The Cyprus Foundations Administration (EVKAF) of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has lambasted reports that the Greek Cypriot administration has allowed a tavern to be built in the garden of a Muslim monastery, also called tekke, in the city of Larnaca.
"Any kind of intervention in a place considered sacred by Turks and Muslims is unacceptable," the EVKAF said in a statement, referring to the permit the Interior Ministry of the Greek Cypriot administration has issued for a tavern on the grounds of Hala Sultan Tekke, which is also known as the Mosque of Umm Haram.
The site in question consists of a mosque and a tekke, a place for spiritual practice and religious education, which sits on the west bank of Larnaca Salt Lake. As the most famous of its kind in Cyprus, the Mosque of Umm Haram was built 1,400 years ago.
"Umm Haram was Islamic Prophet Muhammad’s milk-aunt and was laid to rest in Larnaca following her passing," EVKAF said, noting that the thousands of decares of land surrounding the tekke belong to the Hala Sultan Tekke Foundation as per the title deed.
"Endangering a cultural heritage site such as the Mosque of Umm Haram would bring all preservation works on the island to a halt," the administration argued.
Turkish and Greek Cypriot governments have set up a joint Cultural Heritage Technical Committee consisting of their representatives to protect the cultural legacy in Cyprus and work in tandem with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), according to the EVKAF.
"The respectful exchange of information while making decisions concerning the protection of places of worship and historical sites is valid for both sides, as a token of goodwill," the administration said and added: "With regard to recent reports, intervening in a place considered most sacred by Turks and Muslims without consulting the Cultural Heritage Technical Committee and securing the EVKAF’s permission is absolutely unacceptable."
Umm Hiram bint Milhan, who is still called Hala Sultan (Sultan Aunt) in Turkish, arrived on the island during the conquest of Cyprus under Islam’s third Caliph Uthman and passed away there. The mosque was constructed between 647-649 when she passed away, records show.
When the Ottomans conquered Cyprus in 1571, her tomb in Larnaca was rehabilitated and later a tekke was built around it.
Over time, the site has become a key place of worship for Muslim Turks on Cyprus following the island’s conquest due to its carrying the oldest trace of Islamic presence and belonging to a relative of the Prophet Muhammed.
By 1963, along with attacks on Turkish Cypriots, the tekke was occupied by Greek Cypriots and stayed on the south of the island after the Cyprus Peace Operation.
The conflict between the islands’ two people has been ongoing for many years. It erupted first in the late 1950s when Greek Cypriots launched a campaign of oppression and fear against Turkish Cypriots, forcing the latter to withdraw into enclaves for safety and a 1974 coup aiming at Greece’s annexation led to Türkiye’s military intervention, dubbed Cyprus Peace Operation, that eventually led to the foundation of the TRNC in 1983.
Multiple international efforts were made for a remedy. The U.N. worked for years to achieve a comprehensive solution, proposing a reunification plan for a federation and sponsoring peace talks that eventually broke down, including the failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the U.K.
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support the U.N.’s suggestion of a federal Greek Cypriot administration, the TRNC and Türkiye have been resolutely calling for a two-state solution, stressing that "the sovereign equality and the equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots are non-negotiable."
Earlier in January, the U.N. urged guarantor powers Türkiye and Greece, who are at loggerheads over the Cyprus issue as well as several other standing issues, to support constructive dialogue efforts amid uncertainty on prospects of reaching common ground "any time soon."
According to U.N. Secretary-General Anthony Guterres, the sides are yet to reach an agreement regarding modalities for the appointment of a U.N. envoy, who could explore ways to resume negotiations for a lasting settlement in Cyprus.
The political landscape has been further complicated by disputes and statements regarding areas adjacent to the buffer zone and in the fenced-off coastal area of Maraş, or Varosha in Greek, which had virtually turned into a ghost town, as it has remained cut off from the world for 47 years.