρατιώτες, είχαν στρατοπεδεύσει εκεί και μας προστάτευαν… Κοιμόμασταν στις στέγες των σπιτιών για να προστατευτούμε… Και μετά σιγά σιγά φύγαμε κρυφά από τον Άη Γιάννη…
Φύγαμε με τα ρούχα που φορούσαμε και αυτά που φορούσαμε σκίστηκαν καθώς διαφεύγαμε από τα βουνά… Όταν διαφεύγαμε, δεν μπορούσαμε να πάρουμε οτιδήποτε μαζί μας, έτσι τα πάντα έμειναν εκεί…
Μετά διαφύγαμε από τον Άη Γιάννη και περπατήσαμε μέχρι το Παραμάλι… Καταφέραμε να προλάβουμε το τελευταίο αεροπλάνο που έφευγε από το Παραμάλι…
Όταν μας είδαν, κάποιοι άνθρωποι είπαν «Βρε παιδιά! Είσαστε τυχεροί! Καταφέρατε να προλάβετε το τελευταίο αεροπλάνο…» Μας έδωσαν ρούχα και τα πάντα αφού τα ρούχα μας είχαν σκιστεί στο δρόμο… Πήγαμε με αεροπλάνο στην Τουρκία και μετά στο βόρειο μέρος της Κύπρου.
Ο αδελφός μου ήταν αιχμάλωτος πολέμου και όταν απελευθερώθηκε είχε έρθει στη Ζώδια και βρήκε ένα σπίτι για μας… Ήρθαμε και εγκατασταθήκαμε σε εκείνο το σπίτι και για περίπου δύο μήνες μείναμε μόνοι… Ο πατέρας και η μητέρα μου είχαν μείνει στον Άη Γιάννη και δεν ήρθαν μέχρι να υπάρξει συμφωνία. Μετά υπήρξε συμφωνία και οι Βρετανοί τους πήραν στο βόρειο μέρος…
Στον Άη Γιάννη κάποιοι άνθρωποι είχαν πάει στα βουνά, κάποιοι είχαν περάσει στο βορρά με τη βοήθεια κάποιων Ελληνοκυπρίων.
Όταν άκουσα ότι το ερμάρι βρέθηκε από ένα Ελληνοκύπριο αναγνώστη σου και το κράτησε και θα μας το επέστρεφε, συγκινήθηκα πολύ… Ολόκληρη η οικογένεια συγκινήθηκε πολύ…
Οι Ελληνοκύπριοι πήραν τα πάντα από εμάς, τα ζώα μας, τη γη μας, τα αυτοκίνητα μας… Τουλάχιστον ένα ερμάρι παρέμεινε ως ανάμνηση από τη μητέρα μας, μόνο ένα ερμάρι…
Εύχομαι να μην συνέβαιναν όλα αυτά και μακάρι να μέναμε εκεί που ήμασταν…
Τα έχουμε δει όλα αυτά, είναι αρκετά, μακάρι τα παιδιά μας να μην δουν ποτέ τέτοια πράγματα…
Σε ευχαριστώ που φρόντισες το θέμα αυτό…»
Ευχαριστώ την κυρία Aysel που μοιράστηκε την ιστορία της μαζί μας… Και ευχαριστώ τον κύριο Djemal που μας βοήθησε να την βρούμε… Ευχαριστώ επίσης τον Ελληνοκύπριο φίλο μου που φύλαξε το ερμάρι με φροντίδα και που θα το επιστρέψει στην οικογένεια… Σημαίνει τόσα πολλά για αυτούς το να πάρουν πίσω το ερμάρι αυτό… Είναι σαν μηχανή του χρόνου που τους παίρνει πίσω πολλά χρόνια, στις αναμνήσεις του παρελθόντος…
Τώρα το μόνο θέμα που μένει είναι να πάρουμε το ερμάρι πίσω από τον Κάμπο στη Ζώδια… Και είμαι σίγουρη ότι με τη βοήθεια των αναγνωστών μου και από τις δύο πλευρές της διαχωριστικής γραμμής θα το καταφέρουμε και θα δώσουμε πίσω το ερμάρι στους ιδιοκτήτες του…

