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Tuesday 17 July 2007

the W()RD: Georgians in Cyprus

Before we abandon Cyprus altogether, here are a couple of links to it from the country where I live.

- A number of Cypriots told me that they knew of large numbers of Georgians living in Cyprus. Most of these, it turns out, are Pontic Greeks, described here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontic_Greeks

- The free monthly English newspaper The Paphos Times reports, in its January 2007 issue, p. 5, "Discovery of [ruins of] medieval monastery in Paphos forest". It dates back to the 10th century, and consists of a three-aisle domed church from that century, and a second, smaller church, from the late 11th-early 12th century, with renovations at the beginning and end of the 13th. In the 16th century the monatery was looted, its floors dug up and it was blown up.
Surprise, it's all Georgian, sponsored by and dedicated to that brilliant monarch, Queen Tamar (called "King Tamar" by the Georgians in honour of her greatness). So the Georgians' reach at the height of their Golden Age was not inconsiderable.

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