The Famagusta Initiative Event in support of reunification and peace in Cyprus [overview]

The event, which made a re-ference to the pre-1974 orange festivals in Famagusta, started in the morning of 19th March 2016 with a religious service within the walled city.

The Famagusta Initiative together with Famagusta-Our Town groups organized the bicommunal event titled ‘Oranges in the Sea’ on the shores by the closed-off city of Varosha last weekend in support of reunification and peace in Cyprus.

The Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot participants of the event then proceeded to the Palm Beach shore where they released 42 paper boats in yellow, orange and green to the sea.

Forty-two symbolises the number of years since the division and the yellow, orange and green colours symbolise the colours of citrus colours, the organisers said.

The participants also decorated an old Famagusta orange festival float with oranges; the float is an original that had been used during the pre-division festivals.

A children’s choir sang songs in Turkish and Greek, and a human chain was also formed along the shore to call for peace and unification.

Some 500 Greek Cypriots came from Limassol, Nicosia, Larnaca and Paralimni to participate in the event.

A similar event, ‘Oranges on the Sand’, was organised last year by the Famagusta Initiative and Famagusta-Our Town.

Credit: In-Cyprus