(*) Article published in POLITIS newspaper on the 27th of December 2020, Sunday. The article was published in YENIDUZEN newspaper on the 23rd of October 2020 in Turkish on my pages entitled "Cyprus: The Untold Stories" and the link to this article is as follows:

https://www.yeniduzen.com/bir-dolap-olsun-annemizden-hatira-kalsin-bize-16446yy.htm

Photos: The photos of the chest, mentioned in the article…

PS – After the publication of this article in POLITIS today, my reader who has the chest sent me the following note:
"Dear Sevgul, i am so glad!!! Thank you for your work! it's a miracle! I hope we soon manage to give the chest to the owners. I am also glad i learned about the story of it. I have two corrections: To the Folklore Museum of Yeroskipou we gave some large pots (pitharia). They have the name of the owner inscribed on their surface. The chest, we took with us in Kampos and kept it dismantled. These chests were dismantable. Second: The thiefs from Salamiou and nearby villages were Greek Cypriots. Others, from EOKA B were from Kato Platres – … team - everybody knows. I heard they killed at least one Turkish Cypriot…."

The story of the chest waiting for its owners…

The story of the chest waiting for its owners…

Sevgul Uludag

caramel_cy@yahoo.com

Tel: 99 966518

One of my wonderful Greek Cypriot readers who always helps me a lot in my investigations about "missing persons", as well as always sending me encouraging and empowering messages about my articles, one day in the last weeks had sent me the following message:
"Dear Sevgul, we come from Kampos village (not far from Ambelikou). In 1969 we moved in Dikomo and became refugees in 1974. My father was a farmer and decided to go in Ay Yianni, in November 1975. Some furniture and other equipment were still in the village. One of them was this chest which we used in the house we lived, until 1993. My father told me that he found it not in the house we lived, but within the main village. He could not remember when I asked him (I was not present as I was at school in Lefkosia). When we left Ay Yianni we took the chest with us and it is now dismantled in Kampos, our village. We supposed that if we left it, some others might take it and its future would be doubtful (it could be sold for money). Actually, some pots (pitharia) we used, we applied to give to the Ethnographic Museum of Yeroskipou and they are there.
We noted the names on the wooden chest and hoped it returned back to the owners. Apart from the memories it is made of cedar (very good wood) and pine and the sculpture (anaglyfa) are very good. It is dismantlable. I am sure it can be renovated and will be a work of art. But most important, are the memories it carries. I manged to find the owners of the house we lived in Ay Yianni and indeed they are not the owners, as they told me. If I forgot anything, please remind me. I will be happy if it returns to the owners, through UN or other organization. Good day!"
This dear Greek Cypriot friend would also send me the photographs of the old chest and the inside of the door where names of kids who were born in the 1940s and 1950s had been written with a pencil and I would set out investigating about who the owners might be… In the old days, people would write the names of their newborns and the date inside the chest door… That had been a tradition… And inside the door of this chest, I could barely make out the names "Selma", "Aysel", "Yildiray" and "Halil"…
I would publish the photos of the chest and the story of the chest from Ay Yianni village in Paphos to see who might help…
My son too had friends from Ay Yianni and he would contact them and send them my article about the chest…
One of them, Mr. Djemal Dermush who is the president of the Ay Yianni Culture and Solidarity Association would call my son and he would tell him that he knows the owners…
My son would call me and tell me to contact Mr. Djemal and that's how we would be able to find the owners of the chest…
In fact, they were not from Ay Yianni but Malounda in Paphos and due to the earthquake of 1953, they would emigrate to the Ay Yianni village…
The owners of the chest were Halil Mustafa and his wife Fatma Suleyman… I managed to contact Aysel Halil Mustafa (Aysel Aksu) and she told me the story of her family and this chest… She said she had been so happy to hear of this news about the chest and so touched, "At least a chest will remain as a memory from our mother" she said…
Aysel Aksu is the daughter of Halil Mustafa and Fatma Suleyman… Mr. Halil had been called "Sinekchi Halil" which means someone who fights against the flies… That was his profession at the time… He had been a "Sinekchi" both at Malounda, at Ay Yianni and later at Zodia…
