Asomatos

The Maronite village of Asomatos is situated in the Kyrenia District near the villages of Myrtou, Karpasha and Kambyli. It is the biggest Maronite village after the village of Kormakitis. Before the 1974 war, its inhabitants numbered 527 people, whereas today there are only two octogenarian women still living in the village, inspite of the difficulties they face.

The village is presently used as a military camp. The Maronites may visit the village only on Sundays, with limited time restrictions, for mass in the Church of St. Michael the Archangel. Despite the difficulties, the people of the village attend every Sunday the mass in order to give patience and courage to the octogenarian women to persist hoping for better days.

There are various views concerning the name of the village:

• According to Nearhcos Clerides in his book “Villages and Towns in Cyprus”, in Cyprus there are two villages with the name of Asomatos, one in the Limassol district and the other in the Kyrenia District. The Archangels Michael and Gabriel were called “Asomatoi”.   As a result, every village having a church dedicated to the Archangels kept the name of Asomatos.
• Another version is based on the fact that the first inhabitants of the village came from the village of “Siamat” in the district of Zbayel in Lebanon. “Siamat” in Arabic means “Asomatos”. The word Siamat gave its place to the Greek version. It is worth mentioning that in the Lebanese village there is also a church dedicated to the Archangel Michael.

The church of Asomatos, built about the end of the 18th century, is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, celebrated on September 6.

In Asomatos a girls’ school was operating until the middle of the 20th century. There was also an elementary school, a Cooperative Society and a very active football club, still operating today in Nicosia.

The people of Asomatos were farmers and animal growers. Others used to wok in Nicosia.

Some of the toponyms of the village are as follows: Kapsalia, Hannides, Armirarkatzia, Tsaeroudkia, Mandres tou Karkalami, Gtin, Asprovounarka, Vrisodkia, Markoutoudes, Karsiotes etc.