The village of Agioi Trimithias stands at a distance of almost 18 kilometers and is located southwest of Nicosia. The roadway constructed a bit after the tragic events of 1974 so as to serve the circulation between Troodos and Nicosia, for part of the already existing one connection Kokkinotrimithia with Nicosia was occupied by the United Nations, runs across the village and promotes its growth and development.
The old character of the village is still kept in “kato yitonies” (lower neighborhoods), where the narrow alleys lead to adobe buildings of one or two stories, with traditional big doors, on which the escutcheons are still found, with the Cross and the date of establishment.
The initial centralization around a central spot (for Agioi Trimithias it was the church and the areas around the river) no longer exists. This is because a lot of new houses have been built along the main road artery, giving the impression of a progressive community not only to passengers but also to visitors who want to visit the church of Saints Anargyroi.
The inhabitants of the village are farmers who cultivate great pieces of agricultural land with barley and wheat and stock breeders who maintain bigger or smaller sheep or goat herds. They also produce halloumi cheese and anari cheese from milking their goats.
Some of the inhabitants work in Nicosia. The community has a Primary School, a Kindergarten, a Women’s Christian Association, Co-op, coffee shop, two associations named “Dikefalos” and “Atromitos”. These two associations organize events and also have their own football teams. The village has butchery, many grocery stores, carpentries, a smithy, furniture industry, surgery a.o.
After the tragic events of the war in 1974, a refugee settlement was built in Agioi Anargyroi, on the north part of the old village. The people who live in this settlement are refugees from the occupied villages of Yerlakkos, Karakoumi, Kyra Morphou, Zodia, Kontemenos, Katokopia, Avlona a.o. A “Youth Centre” was added to the settlement, where all young people can healthily spend their time. The youth center’s administration board cooperates with and is helped by governmental services.
NAME OF THE VILLAGE
As it is well known, the village is named “Agioi Trimithias” or just “Agioi” (Saints). Thus, its name is dedicated to the Saints and indicates that loyalty and religious dedication of the first inhabitants to Saint Anargyroi, namely Kosmas and Damianos.
As far as the second part of the name is concerned, namely “Trimithia” we do not really know how it was given to the village. This is because researchers (linguists, folklorists a.o.) do not agree on the derivation arguments posed.
Hence, numerous proposals have been made and the most dominant one is the one made by Stephanos Byzantios, who justifies the name “Trimithia” when associating it with a tree that probably used to exist in the village, the tree named “Trimithi”.
Simos Menandros poses many other arguments concerning the name of the village in his book “Toponymic and Folkloric Studies” (Publications by the Scientific Research Centre). However, these do not seem to meet historical facts related to the village.
OLDER RECORDS REGARDING THE VILLAGE
Before we present the oldest available records regarding Agioi Trimithias, we must note that there are no fully updated catalogues of the villages of Cyprus before the 19th century.
Some manuscripts or charts saved are fragmentary. Therefore, Leonidas’s manuscript, published in the “Chronicles of Cyprus” does not mention the village of Agioi Trimithias as well as many other villages in the area. The High Gate was interested in making a list of the villages and cities of Cyprus in 1844, since it was under its domination. Talaat Ephent was sent to enlist and present the cities and villages of Cyprus to the Sultan, but he only managed to do that in an inefficient way.
Therefore, the oldest record is the one of Leontios Macheras (14th century) found in his book: “Explanation of the sweet country of Cyprus, named Krokana, namely chronicle”. According to Macheras, the village of Agioi Trimithias was during Frank Domination (1192-1489) the feud of a man named Jaque de Noves, when Cyprus was reined by Jacob B’, also known as “the illegitimate”.
Of course this record does not indicate the time in which the village was inhabited, which must be chronically meticulous. This record merely ensures the domination of the village by the afore-mentioned atheling.
This information-record is also mentioned by Nearchos Klerides in his book: “Villages and Cities of Cyprus”, page 7.
Source: Agioi Trimithias Community Council