Aysel was one of the seven brothers and sisters… The eldest daughter Selma had passed away… The second child was Altan and then the third, Aysel… Then there is Suleyman who lives in Lyssi now… Then Yildiray, Sherife and the smallest was Sevcan. Mrs. Aysel lives in Morphou, one sister in Pendaya and most of them in Zodia…
The family was actually not from Ay Yianni but from Malounda from Paphos but when there was a big earthquake in 1953, they had to emigrate from Malounda to Ay Yianni…
"We lived in a Baraka and we added rooms" she remembers… "Then we bought land and build a house… We got my sister and brother married in Ay Yianni…"
I ask her about the chest… They had brought the chest with them from Malounda to Ay Yianni when they emigrated…
"I was a child then, I don't remember who built this chest but it is at least 80 years old" she tells me.
"It had carvings on it and had drawers… My late father would write down the names and birthdates of his children inside the door of this chest…
In Ay Yianni, we had a garden, we had pervolia… We had animals, sheep and goats… Some Greek Cypriots came and took them all… They took them all from the mandra and left… We had an akria used for planting the fields. There was petrol in the house… There was a house full of wheat… The Greek Cypriots came on the first day when war started, they took away the akria, they brought a truck and loaded all our wheat… Whatever wheat remained, they put petrol over them and started a fire… Thank God my father came in time to put out the fire inside the house, he put water over the wheat and stopped the fire from spreading and from the remaining wheat my mother would make us bread…
Ay Yianni was a Turkish Cypriot village, it was not a mixed village… You see, I can't speak Greek for instance… But my mother spoke Greek because all those working as flymen used to meet in the potamos…
They came on the day of the war, they killed some Turkish Cypriot villagers, they put sacks over their heads… We were afraid and ran away and then returned to the village later… They brought a truck to our village, some Turkish Cypriots – I think maybe they were from the surrounding villages like Salamiou, Arminou… They put our wheat on the truck and burned the rest… My father could manage to put out the fire…
There was this Uncle Djemil and he called out to us, "Come back! The Greek Cypriots are gone now!" And so we came back to our village…
We remained in the village for a few months – I don't remember how long… There were also the English soldiers, they had set out a camp there and were protecting us… We would sleep on the roofs of the houses in order to protect ourselves… And then secretly we ran away from Ay Yianni slowly…
We ran away with what we had on us and what we had on us were torn apart while escaping from the mountains… When we were escaping, we could not take anything with us, so everything we had remained there…
Then we ran away from Ay Yianni and walked all the way to Paramali… We managed to reach the last plane leaving from Paramali…
When they saw us, some people said, "Vre children! You are lucky! You managed to catch the last plane…" They gave us clothes and everything since our clothes were torn on our way… We went by plane to Turkey and then to the northern part of Cyprus.
My brother had been a prisoner of war and when he got out, he had come to Zodia and found a house for us… We came and settled in that house and for about two months we stayed alone… My father and mother had remained at Ay Yianni village and until there was an agreement, they did not come. Then when there was an agreement, the British took them to the northern part…
In Ay Yianni, some people had gone on the mountains, some people had crossed to the north with help from some Greek Cypriots.
When I heard that the chest was found by one of your Greek Cypriot readers and kept and would be returned to us, I was very touched… The whole family was very touched…
Greek Cypriots took everything from us, our animals, our land, our cars… At least a chest should remain as a memory from our mother, only a chest…
I wish that all of these did not happen and I wish that we had remained where we were…
We have seen all this, it is enough, let our children never see such things…
I thank you for taking care of this issue…"
I thank Mrs. Aysel for sharing her story with us… And I thank Mr. Djemal for helping us find her… I also thank this Greek Cypriot friend of mine who kept the chest with care and who will return it to the family… It means so much to them to get this chest back… It is like a time machine that takes them back many years, to the memories of the past…
Now the only issue is to get the chest back from Kampos to Zodia… And I am sure that with the help of my readers from both sides of the partition line, we will manage that and give back the chest to the owners…


