From settlements reaching back to 7000 BC and the ancient kingdom of Aepia, through the Ottoman and British periods, to the struggle with the CMC mining company \u2014 the history of Lefke.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSettlement reaching back to 7000 BC, copper mining and the ancient Mediterranean civilisations.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe ancient Lefke kingdom founded by Demophon at the height of its power, and the region\u2019s centre of the copper trade.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Ottoman and British periods, municipal government and the struggle with the CMC mining company.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t The oldest settlements around Lefke are in the vicinity of Ba\u011fl\u0131k\u00f6y and Vouni. The fact that the settlement remains around Vouni in particular date back to around 7000 BC suggests that these may be the oldest settlements in Cyprus. The oldest copper mines in Cyprus are thought to have been in the Erimi region, where mining has been shown to have been carried out around 3000 BC. According to David Lavender (Lavender, p.20), it was the Cretans or the Egyptians who taught the Cypriots how to work copper \u2014 a conclusion reached because the most advanced Mediterranean civilisations that knew how to work copper at the time were located in these two countries.<\/p> Cyprus came under Egyptian rule around 1500 BC. Cyprus paid at least part of its tribute to Egypt in copper. It is also known that the date palms of Lefke were brought from Egypt. The date palms, of which around 1,000 remain today, were brought and planted in Lefke to make the baskets used to bring copper out of the mines. Exactly when the Egyptians (and those before them) began working the copper mines at Lefke is not known with certainty. The earliest date that can be established is around 1350 BC. When the CMC opened the Abl\u0131\u00e7 mine in 1938, it discovered tunnels in the area dating from antiquity.<\/p> Investigations revealed that, alongside mining activity, small settlements also existed in this region (Lavender, p.69). Egyptian rule in Cyprus ended shortly after 1220 BC with the Hittite occupation of the island. Although the Hittites had been forcing Egypt into retreat in the Middle East since 1281 BC, they showed no interest in Cyprus. Having routed the Egyptian army at the Battle of Kadesh in 1281 BC, the Hittites also gained control of much of the eastern Mediterranean. Kadesh is the oldest battle in history whose tactical details are known. Another notable aspect of the battle is that the two sides were the world\u2019s two superpowers of that century. We know the details of this battle today from ancient Egyptian records.<\/p> Many historians have concluded from these records that neither side was able to defeat the other. Yet although the records tell us that the Egyptian pharaoh told his people he had won the war, we know this was not the case, since at the end of the conflict the Syrian territories under Egyptian rule passed into Hittite hands. Having advanced almost to the border of present-day Egypt, the Hittite armies could go no further because they had not managed to destroy the Egyptian army completely. It is clear that, while these events were unfolding, Cyprus must have fallen into a complete political vacuum.<\/p> Unfortunately we cannot know this period from direct sources, but we can draw some conclusions from the effects on Cyprus of a series of events in neighbouring countries. What matters most here is copper production and the events that unfolded in and around Lefke in connection with it. Since our subject is Lefke, shedding light on this period is very important. As we shall see shortly, the very short interval after the Battle of Kadesh witnessed events of decisive importance in the history of Lefke, in the history of copper production in Cyprus and, consequently, in the history of Cyprus itself. Here is another sequence of events that will clarify the matter: within a few decades of the Battle of Kadesh, another famous war took place \u2014 this time between the Trojans and the Greeks. That war is the Trojan War, which has reached our day through the poems of Homer and has become perhaps the most famous war in human history. Despite its fame, the Trojan War has carried down to our own time many unanswered questions about its date, its cause and the way it unfolded. Dates proposed for the Trojan War cover almost the whole of the 13th century BC. The most widely accepted of these, argued on various grounds, is that the war took place before 1250 BC, and this is the date we shall take as our basis. As is well known, the Greeks, having fought for nine years before the city of Troy, finally decided that they would not take it by force and devised a ruse. Persuading the Trojans that they had abandoned the war, they withdrew their soldiers, leaving behind a giant wooden horse as a gift to Troy. Greek soldiers, however, were hidden inside the wooden horse. Deceived by the trick, the Trojans brought the giant horse into their city. When night fell, the Greeks emerged from the horse, opened the city gates and let in the army waiting outside. The Greek armies that entered Troy plundered and burned the city, and so the nine-year war came to an end. According to this legend, which largely matches Homer\u2019s account in the Iliad, one of those who entered Troy inside the wooden horse was Demophon, son of the king of Athens.