So the Aljunied Town Council has replaced a stone table and 5 stone seats because of gambling activities with these "elderly friendly benches". Er, 2 seats don't make a bench, people.

 

And how is this an improvement over 5 seats and a table? And how much more accessible are these seats compared to the old round stone ones?

 

Oh, the traces of the former stone tables and seats have been cemented over too. So nice of them to cover those up.

 

Letter to a resident who wrote in to ask:

 

RE: Stone Table and Stools at Blk 128 Lorong Ah Soo

 

Thank you for your e-mail to Mr Yeo Guat Kwang.

 

We have received complaints of gambling activities at this stone table and stools . These complaints were brought to the attention of the Police for their investigation and follow up.

 

On our part, we have a programme to phase out the stone table and stools with more elderly friendly benches under our Barrier Free Accessibility Project. Residents can look forward to use the new benches when they are installed by the end of the week.

 

Regards

Aljunied Town Council

On 12 May 2010, at the southern end of Chesnut Grove there were two missing bollards

 

► Update 12 June 2010 below.

 

----- Original Message -----

From : Alan Stanton, Tottenham Hale ward councillor

To : Urban Environment Department

cc : Cllrs Lorna Reith, Reg Rice

Sent : Monday, May 17, 2010 3:39 PM

Subject : Missing Bollards Chesnut Grove, Tottenham N17

 

Please see the photo I've posted on Flickr. It shows the end of Chesnut Grove where a row of bollards normally prevents vehicles from accessing the pedestrian-and-bicycle middle section of Chesnut Road. As you can see, two bollards are missing. So an irresponsible driver could gain access to the pedestrian section.

 

Could you please arrange for replacement of the bollards as soon as possible.

Thanks.

Built in 1901, this Hawaiian Gothic-style hotel, mixing elements of the Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Beaux Arts, and Renaissance Revival styles, was designed by Oliver G. Traphagen and built by the Lucas Brothers for Walter Chamberlain Peacock as the first large hotel on Waikiki. Expanded in 1918 with the addition of two six-story concrete wings and a large rooftop addition on the original building, the hotel has changed scale and massing considerably from its original design, but maintains its original facade, roof, and decorative trim and ornament. The first hotel on Waikiki, the Moana featured 75 guest rooms with bathrooms and telephone service, a main parlor, salon, billiard room, and library, and a main reception area on the first floor, a grand staircase, ionic fluted columns inside the main lobby, an electric elevator, and an open two-story portion of the lobby ringed by balustrades on the second floor, with the hotel being considered very modern and luxurious for its time. In 1904, a banyan tree was planted in the courtyard on the ocean side of the hotel by Jared Smith, Director of the Department of Agriculture Experiment Station, which has since grown to be 75 feet tall and 150 feet wide. The hotel proved a bit too ambitious for the investment Peacock had put into it, and it was sold to Alexander Young in 1905 after encountering financial difficulties. Following Young’s death in 1910, the building became the property of the Territorial Hotel Company, founded by Young, which expanded the hotel with two wings in 1918, but went bankrupt during the Great Depression, with ownership then coming under the Matson Navigation Company. Various famous guests stayed at the hotel over the years, including the Prince of Wales and future King Edward VIII in 1920, author Agatha Christie and her husband in 1922, and Jane Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University, whom mysteriously died of strychnine poisoning in the hotel, though her murder remains unsolved. The original building features lots of classical Ionic columns, a hipped roof with broad overhanging eaves and brackets, clapboard siding, arched openings at the lanais with fleur-de-lis motif panels between them and supported by doric columns, decorative balustrades, one-over-one double-hung windows in singles and groups. In the center of the building is a tower with oxeye windows below the main roofline, doric pilasters on the corners, a lanai on the sixth floor with arched openings and a long row of french doors, and a tall porte cochere in the center of the first and second floors of the tower with fluted ionic columns, a roofline wrapped with a decorative balustrade, and an architrave featuring festoons, dentils, and brackets. The building also features lanais on the fifth floor below the roofline with decorative columns and sawn balustrades supported by brackets and featuring decorative trim, lanais with arched openings and sawn balustrades on the ends of the fifth floor of the original side wings, large arched openings at the base of the original side wings with large windows and juliet balconies, accented with circular panels featuring fleur-de-lis motifs, and crowned with another juliet balcony supported by columns, hipped dormers, and a multi-tier lanai on the rear of the building facing the ocean. The hotel was expanded with two Renaissance Revival-style six-story wings on either side in 1918, which featured concrete construction and stucco-clad exteriors with arched and rectangular double-hung one-over-one windows with decorative trim surrounds, open staircases on the front and rear facades with arched exterior openings, juliet balconies, small ionic columns, brackets, and corner pilasters, a hipped roof with broad overhanging bracketed eaves, small rooftop towers with hipped roofs, and arched vents, and pilasters at the corners of the wings themselves, dividing the side facades into three segments. After the construction of the wings in 1918, a large breezeway with double-hung windows making up most of the exterior was constructed across the ridge of the hipped roof of the original hotel building, running straight through the original building’s tower in the middle, which saw the addition of a similar rooftop tower with arched vents to the two 1918 wings. The hotel was renovated multiple times in the 20th Century, with the loss of the original porte cochere, reconfiguration of the interior, and the addition of bungalows across Kalakaua Avenue in 1925, which led to the hotel becoming known as the Moana-Seaside Hotel & Bungalows during the period between the 1920s and 1950s. A new hotel, known as the Surfrider, was built immediately Diamond Head of the Moana Hotel by the Matson Navigation Company in 1952, which stood 8 stories tall, towering over the older hotel next door. The hotel’s bungalows were demolished the following year and replaced by the Princess Kaiulani Hotel, with the Moana Hotel, Surfrider Hotel, and Princess Kaiulani Hotel being sold to Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in 1959. The Moana Hotel and Surfrider Hotel were sold to the Kyo-Ya Company, led by Japanese industrialist Kenji Osano, in 1963, but remained under the Sheraton banner. In 1969, a new and much taller Surfrider Hotel was built immediately Ewa of the Moana Hotel, with a new taller tower being added to the Princess Kaiulani Hotel in 1970. After the completion of the new Surfrider Hotel, the old Surfrider, built in 1952, became the Moana Ocean Lanai, and later, the Diamond Head Tower of the Moana Hotel. The Moana Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 1989, the Moana Hotel was restored under the direction of architect Virginia D. Murison to its 1920s exterior appearance, with the restoration of deteriorated exterior elements, interior common spaces, and reconstruction of the original porte cochere, as well as better integration of the historic hotel with the adjacent 1952 and 1969 buildings on either side. Now known as the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, the resort maintained the historic charm of the original Moana Hotel and conserved the hotel’s iconic banyan tree, while boasting 793 modern guest rooms, a new pool, with the project winning many preservation awards. The hotel has since been rebranded as the Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel.