(*) Article published in POLITIS newspaper on the 27th of December 2020, Sunday. The article was published in YENIDUZEN newspaper on the 23rd of October 2020 in Turkish on my pages entitled "Cyprus: The Untold Stories" and the link to this article is as follows:

https://www.yeniduzen.com/bir-dolap-olsun-annemizden-hatira-kalsin-bize-16446yy.htm

Photos: The photos of the chest, mentioned in the article…

PS – After the publication of this article in POLITIS today, my reader who has the chest sent me the following note:
"Dear Sevgul, i am so glad!!! Thank you for your work! it's a miracle! I hope we soon manage to give the chest to the owners. I am also glad i learned about the story of it. I have two corrections: To the Folklore Museum of Yeroskipou we gave some large pots (pitharia). They have the name of the owner inscribed on their surface. The chest, we took with us in Kampos and kept it dismantled. These chests were dismantable. Second: The thiefs from Salamiou and nearby villages were Greek Cypriots. Others, from EOKA B were from Kato Platres – … team - everybody knows. I heard they killed at least one Turkish Cypriot…."

The only Turkish Cypriot “missing” from Morphou: Ahmet Mulla Mehmet...

The only Turkish Cypriot "missing" from Morphou: Ahmet Mulla Mehmet...

Sevgul Uludag

Caramel_cy@yahoo.com

It all started with an anonymous e-mail from a Greek Cypriot reader:
`I'd like to contribute to your efforts by telling you a story that I've only heard, not witnessed. In the town of  Morphou  must be a missing person, whose name I can't recall, but must have been over middle age around 1963-64. From word of mouth  I heard that at least 3 Greek Cypriots murdered him and thrown his body into a well probably at his house. The main reason for doing so was their greed to steal his money. He was a wealthy person, never harmed anybody  and must had a son in the UK.  I don't know if his body has been found, but  if not  I don't like to keep  this information with  me but share it with you because I respect your efforts against  the odds.`
So I started searching who this `missing person` might be. In Morphou (Güzelyurt), there was only one `missing` Turkish Cypriot from 3 January 1964, Ahmet Mulla Mehmet  born in 1898. He had been 65 years old when he had gone `missing` from his house. Just as my reader had described, he had had a son living in London at that time, Arif Ahmet Hastoprak.
So I go to Morphou to meet the grandson of Ahmet Mulla Mehmet, Hakki Alpagut, a lawyer who has been given an award for his contribution to peace, by the Greek Cypriots of Morphou. After the opening of the checkpoints, the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots of Morphou had formed an association called `Peace and Reunification` and he has been active there, pushing for the opening of the Bostancı/Zodia checkpoint. And now, he is pushing for the opening of the Yeşilırmak/Limnitis checkpoint...
Both Ahmet Mulla Mehmet and his son Nahit were `legends` in the area and Greek Cypriots had great respect for them. They were quite friendly...
Ahmet Mulla Mehmet was a citrus producer and quite rich at that time. He had more than 60 donums of citrus plantations. His wife, Fatma was also well respected among Greek Cypriots of Morphou. The `Mandis` of the area (Roma)  were having fights amongst themselves and according to the story, a few of their children had drowned in the river – they wanted to stop the fighting and build a temple for `Ayios Stamadios`. According to their belief, Ayios Stamadios was the saint who would chase away the evil. But they did not have the money to build this temple so Fatma Hanim would give them money to start building it. When they ran out of money, Ahmet Mulla Mehmet would give more money to finish it. Today you can see this temple in the middle of Morphou.
Ahmet Mulla Mehmet was constructing a new building next to the market (bandabuliya) in Morphou. He had five daughters and three sons. One of his sons, Erol, was killed by some EOKA assasinators back in 1958. Erol had been studying to be a doctor and originally the building's second floor was planned to be his clinic. When he was murdered, the plans for the building also changed. There would be no clinic anymore because Erol had been killed. He had just gone to Morphou and since his mother was sick, he had gone to a Greek Cypriot pharmacist, Nigoloboullos, to get some medicine for her and as he was drinking his coffee, he had been shot and killed in cold-blood.