<\/p> Did the Trojan War really end this way? How true is the Trojan Horse? Is this how Demophon entered the city?<\/p> All of these are matters that have come down to us through legend and remain debated. But it is a fact that Demophon, son of the king of Athens, existed, that he entered Greek history through his heroism in the Trojan War, and that he was among those who, together with the armies of the other Greek city-states, plundered and burned Troy. As for what concerns us here: after the war Demophon returned to Athens as a victorious commander, and some time later gathered a portion of the Athenians, put them aboard ships and came to Cyprus, to the Lefke region. The Athenians founded a strongly defended city on well-fortified ground about three kilometres west of Lefke, between Soli and Ba\u011fl\u0131k\u00f6y, and named it Aepia.<\/p> Why would a prince such as Demophon, at the height of his fame and power, embark on such an undertaking? Even if we assume he had decided to establish a base or colony in Cyprus, on what basis did he choose the location? And finally, whatever his aim, where did he find the courage to occupy a region lying between two superpowers? Let us first consider why Aepia was founded. Setting legends aside and looking at the realities of the 13th century BC, the reason is easily found. However much Homer may say in the Iliad that the cause of the Trojan War was the beautiful Helen, in truth the Trojan War was nothing more than a series of invasions and acts of plunder, and what ended it was that the Aegean coasts had been exhausted by nine years of pillage. For the armies of the Greek city-states, copper was foremost among the most valuable goods to be plundered (A. Erhat, p.26). The reason is that in those centuries copper was the basis of military technology. Most weapons and equipment of the period were made of bronze: armour, shields and spears were all of bronze, and bronze is 90% copper plus 10% tin. This was the \u2018magic formula\u2019 that determined the fate of Lefke.<\/p> A kingdom with high ambitions must first build a strong army; it can find the soldiers it needs and train them, but the necessary military equipment is the greatest problem. However wealthy the kingdom, it could not easily obtain the bronze it needed \u2014 or rather copper, the raw material of bronze. It would be naive to think that the great powers controlling the production of such a valuable metal would not also control its sale. The reason for Aepia\u2019s founding should now be clear. Rather than plundering the copper he needed as pots and pans from here and there, was it not more logical for Demophon to come and seize one of the production centres? Perhaps the right question now is not why the Athenians felt the need to settle near Lefke, but how the others failed to think of it. As for where Demophon found the courage to attempt to occupy the region \u2014 we have, I think, already answered that question. As explained above, the period between the Battle of Kadesh and the Hittite occupation of Cyprus was one of political vacuum for the island. It appears that Demophon made good use of that vacuum.<\/p> As for exactly when Aepia was founded: the period we are dealing with, and the recording of what happened in the Aegean and Greece at that time, took place three or four centuries after the events ended. Although the Hittites and the Egyptians were using writing in the 13th century BC, the Greeks were not yet doing so. It is said that the Cypriots taught them to write. We therefore cannot know exact dates at first hand. It is also claimed that Aepia was the first Greek colony founded in Cyprus, followed by Paphos and Salamis. There is, however, one chance of establishing Aepia\u2019s founding date with certainty, and it lies in a sorrowful love story. After the Trojan War, Demophon did not return directly to Athens; on his way back he called at the kingdom of Amphipolis on the Thracian coast, where he fell in love with Princess Phyllis and married her. Although King Sithon promised to leave his kingdom to his son-in-law, Demophon said he had to go to Athens and departed, promising to return by a certain date. What happened in Athens is not known, but instead of returning to his wife Demophon came to Cyprus. When her husband did not return on the appointed date, Phyllis, believing she had been abandoned and unable to bear the humiliation, hanged herself from a tree (T. Y\u00f6r\u00fckkan, p.185). Demophon learned of Phyllis\u2019s suicide while he was occupied with founding Aepia in