Morphou

Morphou
Μόρφου (Greek) Güzelyurt (Turkish)
Population
• Total	12.000 (aprox)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)

Morphou (Greek: Morfou (Μόρφου), Turkish: Omorfo or Güzelyurt) is a market town in the west of North Cyprus. Morphou was founded by Spartans who brought with them the worship of Aphrodite. In the Middle Ages, the city was referred to as Morphou but also Theomorphou. The Morphou area grew more than half of Cyprus citrus fruits.

St Mamas' church in Morphou

St Mamas, the lamb and the lion: altar painting in the church at Morphou

It contains one of the many churches in the country dedicated to St. Mamas, popularly believed to have lived as a hermit in a cave near Morphou. According to local legend, he was a hermit living in very poor circumstances and when the authorities tried to tax him, he evaded them. Soldiers were sent out and captured him but on the way back to town, he saw a lion attacking a lamb, escaped the soldiers, saved the lamb, jumped on the lion's back and in that way came to town. His bravery earned him exemption from tax, hence his traditional attribute.

Morphou was an almost entirely Greek Cypriot community. According to the 1960 population census it was inhabited by 6480 Greeks Cypriots, 123 Turkish Cypriots and 32 Maronites. Between 1907 and 1948, Morphou was one of the prominent stations of the Cyprus Government Railway

Morphou was taken by the Turkish military during the Turkish Invasion in 1974. As a result, the whole of its Greek Cypriot population was forced to leave their homes and properties and flee to the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.

North-South crossing

Guzelyurt (Morphou) is home to one of the islands crossing points, which was opened to civilian use in 2003 by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It is located at Zodeia (Bostancι in Turkish) to the southeast of the town.

The crossing is used by vehicles, and passport/Id checks are done at both sides when crossing. The road goes through the U.N buffer zone, before entering the opposite side of the border, which was set up to prevent any further attacks between the two communities.

Modern era

Location of Güzelyurt district.

The town was called Omorfo in Turkish until 1974, when it became Güzelyurt, a calque of the original Greek name. With a population of 12,000 people, the town is famous for its apples, vegetables, grapefruit and melons for which a large proportion of the citrus fruits are exported and the remainder are turned into fruit juice and canned for local consumption and export. Güzelyurt is also famous for its annual Orange Festival, which is a major event lasting two weeks.

The district of Güzelyurt consists of the western portions of the old district of Nicosia under North Cypriot control. According to the Republic of Cyprus, the area remains de jure part of the district of Nicosia.

The church is an icon museum now.

Middle East Technical University (METU) - Northern Cyprus Campus - Kalkanlı

Güzelyurt hosts the METU (North Cyprus campus) university that has various facilities. Today, Güzelyurt Turkish society integrates the University in Kalkanlı town of Güzelyurt with the city center.