Vouno

Vouno (Greek: Βουνό; Turkish: Yukarı Taşkent or Taşkent) is a village in the Kyrenia District of Cyprus. De facto, it is under the control of Northern Cyprus. Its population in 2011 was 299.

Not to be confused with Vuno.
Vouno

Vouno
Location in Cyprus
Coordinates: 35°16′22″N 33°23′13″E
Country (de jure) Cyprus
 • DistrictKyrenia District
Country (de facto) Northern Cyprus[1]
 • DistrictGirne District
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total299
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

The village of Vouno (meaning mountain in Greek) is located 10 kilometres north of Nicosia in Cyprus. Its name derives from the fact that it lies at an altitude of 380 meters above sea level and is the highest village on the south side of the Pentadaktylos mountain range. The village of Vouno is one of the 60 villages in Cyprus originally inhabited by Maronites.

With the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the inhabitants of the village of Vouno, like almost all the Greek and Maronite residents of the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, became refugees. The Turks renamed the village into "Taşkent" and destroyed the two Greek Orthodox churches in the village, that of Saint George and the Holy Cross. The Maronite church of Saint Romanos escaped destruction because the Turkish occupying forces decided to turn it into a museum. Thus, today the church is in good condition, at least externally, since nobody knows how it looks internally because it always remains shut and inaccessible.

References
  1. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus unilaterally declared independence from the Republic of Cyprus. The de facto state is not recognised by any UN state except Turkey.
  2. KKTC 2011 Nüfus ve Konut Sayımı [TRNC 2011 Population and Housing Census] (PDF), TRNC State Planning Organization, 6 August 2013, p. 21
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