Cyprus, and returned to Greece, where he died in an accident. From all this we can naturally conclude that Aepia was founded a few years after the Trojan War. Phyllis was certainly not the first person to lose her life for the sake of Lefke\u2019s copper mines, nor the last. Because she was a princess, her tragic life story passed into history \u2014 but as we shall see, countless people lost their lives in the mines of Lefke in far more tragic ways. When Aepia was founded, security concerns outweighed the aim, common to city-states, of becoming a commercial centre. We can see this from the fact that the city was built on well-fortified ground an hour\u2019s walk from the coast. Six hundred years after its founding, Solon took this into account when he made the decision that would consign Aepia to history. Aware that Aepia could not develop in its existing location, Solon persuaded the king of Aepia, Philokypros, a former student of his, to abandon the city and build a new one on the site of present-day Soli. Travelling from Egypt to Greece, Solon came to Cyprus to visit his student and, after drawing up the plans for the new city, went on to Greece as a lawgiver. Out of respect for Solon, the new city was named Soli. Solon\u2019s foresight was proved once again when the new city developed rapidly and became one of the most important towns in Cyprus. But what was the state of Lefke while all this was happening a few kilometres to its west? Or, to put the question another way: why did the founders of Aepia not choose Lefke as the site for their city? It would not be an exaggeration to say that Lefke could have been the most suitable place in the region for settlers arriving from Greece. We can see that Solon chose the location of Soli because of its proximity to the sea. His aim was to found a town that could become a commercial centre at a junction of land and sea routes. We know from the town\u2019s history, which continued for more than a thousand years, that Soli was built on the most suitable site that could have been chosen in north-western Cyprus. The same cannot be said of Aepia. As we have seen, the aim of Aepia\u2019s founders was the copper mines of the region. For this reason they did not mind that the city they founded stood at a point where it could not become a commercial centre; they intended it rather to serve a military function. We do not know how long it took the Greek city-state warriors, hardened by the Trojan wars, to take control of the Lefke region, but we can assume it did not take very long. As for why Aepia was not founded on the site of present-day Lefke, the reason most likely concerns the safety of those who would live in the city. In antiquity (and long afterwards) two great dangers threatened city dwellers: external attack and epidemic disease. A strong defence could be built against attack, but a city could be helpless in the face of an epidemic. Throughout history a significant share of the world\u2019s population has died of epidemics that broke out in cities. The most fitting thing that can be said about Aepia\u2019s location is, I think, that it was built close enough to Lefke to control it, yet far enough away to be protected from the dangers Lefke might bring \u2014 foremost among them epidemics, then incurable, and slave uprisings. Although Demophon\u2019s successors kept Aepia alive after his death, they could not realise his dreams. What blocked the development of Aepia \u2014 or of Athens, in other words \u2014 was the Hittites. The reason Cyprus was occupied during the reign of the Hittite king Tudhaliya IV (1250\u20131220 BC) was, once again, the copper mines. Seton Lloyd writes on this subject (Lloyd, p.45): \u2018Another country the Hittites had until then appeared to take little interest in was Alashiya (Cyprus). The importance of the region because of its copper deposits must have become clear at this time, for Tudhaliya landed on the island and occupied it.\u2019 Another expert on Hittite history, Ekrem Akurgal, writes of the Hittite occupation of Cyprus: \u2018It appears from written sources that during the reign of Tudhaliya IV, Alasia \u2014 that is, Cyprus \u2014 passed into the hands of Hattusa, and this kingdom was made subject to a tribute paid in gold and copper. To ensure that the terms of the agreement were duly fulfilled, a governor was appointed alongside the king of Alasia. The island of Cyprus remained subject to the Hittite Kingdom until the fall of Hattusa.\u2019 (Akurgal, p.105). This delay in the Hittites\u2019 recognition of the importance of the copper mines in Cyprus again brings Aepia to mind. If the reason the people of Aepia (the Athenians) came to Cyprus was the copper mines \u2014 and I think we no longer doubt that it was \u2014 then they must have swiftly seized the Lefke region and increased mining output. The rapid rise in what had probably been low-capacity production must have caught the attention of the Hittites. In other words, by increasing production in pursuit of its own aims, Aepia awoke the sleeping giant and sealed its own fate. That the Hittites not only appointed a puppet king in Cyprus but also left a governor as an observer alongside him over the tribute set in gold and copper confirms our earlier view that the great powers kept the production and distribution (trade) of the metal under their control.