According to Anatolian tradition, people respect the dead and believe they should remain close to the living. As a result, tombs or cemeteries are often located by or near homes. Fourteen cemeteries once stood within the walls of Nicosia, which were closed down in 1869, and new ones were designated outside the city walls. By 1939, officials cleared out all the cemeteries and repurposed the land. Yet, scattered throughout the town, you can still find tombs, either singly or in pairs, belonging to martyrs—soldiers who died during the Ottoman conquest of 1571. These tombs, which may or may not contain bodies or bones, are considered holy sites where people place votives or pray for their believed miraculous healing or protective qualities.
However, as Turkish Cypriots embraced Kemalism, these traditions faded and became stories passed down by older generations. One such grave, situated near the Evkaf building, was known as Kaçkaç Dede or Akkaş Dede. It was the grave of an Ottoman soldier. Rumour has it that some nights, people saw the dead man walking up the street at the head of a troop of soldiers, continuously shouting "Kaçin, Kaçin" (Go, Go), which gave the site its name Kaçkaç Dede.
Photo: Ali Adali
The ‘Did You Know’ series is made possible with the support of OPAP (Cyprus).
