In Cyprus, there was a village inhabited only by gypsies called Phallia, near the village of Ayios Photios in Paphos.
The village was visited by David George Hogath in 1888, who wrote: On the spur of the mountain beneath Ayios Photios lies Phallia whose inhabitants are of gypsy origin unless my judgement is much at fault. No other village in Cyprus shows the same peculiar type, particularly in the women who appear, though Moslem, not only to disperse their veils, but to accost and speak openly to a stranger in the company of men. I have noticed an equal pitch of freedom only in the villages of the Carpass, whose inhabitants are certainly not of Turkish origin. These Phallia ladies wear a profusion of gold ornaments unique in Cyprus. The faces of both men and women are of extreme swarthiness, the hair is raven black, the noses and lips fine, the eyes very brilliant the ears small. There is a slight resemblance to the Marathiotes who are believed by Cypriots to be descendants of Phoenician settlers.
In 1919, George Jeffery also noted that Phallia is a curious village of people who have been credited with gypsy origin. They certainly seem different in character and costume from their neighbours some few years back.
© Costas and Rita Severis Foundation
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