`Greek Cypriots of Morphou were giving a cold shoulder to EOKA at that time` Hakki Alpagut says, `Morphou was a place they could not really get organized. So they were trying to provocate the people to join EOKA. Sampson had been in the area 10 days before my uncle Erol was shot dead. When he was in the area, a Turkish Cypriot policeman called Reshat  was killed... The left or AKEL was quite strong in Morphou area... So EOKA was setting up provocations... The killing of my uncle was part of those provocations... As a result, most of the Turkish Cypriots of Morphou would fear for their lives and  would go away to live in Lefke or Nicosia or emigrate to Australia...`
Ahmet Mulla Mehmet was worried in 1963 as the intercommunal fighting began but his Greek Cypriot friends in a bank told him not to worry: They would give him 2 thousand Cypriot pounds, without guarantors or mortgage. He planned to pay a thousand pounds to the Greek Cypriot builders and the rest of the money, he would keep for emergencies since all the Turkish Cypriot families had gone to Lefke, Gaziveran or Nicosia. He would go `missing` on the night when he took the money from the bank – 3rd of January 1964. His wife would die 25 days later – Fatma Hanim was already very sick because of the murdering of her son Erol – she had swallowed pesticides to commit suicide when her son had been killed but she was saved... After her husband disappeared, she  could not take it anymore...
So who had killed Ahmet Mulla Mehmet? One of the aides of Ahmet Mulla Mehmet, Feyzullah had been with him that night but had gone to his house. When he came back, he had seen a police car parked in front of the house. `In those times, it was easy for paramilitary groups to use the police cars` Hakki Alpagut explains. Ahmet Mulla Mehmet had been on very good terms with the chief of police of Morphou, Odisseas. There was no sign of struggle in the house. `If these people had told my grandfather, `Come on, Mr. Odisseas wants to see you` he would have gone with them... Is that what had happened? I am not saying that Odisseas had anything to do with this... We don't even know if the murderers were from the Morphou area or whether they came from elsewhere... If they had been from Morphou, we would have heard it...`
We look at the wells in the garden of Ahmet Mulla Mehmet. But Hakki Alpagut has also got some information that his grandfather has been buried in one of the wells in his gardens, not his house. We still need to go and check these wells with him...
`The reason for the killing of my grandfather wasn't ethnic. I believe that he was killed for his money` he says.
Just like his grandfather, Hakki Alpagut is also a `legend` among Greek Cypriots of Morphou... Whoever comes to Morphou goes and seeks him out to have coffee or a chat... He continues the friendship and brotherhood, just like his uncle Nahit and his `missing` grandfather Ahmet Mulla Mehmet... He is a role model for the future of our country... (*)

(*) This article was published in June 2009 in POLITIS newspaper and after a few years in 2011, Hakki Alpagut sadly passed away... We later went with other grandchildren of the "missing" Ahmet Mulla Mehmet and showed various possible burial sites where he might have been buried to the officials of the Cyprus Missing Persons' Committee... We also gave information to the officials of the CMP about people who might know the exact location of his burial site. CMP officials visited and took the information... We hope that after 11 years since we first wrote about Ahmet Mulla Mehmet, that there should be digging in the possible burial sites that there is information about with the CMP...

Photos:

Ahmet Mulla Mehmet still "missing" from Morphou...

The Agios Stamadios temple in Morphou

Dr. Erol Ahmet killed in August 1958 in Morphou by some Greek Cypriots...