Othello Castle, also known as Othello's Tower, is a castle in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus. It was built by the Lusignans in the 14th century, and was later modified by the Venetians. The modern name of the castle comes from a stage note in Shakespeare's play Othello.

 

Othello Castle was built in the 14th century by the Lusignans (who ruled the Kingdom of Cyprus) to protect the port against possible enemy attacks. It was also used as the main entrance to Famagusta. It used to be called "impenetrable fortress" due to it being nearly impossible to attack because of very deep ditches surrounding it.

 

After Cyprus was sold to the Republic of Venice, the castle's square towers were replaced with circular ones to suit more modern artillery. After these modifications, a relief of the Lion of St Mark was engraved above the castle's main entrance. The name of Captain Nicolo Foscari, who directed the alterations to the castle, and the date 1492 are inscribed near the relief. Apparently Leonardo da Vinci advised the refurbishment in 1481. The castle gets its name from Shakespeare's famous play Othello, which is set in a harbour town in Cyprus.

 

In 1900, the castle's ditch was drained of water to reduce the risk of malaria.

 

The castle began to be restored in 2014, and it reopened to the public on 3 July 2015.

 

The castle contains four circular towers. It contains a refectory and a dormitory, which were constructed during the Lusignan period. The castle's yard contains cannonballs left behind by the Spaniards and Ottomans, relics of its turbulent history.

 

Famagusta is a city on the east coast of the de facto state Northern Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice), Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city are de facto part of Northern Cyprus as the capital of the Gazimağusa District.

 

The city was known as Arsinoe or Arsinoë (Greek: Ἀρσινόη, Arsinóē) in antiquity, after Ptolemy II of Egypt's sister and wife Arsinoe II.

 

By the 3rd century, the city appears as Ammochostos (Greek: Ἀμμόχωστος or Αμμόχωστος, Ammókhōstos, "Hidden in Sand") in the Stadiasmus Maris Magni.[5] This name is still used in modern Greek with the pronunciation [aˈmːoxostos], while it developed into Latin Fama Augusta, French Famagouste, Italian Famagosta, and English Famagusta during the medieval period. Its informal modern Turkish name Mağusa (Turkish pronunciation: [maˈusa]) came from the same source. Since 1974, it has formally been known to Turkey and Northern Cyprus as Gazimağusa ([ɡaːzimaˈusa]), from the addition of the title gazi, meaning "veteran" or "one who has faught in a holy war".

 

In the early medieval period, the city was also known as New Justiniana (Greek: Νέα Ἰουστινιανία, Néa Ioustinianía) in appreciation for the patronage of the Byzantine emperor Justinian, whose wife Theodora was born there.

 

The old town of Famagusta has also been nicknamed "the City of 365 Churches" from the legend that, at its peak, it boasted a church for every day of the year.

 

The city was founded around 274 BC, after the serious damage to Salamis by an earthquake, by Ptolemy II Philadelphus and named "Arsinoe" after his sister.[6] Arsinoe was described as a "fishing town" by Strabo in his Geographica in the first century BC. In essence, Famagusta was the successor of the most famous and most important ancient city of Cyprus, Salamis. According to Greek mythology, Salamis was founded after the end of the Trojan War by Teucros, the son of Telamon and brother of Aedes, from the Greek island of Salamis.

 

The city experienced great prosperity much later, during the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. To honor the city, from which his wife Theodora came, Justinian enriched it with many buildings, while the inhabitants named it New Justiniania to express their gratitude. In AD 647, when the neighboring cities were destroyed by Arab raiding, the inhabitants of these cities moved to Famagusta, as a result of which the city's population increased significantly and the city experienced another boom.

 

Later, when Jerusalem was occupied by the Arabs, the Christian population fled to Famagusta, as a result of which the city became an important Christian center, but also one of the most important commercial centers in the eastern Mediterranean.

 

The turning point for Famagusta was 1192 with the onset of Lusignan rule. It was during this period that Famagusta developed as a fully-fledged town. It increased in importance to the Eastern Mediterranean due to its natural harbour and the walls that protected its inner town. Its population began to increase. This development accelerated in the 13th century as the town became a centre of commerce for both the East and West. An influx of Christian refugees fleeing the downfall of Acre (1291) in Palestine transformed it from a tiny village into one of the richest cities in Christendom.

 

In 1372 the port was seized by Genoa and in 1489 by Venice. This commercial activity turned Famagusta into a place where merchants and ship owners led lives of luxury. By the mid-14th century, Famagusta was said to have the richest citizens in the world. The belief that people's wealth could be measured by the churches they built inspired these merchants to have churches built in varying styles. These churches, which still exist, were the reason Famagusta came to be known as "the district of churches". The development of the town focused on the social lives of the wealthy people and was centred upon the Lusignan palace, the cathedral, the Square and the harbour.