<\/p> What would have happened if the Hittites had not blocked Aepia\u2019s path? The course of world history shows that Aepia \u2014 or Athens \u2014 had no chance of developing into a great empire in any case. What is at issue here are the attacks that destroyed much of the civilised world, carried out by peoples referred to in some sources as the Sea Peoples and in others as the Dorians. As a result of these invasions, which began at the start of the 12th century BC, world history was plunged into a darkness lasting some three centuries. All the Greek cities were burned and plundered, and the same fate befell those of Anatolia and the Middle East in turn. The Hittite Empire, of course, also collapsed. According to Egyptian records, Cyprus too had its share of these devastating invasions, and all the cities on the island were burned and destroyed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t When the Ottomans came to Cyprus in 1571, they fought the Latins (the Venetians). Towards the Orthodox Greeks, who formed the majority on the island, they pursued a policy different from the one applied to the Latins. In order to keep the Greeks under control, they granted the Church extensive privileges, allowing it to grow wealthy and, in proportion to that wealth, to bring the Greek population under its supervision \u2014 thereby creating an institution with a first-order interest in the continuity of Ottoman rule. As for the Latin population of Cyprus, most of these people either fled or were driven from their homes by the Ottomans. The first Turkmen settlers to arrive on the island were settled in the villages left empty by the expelled Latins. Lefke is one of the Latin settlements opened to Turkish settlement in this way. This is also why the Turkish population of Lefke has been in the majority from Ottoman rule to the present day.<\/p> Lefke, which in the Venetian period was the private property of the ruling dynasty, was at the same time the administrative centre of north-western Cyprus. Lefke retained its role as the administrative centre of north-western Cyprus throughout Ottoman rule as well. As required by the Ottoman system of government, a significant part of Lefke\u2019s fertile land was divided among the small number of families that made up the ruling class. Under this system, known as the timar, senior officials were granted property in proportion to their rank and were expected to derive their income from it. These lands, which also provided the state\u2019s most important source of revenue through taxation proportional to their yield, could be taken away from a family when an official fell from favour. But the Ottoman bureaucracy found a way around this too: the families of the ruling class escaped the danger by converting their property into charitable endowments (vak\u0131f). It would not be far wrong to say that almost all usable agricultural land in Lefke changed hands after 1571. This land was allocated to a small number of Ottoman officials, and large landholding continued in Lefke until the beginning of the 20th century, when the process was interrupted for the reasons we have tried to explain. We do not know exactly how the total land in Lefke was divided in the early years of Ottoman rule; the Evkaf (endowment) records can be taken as a source on this.<\/p> Among the Evkaf records translated into modern Turkish and published, the oldest entry that can give an idea of how land was divided in Lefke dates from 1690. According to the records of the water endowment of \u2018El-Hac Ali Efendi of Lefke\u2019, he endowed 64 hours of his own water from the Maratasa stream (M. H. Altan, vol.1, p.472). Today the rotation of the Maratasa water is based on monthly schedules. We do not know what the rotation period was at that time, but even if it were a month, the figure is still incomparably larger than today\u2019s: the largest share of the Maratasa water today does not exceed 24 hours. The fact that Lefke\u2019s long-established families, whose wealth is inherited, now number only around eight to ten is another sign of how few people the land was divided among. The number of mansions these families had built for their children is another indication of the scale of that wealth. In recent times 23 mansions built in the Ottoman architectural style in the centre of Lefke have been placed under protection by the Ministry of Tourism, and there are many more buildings with the same characteristics outside the town centre. Some researchers say that, after Nicosia, the greatest number of mansions reflecting Ottoman architecture is found in Lefke.