Greco-Turkish War 1897
Our fellow villagers who fought during the Greek – Turkish war of 1897 are as follows:
- Antoniou Constantinos: 23 years old
- Georgiou Michael: 21 years old
- Iacovou Savvas: 21 years old
- Pieri Giorgos: 23 years old. He fought in Domokos (3rd Company, 3rd Infantry Battalion)
- Tserkezis Sofroniou Savvas: He enlisted on March 21, 1897 and fought in Domokos (2nd Independent Battalion Terpizi)
- Christodoulou Nicolaos: 25 years old
- Christoforou Savvas: 20 years old
Source:
Costas Papageorgiou, MAZOTOS, A Village with Beauty and History, Cyprus 2009
Μacedonian Struggle 1904-1906
During the Macedonian War Mazotos offered substantial financial assistance. In particular, on October 1906 the residents of Mazotos managed to raise 186 grosses (Turkish currency) for the refugees of Eastern Rumelia.
Source:
Costas Papageorgiou, MAZOTOS, A Village with Beauty and History, Cyprus 2009
First World War
The residents of Mazotos who fought in World War I are the following:
- Savvas Iacovou
- Antonios Pistolas
According to Costas Papageorgiou, Cypriots enlisted in Famagusta, where they trained as mule drivers and then they were dispatched to Thessaloniki in groups of 10 to fight at the Macedonian front.
Source:
Costas Papageorgiou, MAZOTOS, A village with Beauty and History, Cyprus 2009.
Balkan Wars
Following below are the residents of Mazotos who participated in the Balkan wars:
- Ioannis M. Kounnoushis: He fought in Greece against the Turks and the Bulgarians.
- Costis K. Mantis: He was a volunteer from the beginning and fought several battles before being promoted to corporal.
- Nicolas G. Koummoulis: He was wounded in Balkan War II.
- Panayiotis N. Kotziapashi: He joined the cavalry and was promoted to corporal.
- Savvas S. Tserkezis: He found himself at the battlefield from the beginning of the war. He fought in both Balkan wars, in six battles in particular. He was wounded on the leg on the last day of Balkan War II.
The people of Mazotos who were members of the Cypriot company:
- Georgios H. Melis
- Evdokios Michael Krokotsis
- Iraklis A. Karageorgi
- LamprosG. Katsonis
- MichaelK. Yiortamlis
- NicolaosK. Xydias
- FilipposG. Filisas
- CharalamposN. Pousianides
Source:
Costas Papageorgiou, Mazotos, A Village with Beauty and History, Cyprus 2009
Second World War
Following below are the residents of Mazotos who participated in World War II:
- Andreas Glykys
- Andreas Constantinou
- Andreas Xydkias
- Antonis Mpotsaris
- Antonis Patsalos: He was killed in Crete by the Germans, where he was also buried.
- Vasilis Mavrantonas
- Georgios Aresti
- Georgios Kounnoushis
- Georgios Xydkias: He was taken prisoner by the Germans at a concentration camp in Germany and was released when the war ended.
- Iraklis Varnava
- Nicolas Karagiorgis
- Nicolas Piponides
- Xenofon Chr. Zavos: He was taken prisoner by the Germans at a concentration camp in Germany and was released when the war ended.
- Savvas Vasileiou
- Styllis Varnava
- Charalampos Irakleous
- Costas Kirlappos: He lives in Mazotos. According to information provided by Costas Kirlappos himself, as this is presented in a book by Costas Papageorgiou titled “Mazotos, A village with Beauty and History*”, he enlisted in the British army in 1942. He served as a fireman in Nicosia after receiving basic training at the camp in Polemidia. Next, he went to Palestine, where he filled thousands of barrels every day and then loaded them to ships at the port in Haifa, while he also served in Egypt and Syria. He was dismissed from the army in 1946.
- Antonis Konnarides: According to information gathered by Costas Papageorgiou*, before he was sent to the war front, he was taken to Thessaloniki along with other fellow villages and Cypriots for training, where they were arrested and transferred to a concentration camp. Antonis Konnarides, along with Kourouyiannis and their fellow villagers Antonis Mpotsaris and Xenis Chr. Zavos, attempted to escape through a water channel full of dirty water which was about 100 – 120 metres long. During the escape, Konnarides realized that Kourouyiannis had been shot to death and decided to return to the concentration camp. The return was extremely difficult considering that he had to move backwards in filthy water. Next, he was taken to Kalamata and from there on to a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, where he was kept for three and a half years. When the war ended, US soldiers handed him over to the English, who in turn arranged for him to be sent home through Egypt. Zavos managed to escape but was later captured by the Italians and was led to an Italian prison.
Source:
* Costas Papageorgiou, MAZOTOS, A Village with Beauty and History, Cyprus 2009
Liberation Struggle 1955-1959
During the liberating fight of 1955-1959, Mazotos actively participated by offering assistance, shelter and treatment to the fighters. In fact, at the village there were two hideouts for the wanted guerillas, one in Ifigeneia Vryonidou’s house and another one at the location “Mersinouthkia”, on the beach of the village.
Mazotos was the base of the Sector Leader responsible for the lowland areas of Larnaka, as well as the place where weaponry and written E.O.K.A material was distributed from. Originally, the team leader of Mazotos was Costas M. Chailis and after April 1957, when Chailis was arrested, Evdokios Nicolaou-Kitsios became team leader. Several residents of Mazotos offered their services to the team of Mazotos and some of them were the following:
Georgios M. Koukos, Theodoros St. Theodorou, Michael St. Theodorou, Georgios M. Chailis, Renos St. Tsiaili, Papachristoforos Tryfonos, Evdokios Nicolaou, Georgios N. Pistola, Savvas N. Pistola, Solomos Th. Pyrgos, Costas Argyrou, Ifigeneia Vryonidou, Evrydiki Nicolaou, Eleni Demetriou, Faidros Vasileiou, Stavros Foukaras (Moustakas), Michalakis St. Tsiailis, Antonis Milla, Argyros Michael, Argyros.
Additionally, some wanted guerillas sought shelter in Mazotos including the following:
Petrakis Kyprianou, Elias Filiastides, Kyriakos Kouppis, Soterakis Yiannaki, Aggelos Constantinides, Andreas Katsouras (Skordallos), Georgios Constantinou, Fedon I. Fedonos, Costakis Kalavasiotis, Soteris Aggeli, Antonis Papalouka.
The contribution of Ifigeneia Vryonidou was extremely important since, as it was mentioned earlier, there was a hideout in her house. Vryonidou was a midwife and therefore knew how to treat injured fighters. In fact, according to Costas Papageorgiou*, the guerillas used to call her the Greek Mother and this was information he had collected from an interview Soterakis Yiannaki had given to a Cypriot newspaper. Soterakis Yiannaki was one of the fighters who built the hideout, along with Elias Filiastides and our fellow villager, Evdokios Nicolaou. Actually, the hideout was located in the ceiling of a bedroom and they used to access it with the help of a rope. The hideout was used by Soterakis Yiannaki and Elias Filiastides.
Source:
* Costas Papageorgiou, Mazotos, A Village with Beauty and History, Cyprus 2009
Bi-Communal Conflicts of 1963-1964
During the bi-communal conflicts, the residents offered their services through the National Guard teams which aimed at preventing hostilities on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots. No victims were recorded in the area of the village. However, a resident of Mazotos, Lampros Georgiou, was shot dead by the Turkish Cypriots.
Source:
Costas Papageorgiou, Mazotos, A Village with Beauty and History, Cyprus 2009