 

In 1570–1571, Famagusta was the last stronghold in Venetian Cyprus to hold out against the Turks under Mustafa Pasha. It resisted a siege of thirteen months and a terrible bombardment, until at last the garrison surrendered. The Ottoman forces had lost 50,000 men, including Mustafa Pasha's son. Although the surrender terms had stipulated that the Venetian forces be allowed to return home, the Venetian commander, Marco Antonio Bragadin, was flayed alive, his lieutenant Tiepolo was hanged, and many other Christians were killed.

 

With the advent of the Ottoman rule, Latins lost their privileged status in Famagusta and were expelled from the city. Greek Cypriots natives were at first allowed to own and buy property in the city, but were banished from the walled city in 1573–74 and had to settle outside in the area that later developed into Varosha. Turkish families from Anatolia were resettled in the walled city but could not fill the buildings that previously hosted a population of 10,000. This caused a drastic decrease in the population of Famagusta. Merchants from Famagusta, who mostly consisted of Latins that had been expelled, resettled in Larnaca and as Larnaca flourished, Famagusta lost its importance as a trade centre. Over time, Varosha developed into a prosperous agricultural town thanks to its location away from the marshes, whilst the walled city remained dilapidated.

 

In the walled city, some buildings were repurposed to serve the interests of the Muslim population: the Cathedral of St. Nicholas was converted to a mosque (now known as Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque), a bazaar was developed, public baths, fountains and a theological school were built to accommodate the inhabitants' needs. Dead end streets, an Ottoman urban characteristic, was imported to the city and a communal spirit developed in which a small number of two-storey houses inhabited by the small upper class co-existed with the widespread one-storey houses.

 

With the British takeover, Famagusta regained its significance as a port and an economic centre and its development was specifically targeted in British plans. As soon as the British took over the island, a Famagusta Development Act was passed that aimed at the reconstruction and redevelopment of the city's streets and dilapidated buildings as well as better hygiene. The port was developed and expanded between 1903 and 1906 and Cyprus Government Railway, with its terminus in Famagusta, started construction in 1904. Whilst Larnaca continued to be used as the main port of the island for some time, after Famagusta's use as a military base in World War I trade significantly shifted to Famagusta. The city outside the walls grew at an accelerated rate, with development being centred around Varosha. Varosha became the administrative centre as the British moved their headquarters and residences there and tourism grew significantly in the last years of the British rule. Pottery and production of citrus and potatoes also significantly grew in the city outside the walls, whilst agriculture within the walled city declined to non-existence.

 

New residential areas were built to accommodate the increasing population towards the end of the British rule,[11] and by 1960, Famagusta was a modern port city extending far beyond Varosha and the walled city.

 

The British period saw a significant demographic shift in the city. In 1881, Christians constituted 60% of the city's population while Muslims were at 40%. By 1960, the Turkish Cypriot population had dropped to 17.5% of the overall population, while the Greek Cypriot population had risen to 70%. The city was also the site for one of the British internment camps for nearly 50,000 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust trying to emigrate to Palestine.

 

From independence in 1960 to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974, Famagusta developed toward the south west of Varosha as a well-known entertainment and tourist centre. The contribution of Famagusta to the country's economic activity by 1974 far exceeded its proportional dimensions within the country. Whilst its population was only about 7% of the total of the country, Famagusta by 1974 accounted for over 10% of the total industrial employment and production of Cyprus, concentrating mainly on light industry compatible with its activity as a tourist resort and turning out high-quality products ranging from food, beverages and tobacco to clothing, footwear, plastics, light machinery and transport equipment. It contributed 19.3% of the business units and employed 21.3% of the total number of persons engaged in commerce on the island. It acted as the main tourist destination of Cyprus, hosting 31.5% of the hotels and 45% of Cyprus' total bed capacity. Varosha acted as the main touristic and business quarters.

 

In this period, the urbanisation of Famagusta slowed down and the development of the rural areas accelerated. Therefore, economic growth was shared between the city of Famagusta and the district, which had a balanced agricultural economy, with citrus, potatoes, tobacco and wheat as main products. Famagusta maintained good communications with this hinterland. The city's port remained the island's main seaport and in 1961, it was expanded to double its capacity in order to accommodate the growing volume of exports and imports. The port handled 42.7% of Cypriot exports, 48.6% of imports and 49% of passenger traffic.

 

There has not been an official census since 1960 but the population of the town in 1974 was estimated to be around 39,000 not counting about 12,000–15,000 persons commuting daily from the surrounding villages and suburbs to work in Famagusta. The number of people staying in the city would swell to about 90,000–100,000 during the peak summer tourist period, with the influx of tourists from numerous European countries, mainly Britain, France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. The majority of the city population were Greek Cypriots (26,500), with 8,500 Turkish Cypriots and 4,000 people from other ethnic groups.

 

During the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 14 August 1974 the Mesaoria plain was overrun by Turkish tanks and Famagusta was bombed by Turkish aircraft. It took two days for the Turkish Army to occupy the city, prior to which Famagusta's entire Greek Cypriot population had fled into surrounding fields. As a result of Turkish airstrikes dozens of civilians died, including tourists.

 

Unlike other parts of the Turkish-controlled areas of Cyprus, the Varosha suburb of Famagusta was fenced off by the Turkish army immediately after being captured and remained fenced off until October 2020, when the TRNC reopened some streets to visitors. Some Greek Cypriots who had fled Varosha have been allowed to view the town and journalists have been allowed in.

 

UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Famagusta by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. The UN's Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.

 

Famagusta's historic city centre is surrounded by the fortifications of Famagusta, which have a roughly rectangular shape, built mainly by the Venetians in the 15th and 16th centuries, though some sections of the walls have been dated earlier times, as far as 1211.