<\/p> At the start of the 20th century, the lower rungs of the social hierarchy in Lefke were the exact opposite of what has been described so far. Apart from a small number of tradesmen and craftsmen, the great majority of the people of Lefke were landless orchard labourers. This community of poor people stood in complete contrast to the wealth of the town. One of the finest descriptions of this situation \u2014 which astonished outsiders who came to Lefke, famous for its rich families and its riches, without knowing its socio-economic structure \u2014 was published in the newspaper Do\u011fru Yol in 1920 (H. Fedai). A Do\u011fru Yol correspondent who came to Lefke in 1920 published what he saw there as travel notes. What first struck the visitor was the extraordinary beauty of Lefke amid its greenery. He was so impressed by the view as he came from \u00c7aml\u0131k\u00f6y to Lefke that he described it in poetic language: \u2018After crossing a hill or two, Lefke appeared, veiled in the morning mists, adorning its silver throat with great corals and leaning against its lush green pillow, in all the beauty and freshness of a delicate maiden. The half-white houses visible among Lefke\u2019s broad gardens gave the impression of a dovecote. Here and there, cypresses and plane trees reaching to the skies seemed to stand upright to welcome the arriving guests. Lefke, endowed with such natural beauty\u2026\u2019 On entering the town famed for its beauty, however, the spell is broken at once. This time the correspondent had to write the very opposite of what he had written on the way in. From the same writer\u2019s pen, the interior of the Lefke of 1920 is described as follows: \u2018\u2026<\/p> The Lefke Municipal Administration, too, has failed to guide the people through its organisation and arrangements. Either they never gave thought to making their town more orderly and prosperous, or they could not put their thoughts into practice\u2026 A few lanterns can be seen in the streets of Lefke, but the nights are dark (1). The neighbourhoods have not yet been named (2). There is neither a restaurant nor a hotel in Lefke. The inns have a few rooms each, but as there are no beds, only those prepared to sleep on the floor can stay the night. The offensive smell of the manure piled in the middle of the inns is a grave danger to the health of the town. No sign of cleanliness is to be seen in the coffee houses any more than in the shops. The art of wiping and sweeping is apparently unknown here\u2026\u2019 A significant part of these problems could undoubtedly have been solved by municipal measures. Yet the Do\u011fru Yol correspondent writes: \u2018\u2026If a percentage of every kind of produce were collected on behalf of the municipality and used well, Lefke would become the richest place on the island in a very short time. In particular, none of its produce is subject to the official tithe\u2026\u2019 In other words, the municipality was in a dreadful financial state. And which mayor could have levied a \u2018tribute\u2019 on the great landowners at the height of their power? Far from collecting taxes, a decision was even taken not to collect them. The Municipal Council decision of 1 May 1909, regulating the taxes levied under the name of \u2018market duty\u2019 on all kinds of consumer goods, provided that market duty be collected on all goods brought in from outside and sold within the boundaries of Lefke Municipality, while stating that this tax would not be levied on any produce grown in Lefke. The \u2018weighing duty\u2019, one of Lefke Municipality\u2019s important sources of revenue, shows no increase between 1923 and 1929. Accounting for around 10% of total revenue, this tax at times fell by around 30% (3). The weighing duty was derived mainly from the Lefke market and from production at the gypsum quarries. There is no record whatsoever of weighing duty being levied on the citrus produce exported from the port of Pendaya (4), and the figures likewise show that no weighing duty was collected on exported produce. This, then, is how we may describe the socio-economic structure of Lefke in general terms in the years when the CMC began operating in the region. We shall return later to the position of Lefke\u2019s great landowners, who in 1930, as politics in Cyprus reached deadlock, organised one of the most serious centres of opposition to the state.<\/p> From 1916 onwards the CMC, growing steadily in influence, inevitably came up against a number of centres of power \u2014 foremost among them Lefke Municipality. We left off with the weighing duty, so let us continue with it. As is immediately apparent from its revenues, Lefke Municipality was unable to collect any weighing duty from the CMC either. Storing most of the ore it extracted in basins built by the sea, the CMC exported 30 shiploads of ore during 1924 (Lavender, p.187) \u2014 a figure that rose steadily in the years that followed.