Lapithos or Lapethos (; ) is a town in Cyprus under the control of Northern Cyprus.

Archeologists claim that Lapithos was founded by the Achean brothers Praxandros and Cepheus. According to Strabo, the ancient settlement of Lapathus, the site of which is nearby, was founded by Spartans.

In Assyrian inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one of the eleven Cypriot kingdoms. During the Persian rule, Lapithos was settled by Phoenicians for a while. The last independent king Praxippos was subdued by Ptolemy I in 312 BC.

Lambousa is the name currently used for the ancient Greek town on the coast about north of the current Lapithos.

thumb|right|The coast at Lapithos

History

Pre-Roman

Strabo wrote that Lapethos is a 'construction of the Laconians and of Praxandros'. The philosopher Alexander of Ephesus called it "Imeroessa", meaning "attractive" and "passion-arousing".

Archaeological excavations

Close to Lapithos there is a large grave burial from the Bronze Age () with hundreds of graves. John Myres did an excavation here in 1913 and Menelaos Markides in 1917. Gravediggers have looted the site multiple times.

The Swedish Cyprus Expedition

The Swedish Cyprus Expedition excavated around 25 sites in Cyprus from 1927 to 1931. Some of these sites were at Lapithos and the excavations here resulted in a multitude of ceramics and weapons made of copper and bronze. They also found delicate proboscis jugs with elongated necks (beak spouted) and shiny red paint, which are similar to contemporary ceramics from Anatolia.

thumb|upright|Red Polished plank-shaped figurine of a mother holding a cradle with an infant inside. From Lapithos, Tomb 313A. Early Cypriote III - Middle Cypriote I, . This figurine can be seen at [[Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm.]]The oldest settlement, dating from the Neolithic or Chalcolithic period, is located to the west of the village of Lapithos and is called Alonia ton Plakon. The cite was damaged by humans and natural causes during the course of history, therefore, the area of the settlement is difficult to define.

Economy

thumb|left|A beach and a house standing by it in Lapithos. Tourism is an important source of income for the town.

thumb|left|A hotel in Lapithos

Civil servants and workers constitute the majority of the working population. Tourism, agriculture, small-scale industry and fishing are also important sources of income, practised by the rest of the population.

Politics

Turkish Cypriot municipality

The Municipality of Lapithos (Lapta) that administers the town was founded on 19 November 1974 by the cabinet of the Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration. The current mayor is Fuat Namsoy of the National Unity Party. He has been in this position since 1994.

Before 1974, the village was divided into six parishes (), each with its own civil and religious administration, community council, an ecclesiastical authority with a Greek Orthodox priest, and cemetery. The parishes were as follows:

Churches and mosques

thumb|right|Timios Prodromos Church in Lapithos

thumb|right|Saint Evlalios Church

thumb|right|Acheiropoietos Monastery

Lapithos has 14 churches, two mosques and two monasteries. These include:

  • Saint Theodoros Church: The church was built in 1834. It has two white pillars with Byzantine crosses in its yard a gallery section dated to the 17th century, with well-painted doors.
  • Saint Minas Church: Located in the east, the church was built in 1843. The church has icons of Saint Minas on a horse, it also used to have a large icon of Saint Minas from the early 18th century.
  • Esseyid Elhaç Mehmet Agha Mosque, also known as the Upper Lapta Mosque: It is made of hewn stone and has a rectangular structure. It was first built by the tax collector Esseyid Elhaç Mehmet Agha in 1828, but this mosque had an earthen roof and no minaret. Between 1887 and 1889, the Sayed Mehmet Agha Foundation, led by the trustee Hadji Veli Effendi, built a patio, tile roof coverings and a minaret. In 1899, there was also a school that belonged to the same foundation. The hewn stone minaret on the mosque's eastern side was demolished in 1974 and the current concrete minaret was constructed in 1976.

Notable people

  • Andreas G. Orphanides, Professor of History and Archaeology, Music Composer
  • George of Cyprus, Byzantine geographer
  • Gregory II of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1283 to 1289
  • Ioannis Tsangaridis, Greek general

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Lapithos is unofficially twinned with:

  • Büyükçekmece, Turkey (since 2007)
  • Kemer, Antalya, Turkey (since 2012)
  • 20px Karpoš, Skopje, North Macedonia (since 2015)

References

  • History of Lapithos by the Municipality
  • Parish Churches of Lapithos by the Municipality
  • Farming and Crops
  • Lapta town and its history
  • About Lapta Village