 

Some important landmarks and visitor attractions in the old city are:

The Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque

The Othello Castle

Palazzo del Provveditore - the Venetian palace of the governor, built on the site of the former Lusignan royal palace

St. Francis' Church

Sinan Pasha Mosque

Church of St. George of the Greeks

Church of St. George of the Latins

Twin Churches

Nestorian Church (of St George the Exiler)

Namık Kemal Dungeon

Agios Ioannis Church

Venetian House

Akkule Masjid

Mustafa Pasha Mosque

Ganchvor monastery

 

In an October 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund listed Famagusta, a "maritime ancient city of crusader kings", among the 12 sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and development pressures.

 

Famagusta is an important commercial hub of Northern Cyprus. The main economic activities in the city are tourism, education, construction and industrial production. It has a 115-acre free port, which is the most important seaport of Northern Cyprus for travel and commerce. The port is an important source of income and employment for the city, though its volume of trade is restricted by the embargo against Northern Cyprus. Its historical sites, including the walled city, Salamis, the Othello Castle and the St Barnabas Church, as well as the sandy beaches surrounding it make it a tourist attraction; efforts are also underway to make the city more attractive for international congresses. The Eastern Mediterranean University is also an important employer and supplies significant income and activity, as well as opportunities for the construction sector. The university also raises a qualified workforce that stimulates the city's industry and makes communications industry viable. The city has two industrial zones: the Large Industrial Zone and the Little Industrial Zone. The city is also home to a fishing port, but inadequate infrastructure of the port restricts the growth of this sector. The industry in the city has traditionally been concentrated on processing agricultural products.

 

Historically, the port was the primary source of income and employment for the city, especially right after 1974. However, it gradually lost some of its importance to the economy as the share of its employees in the population of Famagusta diminished due to various reasons. However, it still is the primary port for commerce in Northern Cyprus, with more than half of ships that came to Northern Cyprus in 2013 coming to Famagusta. It is the second most popular seaport for passengers, after Kyrenia, with around 20,000 passengers using the port in 2013.

 

The mayor-in-exile of Famagusta is Simos Ioannou. Süleyman Uluçay heads the Turkish Cypriot municipal administration of Famagusta, which remains legal as a communal-based body under the constitutional system of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Since 1974, Greek Cypriots submitted a number of proposals within the context of bicommunal discussions for the return of Varosha to UN administration, allowing the return of its previous inhabitants, requesting also the opening of Famagusta harbour for use by both communities. Varosha would have been returned to Greek Cypriot control as part of the 2004 Annan Plan but the plan had been rejected by a majority(3/4) of Greek Cypriot voters.

 

The walled city of Famagusta contains many unique buildings. Famagusta has a walled city popular with tourists.

 

Every year, the International Famagusta Art and Culture Festival is organized in Famagusta. Concerts, dance shows and theater plays take place during the festival.

 

A growth in tourism and the city's university have fueled the development of Famagusta's vibrant nightlife. Nightlife in the city is especially active on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights and in the hotter months of the year, starting from April. Larger hotels in the city have casinos that cater to their customers. Salamis Road is an area of Famagusta with a heavy concentration of bars frequented by students and locals.

 

Famagusta's Othello Castle is the setting for Shakespeare's play Othello. The city was also the setting for Victoria Hislop's 2015 novel The Sunrise, and Michael Paraskos's 2016 novel In Search of Sixpence. The city is the birthplace of the eponymous hero of the Renaissance proto-novel Fortunatus.

 

Famagusta was home to many Greek Cypriot sport teams that left the city because of the Turkish invasion and still bear their original names. Most notable football clubs originally from the city are Anorthosis Famagusta FC and Nea Salamis Famagusta FC, both of the Cypriot First Division, which are now based in Larnaca. Usually Anorthosis Famagusta fans are politically right wing where Nea Salamis fans are left wing.

 

Famagusta is represented by Mağusa Türk Gücü in the Turkish Cypriot First Division. Dr. Fazıl Küçük Stadium is the largest football stadium in Famagusta. Many Turkish Cypriot sport teams that left Southern Cyprus because of the Cypriot intercommunal violence are based in Famagusta.

 

Famagusta is represented by DAÜ Sports Club and Magem Sports Club in North Cyprus First Volleyball Division. Gazimağusa Türk Maarif Koleji represents Famagusta in the North Cyprus High School Volleyball League.

 

Famagusta has a modern volleyball stadium called the Mağusa Arena.

 

The Eastern Mediterranean University was founded in the city in 1979. The Istanbul Technical University founded a campus in the city in 2010.

 

The Cyprus College of Art was founded in Famagusta by the Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos in 1969, before moving to Paphos in 1972 after protests from local hoteliers that the presence of art students in the city was putting off holidaymakers.

 

Famagusta has three general hospitals. Gazimağusa Devlet Hastahanesi, a state hospital, is the biggest hospital in city. Gazimağusa Tıp Merkezi and Gazimağusa Yaşam Hastahanesi are private hospitals.

 

Personalities

Saint Barnabas, born and died in Salamis, Famagusta

Chris Achilleos, illustrator of the book versions on the BBC children's series Doctor Who

Beran Bertuğ, former Governor of Famagusta, first Cypriot woman to hold this position

Marios Constantinou, former international Cypriot football midfielder and current manager.

Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Cypriot singer.

Derviş Eroğlu, former President of Northern Cyprus

Alexis Galanos, 7th President of the House of Representatives and Famagusta mayor-in-exile (2006-2019) (Republic of Cyprus)

Xanthos Hadjisoteriou, Cypriot painter

Oz Karahan, political activist, President of the Union of Cypriots

Oktay Kayalp, former Turkish Cypriot Famagusta mayor (Northern Cyprus)

Harry Luke British diplomat

Angelos Misos, former international footballer

Costas Montis was an influential and prolific Greek Cypriot poet, novelist, and playwright born in Famagusta.

Hal Ozsan, actor (Dawson's Creek, Kyle XY)

Dimitris Papadakis, a Greek Cypriot politician, who served as a Member of the European Parliament.