<\/p> In 1927 the CMC produced a total of 1,257,132 tonnes of ore, of which 225,000 tonnes were loaded onto ships and exported (Lavender, p.231). We shall deal with the figures for CMC production later, but if we consider that before 1930 the company\u2019s total investment was around \u00a32,000,000 while Lefke Municipality struggled to reach an annual budget of 300 Cypriot pounds, the absurdity of talking about the contribution of giant international monopolies to the national economy becomes clear. One of the most striking examples of this is the relationship between Lefke Municipality and the CMC. It is simply not true to say that the employment created by the CMC made an important contribution to the badly ailing Cypriot economy. Quite apart from the fact that the development of alternative areas of production was blocked, in a period when existing production was being systematically destroyed, we cannot say that the CMC made any contribution to the settlements within its area of operation beyond investments intended to support its own mining activities. The company, which had 350 workers in 1916, grew rapidly \u2014 especially after 1926 \u2014 raising its workforce to 1,800 before 1930 and at the same time roughly doubling the population of Lefke. Yet the documents we have showing Lefke Municipality\u2019s income and expenditure for 1923\u20131930 are concrete proof of how right we are. According to municipal records, total revenue in 1923 was 284 pounds. The figure was 258 in 1924 and 1926, 268 in 1927, 285 in 1928 and 302 in 1929. It should be noted at once that the increase in revenue in 1928 and 1929 was due to new taxes the municipality introduced in order to escape the dire situation it had fallen into: by adding a tradesmen\u2019s tax to the 1926\u201327 budget, they achieved an increase of about 10% in revenue and tried to salvage the situation.<\/p> On top of all this, although the municipality \u2014 whose revenues were falling rapidly \u2014 cut many of its costs, it still could not balance its budget and was forced to borrow. The municipality\u2019s regular debt instalments, around 7 pounds until 1926, rose to 28 pounds after that date.<\/p> One of the areas in which the conflict between Lefke Municipality and the CMC was most evident was the fuel tax. In order to collect this tax, one of the most important sources of revenue granted to municipalities by the state, the municipality first had to bring sales under control. To this end the Municipal Council, which formally began work on 3 April 1900, moved on 22 May 1900 to build a fuel store and a slaughterhouse \u2014 despite being in such poor financial condition that it could not find the money to buy a safe for its documents. We also learn from municipal records that this right was granted to municipalities by a special law enacted on 5 May 1900 (Special Regulation No. 712 on kerosene stores). Under this law no one could hold more than 30 okkas of kerosene outside the municipal store.<\/p> This revenue, one of the four large items making up close to 90% of the municipality\u2019s income, is at times also referred to as the kerosene and match store duty. The size of the revenue led the municipality to take care over the matter, and a new fuel store was built in 1920 (on 26 September 1920 a loan of 23 pounds, 12 shillings and 6 piastres was taken from the Cyprus Government for this purpose). After the CMC began prospecting at Karada\u011f in 1924, the question of it paying tax on the fuel it kept there came onto the agenda. On 15 January 1927 Lefke Municipality wrote to the CMC\u2019s manager, requesting to be informed of the quantity of fuel used at Karada\u011f and that the tax on it be paid. But extracting money from the CMC was far from easy, and the matter ended up in the hands of lawyers. On 16 February 1927 the Municipal Council decided to hire a lawyer from Nicosia to discuss the fuel question with the CMC\u2019s lawyer. Not content with that, the municipality took a series of decisions the same day regulating fuel taxes, in order to clarify the situation and demonstrate its resolve. Under these decisions, anyone bringing petroleum into the boundaries of Lefke Municipality would pay a tax of two piastres and ten para for every tin brought in, and would keep any quantity above 30 okkas in the municipal store. The same decisions also provided that if petroleum were brought into the municipality\u2019s boundaries without permission, the municipality would confiscate it. The reason the municipality took these decisions is, I think, hidden in that last sentence \u2014 because almost all of them were already legal provisions that had been in force since the beginning of the century. In other words, Lefke Municipality was in fact threatening to confiscate the CMC\u2019s petroleum if it did not pay its tax.