Kaimakli

Kaimakli Καϊμακλί (Greek) Kaymaklı  (Turkish)
Kaimakli Location in Cyprus
Coordinates: 35°11′21″N 33°23′1″E / 35.18917°N 33.38361°E / 35.18917; 33.38361Coordinates: 35°11′21″N 33°23′1″E / 35.18917°N 33.38361°E / 35.18917; 33.38361
Country	Cyprus
• District	Nicosia District
• Municipality	Nicosia
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	11,564
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Kaimakli (Greek: Καϊμακλί [kaimaˈkli]; Turkish: Kaymaklı or Büyük Kaymaklı [ˈbyjyc kajmakˈɫɯ]) is a large northeastern suburb of Nicosia, Cyprus. Since 1968, it belongs to the Municipality of Nicosia. Its population in 2011 was 11,564.

Etymology

It seems that Kaimakli derives from kaymak meaning [the] froth [in a cup of local coffee]. However Rubert Gunnis states that the suburb took its name from a farm which produced clotted cream which in Turkish is known as Kaymak.^[2]

History

Kaimakli has two churches, Saint Barbara's and Archangel Michael's, which is also a cemetery. In St. Barbara there are some interesting old icons, e.g. one of Virgin Mary dated back to 1763.^[3]

In the 19th and 20th Century the inhabitants of Kaimakli where famed for their building and labouring skills. In 1878 when the British arrived, they found that the Venetians had diverted the river Pediaios north of the city, but the old riverbed still ran through the centre, creating an open sewer and rubbish dump, which sometimes flooded into the surrounding streets. In 1881 the riverbed was covered, the municipality offered ownership of the area covered to labourers prepared to undertake the work. Much of it was done by builders from Kaimakli who thus built Hermes Street. Many of the shops built were then given to builders as a reward for their labour.^[4]

The Cyprus Government Railway(Section 1) was constructed in 1905 and the line passed through Kaimakli towards Nicosia . A Station Halt and siding was then built in 1909 at the corner of what is now Synergasias Street(This formed part of the old line and the rail tracks are now buried within the tarmac) and St Hilarion.The Line and station closed on 31 December 1951.^[5] The Station was restored in 1995 and a Linear Park was constructed on over a kilometre of the old track.^[6]

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  Synergasias Street

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  Kaimakli Railway Station

Industry

Building in the modern part of Kaimakli

The Regis Milk Industries which is a major ice cream producer on the island has its factory located at 1 Synergasias Street.^[7]

Sport

Achilleas is a Cypriot basketball club founded in 1943, nowadays running basketball, volleyball and table tennis divisions. It has been an integral part of the community in the suburb of Kaimakli in Nicosia. The club is named after Achilles (Ἀχιλλεύς) a legendary figure of the Greek mythology.^[8]

Art

Glyn HUGHES - Artist painter ( 1931 north Wales 2014 Kaimakli ) was born in north Wales in 1931 and educated at Holywell Grammar School. He studied art at Bretton Hall in Yorkshire then taught art and drama in London for three years before coming to Cyprus in 1956. Since that time he has been painting continually. He taught art at the English school, Nicosia where he also ran the pre-university youth club. In 1960 when Cyprus became independent he started APOPHASIS with the outstanding Cypriot artist of his generation, Christoforos Savva. This was a pioneering venture and became the centre of Cypriot contemporary art. Christoforos Savva died in 1967. Later Hughes was to start SYNERGY an annual group exhibition/installationary activity. This was cut down by the Coup and Turkish Invasion but the artist continued to paint.He has had one person exhibitions in Cyprus and the U.K., and represented Cyprus at the Cairo Triennale. Shows: Athens, London, Beirut, German, Switzerland, Cyprus, China, and Australia.In theatre design he has worked in Cyprus, U.K., Greece, Germany, and the USA. He is Arts Editor for The Cyprus Weekly and for the last ten years has conducted SYMPOSIART a series of lectures on British Art for The British Council and the Nicosia Municipal Centre. A retrospective exhibition tour covering the last fifty years of Glyn Hughes career will commence in Wrexham, Wales, U.K. near the end of 2005.

References