Rizokarpaso

Home to enclaved Greek Cypriots and their Greek schools

Local name: Ριζοκάρπασο

Collection: Cyprus Basics Exam · Cyprus · Open in OpenStreetMap

The Church of Saint Synesios in Rizokarpaso · Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The story

Rizokarpaso is a large village on the Karpasia peninsula in the Famagusta district, in the north of the island, which the Republic of Cyprus has not controlled since 1974. After 1974 some Greek Cypriots stayed on here. They are called enclaved, meaning they live surrounded by another community. In early August 1975, at talks in Vienna, it was agreed that they could stay and would receive help, including for their children’s schooling and for their faith. But for a long time there was no Greek secondary school in the north, and in 2001 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that this violated the right to education. The secondary school in the village opened again in the 2004 to 2005 school year. The schools are supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Cyprus.

Enclaved Greek Cypriots still study in their own Greek schools in Rizokarpaso on the Karpasia peninsula. It helps to link this to the Third Vienna Agreement of 1975: it promised those who stayed in the north conditions for education and religion.

Visiting

The village is in the north and a long drive away. From the south, go through a crossing point; by car, the crossings near Famagusta, Deryneia and Strovilia, are more convenient. Insurance from the south does not apply in the north; it is bought separately at the crossing. Bring your passport.

Photos

A village street in Rizokarpaso · Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sources

This text was written by AI from open sources. An expert will still check it. Found a mistake? Write to us. Support