<\/p> It was inconceivable that a financial giant such as the CMC, which had paid no tax at all to the municipality until 1927, would be cowed by the empty threats of a small provincial municipality \u2014 and so it proved. From the letter sent by the Mayor of Lefke to the CMC\u2019s manager on 30 April 1927, we understand that the CMC had not condescended even to reply to any correspondence up to that point. Finally, on 18 May 1927, the CMC asked how much was being demanded of it, and on 21 May 1927 sent the municipality a cheque for 3 pounds, 12 shillings and 3 piastres, calculated as its debt. We do not know which influential figures intervened to persuade the CMC, but anyone who thought the matter had been settled at that was mistaken. On 18 October 1927 the municipality asked the CMC for the quantity of petroleum it had sent to Karada\u011f since 1 May 1927 \u2014 the CMC, in other words, was persisting in not reporting. On 2 November 1927 the mayor wrote again, complaining that he had still received no reply. And on 3 November 1927 Lefke Municipality reported the CMC to the Nicosia Commissioner\u2019s Office.<\/p> We reproduce the municipality\u2019s letter of complaint against the CMC to the government verbatim.<\/p> \u201cTo the High Office of the Nicosia Commissioner,<\/p> Sir,<\/p> For the petroleum that the Skouriotissa American Mining Company brings to and consumes at Kara Da\u011f, which lies within the boundaries of our Municipality, the Company has built a store of its own at the said location and, disregarding our Municipality\u2019s kerosene store, accumulates the petroleum it brings in there. Lefke Municipality is thereby suffering loss. I submit that this is contrary to Articles 21, 22 and 23 of our Regulation on Kerosene for Lefke Municipality, set out on page 33 of the Official Gazette of 15 January 1913, and that our Regulation grants no exemption to the Company. I respectfully request that you be so good as to enlighten me on this matter, Sir.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote> (1) The section of Lefke Municipality\u2019s records covering the years 1909\u20131922 is unfortunately missing. In the records of 1900, Haralambo Yanni was engaged as lamplighter and street sweeper on a salary of 15 shillings (2 October 1900). Presumably because of the importance attached to lighting, on 13 December 1902 it was deemed necessary to raise the lamplighter\u2019s salary (by two and a half shillings), an indication that street lighting in Lefke was increasing. According to the Municipal Council decision of 23 July 1908 regulating the duties of the sweeper and lamplighter, work began at sunrise, with a half-hour break at 10 a.m. and, after an hour and a half at midday, continued until 9 p.m. The lanterns were lit at 9 p.m. and, an hour later, those in the \u2018upper part\u2019 of the market were checked again. On nights when the lanterns were not lit, work ended at 11 a.m. As this decision makes clear, in 1908 the lanterns in Lefke were not lit every night. On 12 May 1909 Hilmi S\u00fcleyman was engaged as lamplighter and sweeper on a salary of 1 pound 10 shillings. Lefke Municipality\u2019s revenues declined steadily after 1901, and expenditure items fell accordingly, but we know that street lighting continued until 1910.<\/p> As the Do\u011fru Yol correspondent noted above, there was no street lighting in Lefke in 1920. The only document we have on the municipal budget for the period 1910\u20131920 is the balance sheet covering the last six months of 1918. The absence in it of any expenditure item for street lighting is evidence supporting the Do\u011fru Yol account. In the 1922\u201323 budget, a significant share of expenditure (52%) was allocated to cleaning and lighting. In subsequent years the amount spent on cleaning fell, while lighting expenditure first rose and then gradually declined to settle at a certain level. 1923 \u2013 64 pounds, share of total budget: 21%. 1924 \u2013 71 pounds, share of total budget: 23%. 1926 \u2013 68 pounds, share of total budget: 27%. 1927 \u2013 64 pounds, share of total budget: 25%. 1928 \u2013 51 pounds, share of total budget: 18%. 1929 \u2013 60 pounds, share of total budget: 20%.<\/p> This pattern in the figures is most likely directly related to the employment the CMC created in the region. The rapidly growing population also brought security problems with it, and lighting the market area in particular became a necessity. The infrastructure investment required for this first caused the figures to rise year on year; then, as sufficiency was gradually achieved, they settled at a steady level of around 60 pounds. The decline seen in 1927\u20131928 stems from the financial difficulties the municipality fell into in those years.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tPrehistoric Lefke<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Ancient Aepia<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
The 20th Century and the CMC<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Prehistoric Lefke<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
The Founding of Aepia<\/h4>
Lefke in Recent History<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Lefke at the Start of the 20th Century<\/h4>
\u2026and the CMC<\/h4>
Footnotes & Bibliography<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t