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Thirty years after the deaths of Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, a Greek village with a symbolic connection to Cyprus has honored their memory by naming a public square after the two Cypriots.
The Isaak-Solomou Square was officially unveiled in Ano Kyrenia, Achaia, as part of the ongoing journey organized by the Isaak-Solomou Memory Initiative to mark three decades since the killings of the two men during protests against the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus.
The location carries a special significance for Cypriots. Although it is located in Greece, the village’s name, Kyrenia, recalls the occupied coastal city of Kyrenia in Cyprus, creating a symbolic link between the two places.
According to the initiative, the long journey by sea and land, including the arrival at the port of Piraeus, was difficult but carried "a huge historical symbolism" because of the connection with Kyrenia, Cyprus.
The unveiling ceremony was carried out jointly by the president of the Ano Kyrenia community, Tasoula Isaak, the mother of Tasos Isaak, and his daughter, Anastasia.
Isaak and Solomou became symbols of the Cyprus struggle after their deaths in 1996.
Tasos Isaak, 24, was beaten to death by members of an extremist group during an anti-occupation motorcycle protest near the buffer zone in Deryneia. A few days later, 26-year-old Solomos Solomou was shot dead while attempting to remove a Turkish flag from a flagpole during a protest at the same area.
Their deaths remain deeply etched in Cyprus’ collective memory, with commemorations held every year in their honor.
Following the ceremony in Ano Kyrenia, the motorcyclists traveled to Elos, Laconia, where a tribute was held for retired Lieutenant General Ilias Glentzes, commander of a company of the 31st Commando Squadron during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. He was honored for his role in the successful capture of the Kotza Kaya height during the conflict.
The memory journey will continue through several locations in Greece, including Karavas in Kythira, Leonidio, and Salamina in Attica, before the participants head towards Rhodes and Kastellorizo.
For those taking part, the journey is not only a tribute to Isaak and Solomou but also a reminder that the memory of Cyprus’ divided history continues to connect communities across Greece and the wider Hellenic world.