Ṣubḥ-i-Azal, Persian religious leader, lived and died in exile in Famagusta

Touker Suleyman (born Türker Süleyman), British Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur, investor and reality television personality.

Alexia Vassiliou, singer, left here as a refugee when the town was invaded.

George Vasiliou, former President of Cyprus

Vamik Volkan, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry

Derviş Zaim, film director

 

Famagusta is twinned with:

İzmir, Turkey (since 1974)

Corfu, Greece (since 1994)

Patras, Greece (since 1994)

Antalya, Turkey (since 1997)

Salamina (city), Greece (since 1998)

Struga, North Macedonia

Athens, Greece (since 2005)

Mersin, Turkey

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

Left side view.

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) set a new port record today with the arrival of the vessel ONE STORK, the largest container ship to ever call Jacksonville.

 

Operated by shipping line Ocean Network Express (ONE) within THE Alliance network of ocean carriers, the ONE STORK has a carrying capacity of 14,000 TEUs (containers). Previously, the largest ships to call JAXPORT had a capacity of 11,923 TEUs.

  

ONE STORK is the first of nine larger vessels that will call JAXPORT weekly through the EC5 container service operated by THE Alliance. Effective May 2023, THE Alliance has upsized the vessels used in the service, replacing smaller ships with six larger 14,000-TEU and three larger 13,000-TEU vessels. The upgraded vessel sizes average a 60 percent increase in container carrying capacity over the previous ships in the service.

 

“It’s a proud moment to see the investments Florida makes hard at work. Setting this record and accommodating the largest container ship that Jacksonville has ever had is directly linked to the continued investments in our seaports,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. “Pursuing major projects like the JAXPORT Harbor Deepening Project have helped secure Florida as a leader in transportation and supply chain capabilities. These investments are paying huge dividends for Floridians and all the people our seaports serve, which extends far beyond state lines.”

 

“We are pleased to grow as ONE and strengthen our valued partnership with JAXPORT as we expand our fleet and broaden our service reach,” said ONE Director East Coast and Gulf Port Ops Louis Ferrer. “The operational capabilities of Jacksonville’s harbor to accommodate vessels of this size make JAXPORT a great fit for us. We are pleased that our customers will continue to benefit from direct service and efficient transit times between Asia and the Southeast U.S. offered through the EC5.”

 

As part of the upsizing, the EC5 service now calls the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal (JCT) at Blount Island to utilize the terminal’s newly-deepened 47-foot harbor, which provides the water draft needed to accommodate the larger vessels. SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal is operated by SSA Marine, one of the largest terminal operators in the Americas.

 

“SSA’s efficiencies continue to grow as we are making significant progress on the modernization of the SSA JCT on Blount Island,” said Lauren Offenbecher, President of SSA Conventional. “We will welcome three new 100-gauge container cranes later this summer. We look forward to welcoming more services to this growing gateway as we continue to invest.”

Cargo activity through Jacksonville’s seaport supports 138,000 jobs in Florida and $31 billion in annual economic impact for the region and state. The port continues to make infrastructure improvements in support of JAXPORT’s mission to create jobs and economic opportunity for the citizens of Northeast Florida.

 

“This great news shows the product of solid partnerships and steadfast support from our Governor, Ron DeSantis. Florida continues to step up to the plate and work together to bring major returns on investments to our local communities and the state as a whole,” said Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. “Setting the record for the largest vessel to call Jacksonville is truly a success story from investing in our seaports and the need for a robust supply chain network. The Department looks forward to the additional growth and future successes with our seaport partners.”

 

“We are thrilled to welcome the largest ship ever to visit JAXPORT. This historic moment signifies the ongoing growth and progress of our community's economic development,” said JAXPORT’s Jacksonville City Council Liaison Ron Salem. “The increased capacity of our port and the arrival of larger vessels like this will enable us to serve our customers and partners better while creating jobs and driving economic growth for our region. We look forward to continued success and prosperity as we solidify our position as a premier destination for global trade.”

 

“Today’s arrival of the ONE STORK represents yet another milestone for our port and community,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. “Harbor deepening and the other investments that have been made in our port provide the capability for these larger vessels to call Jacksonville, supporting jobs and economic impact throughout our region and state. We are grateful for the partnership we have with our THE Alliance partners and look forward to their continued growth and success in Jacksonville.”

THE Alliance is a strategic partnership among ONE, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, and Yang Ming.

 

The EC5 port rotation is: Laem Chabang (Thailand) – Cai Mep (Vietnam) – Singapore – Colombo (Sri Lanka) – Suez Canal – Halifax (Canada) – New York – Savannah – Jacksonville – Norfolk – Halifax.

 

Common commodities on this service may include consumer goods such as furniture, electronics, appliances, and medical equipment. The service also provides export opportunities for items such as forest products, resin, and clay.

 

Located in the heart of the Southeast U.S., JAXPORT is Florida’s No. 1 container port by volume and one of the nation’s top vehicle-handling ports. Jacksonville offers fast and efficient vessel operations with a 47-foot deepwater shipping channel, two-way ship traffic with no berth or terminal congestion, and same-day access to 98 million U.S. consumers.

 

SSA JCT is Jacksonville’s largest international container terminal by volume operating on 100 acres at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal. JCT offers high berth productivity for vessel operations and exceptional terminal service tailored to meet customer needs. In July 2023, JCT will welcome the delivery of three additional STS cranes capable of handling the largest container vessels in service today.

  

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 23-Jul-24.

 

Named: "Sarikamis"

 

This aircraft was delivered to BOC Aviation Leasing and leased to the easyJet Airline Company as G-EZJY in Jun-03. It was returned to BOC Aviation Leasing in Mar-10.

 

It was due to be leased to Jet Lite (India) but the lease was cancelled and instead it was leased to Turkish Airlines as TC-JKT in Apr-10. The aircraft was operated for Turkish Airlines by their 'low-cost' subsidiary AnadoluJet in full AnadoluJet livery.

 

The lease and operation was taken over by SunExpress Airlines (jointly owned by Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa) and re-registered TC-SAG in May-12 while the sub-lease to AnadoluJet continued.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Oct-14 and permanently retired at Lourdes, France and it was broken up there in late 2015.

 

Note: An in service life of just 11.5 years is nothing for a Boeing 737NG. I wonder what was wrong with it?

Looking the other way

Garden City

This is my recently completed project bike that replaces my tragically stolen previously owned one. It's a fixed-gear, converted from what I believe is an old British touring bike. Nobody has been able to identify who made the frame (any help out there?), but it's all chrome and has some really beautiful ornate metalwork. I bought the frame a few months ago, and it's taken some time to have my entire vision finally come together, but, needless to say, I'm very pleased with the end result and she rides like a dream.

Replacing old windows. Fotobyline: Paroc, renZERO™-projektet.

Replaced the kiwi with this photo.

Replacing my worn out glow plugs with shiny new ones.

 

Visit carproductstested.com if you love cars!

New bracket for converting M416 Trailers to a receiver tube tongue

Replaced a Whelen 4000 Series siren. Located on Holly Ridge Road next to the Laurel Inn.

Replacing Overhead wires on the West Coast Main Line. Chebsey. 2014.

"jamás podremos

rescatar lo que olvidamos

tan sólo podremos

sustituirlo por nuevos recuerdos"

 

"we can never

rescue what we forget

we just

replace it with new memories "

 

(Fotografía y prosa: Emili Bermúdez)

Replacing the pipe from my house to the sewer

This amp was never quite right (issues with it being microphonic; the sound getting muddy), so I replaced all of the electrolytic and ceramic disc capacitors, and the op amp. This Classic 30 is no longer microphonic in the clean state, but still microphonic in the dirty state.

 

Jerry has been house bound these last eleven weeks or it might be more correct to say bound by houses. We ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, except we bled money instead of blood as we did the final negotiating in the sale of my mother's house. As soon as that house was finished we took off to Huntington, WV to help by son ready his house for sale. Jerry helped by replacing a 100-year-old door frame, taking out the plaster walls in a closet replacing them with drywall and finally excavating a small hill to build a set of steps....Yippee jobs completed in one week's time but wait there is more. We came home and Jerry worked on the rental house putting in a dish washer, disposal, new copper water pipes, moved the oven, rebuilt cabinets and put in a new kitchen floor. They say things happen in threes and I must say we three is quite enough.

Inferno/SP - 11.04.2009

    

Quer usar essa foto? Ao utilizá-la, contanto que seja sem fins lucrativos, deixe os créditos da seguinte forma:

 

[ Foto por Tyello - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyello ]

You always need a voltmeter when messing with an electric bike, don't trust anything and check twice!

Review LG LED IPS Monitor 23MP65HQ (LG 23EA63V replaced) An Phat PC by dtien87 ductien daoductien - www.anphatpc.com.vn

replaced

to replace/remove the interior blower engine the black tower has to be moved to the right a little.

the upper bolt is easily found. the lower 2 are on the back, only visible when you remove this cap first

 

with an AC / airco version this is where the recirculation cap is is located, behind the black plastic air duct for the interior ventilation.

 

First remove this cap, then unbolt the 2 nuts

 

Replacing a RapidRide bus on the E Line

Used here:

offonatangent.blogspot.com/2009/02/obama-replaces-putin.html

 

Original Putin courtesy Mail Online:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-464921/Putins-Arctic-inv...

 

Original Obama:

www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3197571945/

 

Official portrait of President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 13, 2009.

 

(Photo by Pete Souza)

This photo was taken to accompany the t-shirt alteration instructions at www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/tshirtmod.

WashTec SoftCare² Pro in white "Classic Design" with grey SofTecs brushes installed in 2014, replacing a Christ AutoJet C115

 

Video - youtu.be/fZy8Bnz46Ug

 

• Operator •

MFG (Motor Fuel Group)

 

• Supplier •

WashTec UK

 

• Address •

BP Petrol Station

Saxon Street

Milton Keynes

Mk14 6PB

England

 

Rebrushed with new grey SofTecs in 2024

 

Replaced in 2026 with a Istobal M’Start

flic.kr/p/2skAiC2

Built in 1923, this Renaissance Revival-style twenty-story skyscraper was designed by George B. Post and Sons to house the Buffalo Statler Hotel, part of the Statler Hotel chain that was headquartered in Buffalo. The second permanent hotel that the Statler family built in Buffalo, the building replaced an earlier hotel that stood on the site, housed in the former Millard Fillmore mansion, known as the Castle Inn, and an earlier flagship Statler Hotel, which was built in 1907, and located at the southeast corner of Swan Street and Washington Street in a building that was heavily influenced by the nearby Guaranty Building. Ellsworth Milton Statler, whom owned the business, had started in the hospitality industry with a restaurant in the basement of the Ellicott Square building in 1896, expanding with a 2,000-room temporary hotel at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, and a 2,200 room hotel at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, which were so successful that Statler, a former bellhop, decided to re-enter the Hotel business permanently. The present building was the flagship hotel for the chain, which was based in Buffalo, but had hotels all around the United States, which featured amenities that are commonly expected today, including private bathrooms, telephones in each room, and free stationery and newspapers, and were priced at a moderate cost for more average travelers, rather than being targeted at wealthy clientele. Statler also wanted to attract the city’s elite to his establishment, and thus bought the nearby Iroquois Hotel, a longstanding center of social life for Buffalo’s elite and business class, in 1923, and closed it a day after his new hotel opened. Arguably, the original Hotel Statler was more architecturally significant, as it was one of the largest ever Art Nouveau buildings constructed in the United States, and featured a far more unique and distinctive interior and exterior, as well as being the first hotel to have all the innovative features that Statler became known for. Like the similarly significant Larkin Building, however, the original Statler Hotel Buffalo was demolished in 1968 to make way for a “shovel-ready” development site, with no regard for the non-monetary value of the building. Private development never materialized on the site, and it sat as a barren parking lot until a baseball stadium and plaza were built on the site in the late 20th Century.

 

The building features a tripartite composition, with a four-story base, which extends to the rear (east) of the tower along Genesee Street and Mohawk Street to Franklin Street, which contains many of the hotel’s major public spaces, including meeting rooms, ballrooms, lobbies, and retail spaces. Above the base rises a tower, twenty stories tall and E-shaped, with two light wells on the western side of the building that extend deep into the block to the east, with a largely unadorned red brick-clad section between the sill line of the windows on the sixth floor to the sill line of the windows on the eighteenth floor, forming the “shaft” of the composition. At the top is a more richly detailed three-story section of the building, forming the “capital” of the composition, drawing the eye upwards and emphasizing the verticality of the building. The first floor is clad in stone with rustication, with the second and third floors sharing large window bays with decorative surrounds, which include decorative keystones, broken pediments with cartouches, triple arched window openings flanked by doric pilasters and recessed niches on the western facade, paired arched windows facing Niagara Square, separated by doric pilasters, and smaller windows at the east end of the building along Franklin Street and Mohawk Street. Above the arched window bays are low-slope roofs enclosed by decorative balustrades, with smaller window openings on the fourth floor featuring decorative stone trim, with the window bays around the perimeter of the base of the tower portion of the building being flanked by doric pilasters, with an architrave with triglyphs and decorative reliefs above the pilasters, and a cornice featuring modillions running around the sill line of the fifth floor windows, marking the base of the transition from the base to the shaft. The fifth floor features windows with decorative surrounds and keystones with busts, and is topped with a cornice, which is the last strong horizontal datum before the building becomes an unadorned brick shaft for the next twelve floors. The building features double-hung and fixed windows, some of which are original, and others of which are replacements, with two-over-two windows being predominant between the sixth and eighteenth floors. On the eighteenth floor, the sill line of the windows is a line of stone belt coursing, with decorative window trim at the window openings, and a cornice with dentils above the windows, originally extending further out from the facade, but having been chiseled away due to structural issues in the late 20th Century. The nineteenth and twentieth floors feature decorative trim once again, with the outermost bays of the individual north and south facades, as well as the west facade, featuring single windows flanked by doric pilasters with decorative window trim, including busts on the keystones, and the middle bays being recessed, flanked by ionic pilasters, with copper spandrel panels. The top of the twentieth floor windows is a line of belt coursing, above which are a few courses of brick, with decorative reliefs above the doric pilasters on the east and west facades, which sits below the building’s cornice, which features brackets, and runs around the base of the brick parapet that encloses the building’s low-slope roof. Atop the parapet above the doric pilasters are decorative urns. The rear of the building also features a large circulation tower, housing the building’s main stairways and elevators, which features a largely unadorned facade with four oxeye openings with stone trim at the top, with this being the least detailed section of the building’s exterior.

 

Inside, the building features many original semi-public spaces that have been partially preserved from the original period of construction and function as a hotel. These include the “palm room”, the main lobby that is themed after a tropical garden, which sits just outside the hotel’s main dining room, a two-story space with a vaulted ceiling, decorative archways, paired arched second-story openings with balustrades and columns, arched windows above the dining room entrance, an entrance portico at the dining room with ionic columns, a decorative cornice, a broken pediment with a cartouche, and a decorative balustrade atop the portico, and a fountain surrounded by greco-roman statues. There is also the Terrace Room, which features a decorative beam ceiling, ionic columns, and a section of the ceiling that is vaulted, the golden ballroom, formerly the hotel’s main dining room, which features a cantilevered second-story balcony with ionic columns featuring capitals and accents clad in gold leaf, decorative trim and panels clad in gold leaf, a wooden parquet floor, and a vaulted ceiling, and a room in the mezzanine with well-preserved carved wood paneling and black marble fireplace surrounds. Other spaces, including the lounge, tea room, cafeteria, swimming pool, and turkish baths, have not been preserved in as intact of a condition.

 

The hotel began to see a decline in occupancy with the onset of the Great Depression, with several of its 1,100 rooms regularly sitting vacant. As a result, it began to see portions of its interior converted into office space, which accelerated after the opening of the WBEN TV studio in the building. The Statler hotel chain was bought out by Hilton in 1954, which continued to use the Statler brand on hotels that the chain had already built, but eventually phased it out. The hotel finally shuttered in 1984, with the building being renamed the Statler Towers. The building became largely vacant, with only the lower floors being occupied, with the highest occupancy being in the street-facing retail spaces. In the 2000s, the building was slated for conversion into a hotel and condominium, but this proved unsuccessful when the entity that owned the building went bankrupt, leading to a foreclosure and the building being threatened with demolition. Preservationists worked hard to save the building, leading to it being auctioned to a developer in 2010, whom started to stabilize the structure and address its deferred maintenance, reopening the event spaces on the lower floors in 2011, with plans to eventually renovate the rest of the building with an incremental, multi-phased approach. After that developer died, the building was sold to another developer, whom has announced plans to convert the base into a combination of parking, meeting and event space, amenity space, and retail space, with 600 apartments on the upper levels, with work being well underway in 2022.

Historic Office, Spring Grove Cemetery

 

In the period 1863-67, the cemetery’s board undertook a major effort to improve the cemetery’s Spring Grove Avenue entrance. An earlier wooden fence and gate was replaced by ornate cast-iron gates mounted on stout, eight-foot-tall piers. Immediately adjacent to the gates is the Gothic-detailed Administration Building, now known as the Historic Office.

 

Designed by James Keys Wilson, the Historic Office has rough-dressed sandstone walls, with contrasting lighter and smoother stone for the foundation and corners, a slate roof, blunt pointed-arch window openings, and a large tower appended to the south elevation. There is an entrance portico at the northwest corner. The tower has an open belfry stage with paired pointed-arch openings, surmounted by a steep hip roof with cast-iron cresting. A much smaller tower is integrated into the stonework of the west gable.

 

The building is still used for administrative offices; although modernized on the interior, it retains its original wood-beamed vaulted ceiling and marble floors.

 

Wilson also designed a small companion gatekeeper’s lodge on the other side of the gates known today as the Carriage House. Of similar stone construction, the Carriage House has a polychrome slate Mansard roof, an entrance porch with wide Corinthian pilasters, an elaborately corbelled cornice, and a large chimney set upon a corbelled base in the west wall.

 

Its name reflects an early use as a place people could rest while waiting for

carriages to return them to the city. Today it is used for office space.

 

James Keys Wilson is best-known for his contemporary, eclectic design for the Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati (constructed 1864-67).

 

When the cemetery was founded in 1845, the surroundings were a mixture of woods,

farmland, and the country estates of well-to-do Cincinnati families; today it is a densely built part of the city that includes residences, churches, and factories, and the street with the cemetery’s principal entrance, Spring Grove Avenue, is a busy four-lane thoroughfare.

The DOE-WAPA crews work sunrise to sunset on Sunday,

Nov. 5, replacing hurricane-damaged utility poles and restringing conductor to support the USVI power restoration effort. The crews are working on the Feeder 07, a part of St. Thomas' transmission system.

(Photo by Will Schnyer)

Inside

The single vessel nave was remodeled Romanesque arches were replaced by Gothic arches (missing) which was based on the columns and capitals of age novel. However, if the choir and transepts have retained their arrangement and decoration carved original paintings dating from the nineteenth century. Cloverleaf plan of this part of the church is a rare feature in Saintonge reminiscent perhaps of earlier constructions at the age novel, whether or pre-Romanesque inspired by Antiquity (seaside). The transept is covered by a beautiful dome-shaped tubes on shells, carried by four arches. Those placed in the axis of the nave and chancel are composed of voussoirs in pads that are sometimes compared to books would be stacked with the back. As for the open arches on the arms of the transept, they are based on double and separate columns and are connected by voussoirs leaving gaps at regular intervals.

The choir and chapels forming the transept arms are arched in a cul-de-oven and lighted by a small window.

All this together, choir and transept, is united by a continuous frieze that extends to the base of the arches, the sculpture of the capitals and their abacuses. The pattern of two side apses consists of vertical grooves in the north and in the shape of "S" in the south. However, on the capitals and in the choir unfolds a profusion of foliage and interlaced acanthus where integrated scenes of great vivacity. We discover pecking birds facing a head and a wide variety of lions, presented a profile or two body, human head, tail drawing the scroll of a scroll. Scenes complement the decor: bow hunting, dogs attacking a deer, a man and a woman hugging under the gaze of a third (husband?), A man sitting in the corner of a tent, attacked by birds, in short, a world where people and animals frolic happily in an elegant, decorative, inherited from St. Eutropius or portal Abbaye-aux-Dames de Saintes.

Paper declares victory over plastic, in straw poll at Knox College. Details: www.knox.edu/news/plastic-straws-replaced-by-paper-at-kno...

We pleased to say this isn't one of ours! Another example of how choosing the wrong air conditioning contractor can lead to a mess! This is an R22 Mitsubishi Electric Air Conditioning unit from 1994 which is being replaced by an R410A system. Still on the positive side it does prove how long air conditioning systems can last, even when badly installed. Still, if this was your business or home it certainly doesn't portray a very good image.

 

If you have an R22 Air Conditioning systems that's either faulty or simply requires replacing for an new R410A energy efficient system please email us at sales@nottinghamairconditioning.co.uk, call us on 0800 849 9490 or visit our website www.nottinghamairconditioning.co.uk

  

We obtained the building permit and handled all inspections. We obtained approval from the Homeowner's Association to proceed with the work. We saw cut and removed the existing driveway which was cracked and deteriorated. We removed all debris from the premises. We fully compacted all soil. We poured the new driveway with 4000 PSI concrete with fiber mesh reinforcement. We hand troweled the concrete with a double boom finish. We cut all expansion joints accordingly.

Fuji 680 and Rollei RPX 400

replaced photo in correct the color space... my bad

i think this goes along with this

www.flickr.com/photos/31541871@N00/119847258/

Replacing the antennas at the top of a phone mast

The right valve had a nice crack and anytime you had the water on the risk of it bursting was too great. Easy fix once the water co shut off the water.

Review LG LED IPS Monitor 23MP65HQ (LG 23EA63V replaced) An Phat PC by dtien87 ductien daoductien - www.anphatpc.com.vn

At the rear of this South West Trains semi-fast service from Farnham to London Waterloo was class 458 Juniper EMU 8006. The class 458s were the last of the EMU classes to be delivered new to South West Trains with traditional BR Southern Region four-digit unit numbers as the fleet of Siemens class 450 Desiro EMUs and class 444 Super Desiro EMUs delivered to South West Trains between 2003 and 2004 were introduced into service with the class number along with the individual unit number applied on their front ends. The commuter car park at Farnham station (once occupied by a goods yard until the 1960s) has since been replaced in part by an ugly steel multi-storey car park along with most other railway stations in this part of Surrey and North Hampshire.

We prepared the site plan and obtained the building permit. We handled all necessary inspections. We removed the existing concrete driveway. We removed all debris from the premises. We compacted all soil. We poured the new driveway with 4000 PSI concrete with fibermesh reinforcement. We hand troweled the concrete with a double broom finish. We cut all expansion joints accordingly.