Newsroom
July 15, 1974, was a day when Cyprus woke up to a reality that seemed impossible only 24 hours earlier.
The Presidential Palace had been attacked. Archbishop Makarios, the island’s president and spiritual leader, was gone. A coup government had declared control. Rumors spread faster than facts, and nobody knew what would happen next.
But among the many stories hidden behind the headlines of that dramatic day is one that began with something completely innocent: a visit by a group of children from Egypt.
On the morning of July 15, as tanks and gunfire surrounded the Presidential Palace, Makarios was hosting 13 children from the Christian Brotherhood in Egypt. They had come to Cyprus as part of a visit and were there to meet the man who had been both the country’s president and its most recognizable religious figure.
Instead of a day of celebration and hospitality, the children suddenly found themselves in the middle of one of the darkest moments in Cyprus' modern history.
As the attack on the palace began, security personnel rushed to protect Makarios and move him away from danger. The children, caught in the chaos, were also taken to safety as the building came under attack.
Makarios eventually managed to escape through an unguarded passage and make his way out of the palace, later traveling to Kykkos Monastery and then to Paphos. Meanwhile, the coup leaders announced that he had been killed, a claim that was soon proven false when Makarios appeared in a radio broadcast from Paphos.
By July 16, Cyprus was living through a moment of confusion and fear.
Makarios delivered a second radio message calling on Cypriots to resist the coup, while events in Ankara were moving quickly towards the military action that would begin days later.
For many Cypriots who lived through those days, the memories remain vivid: the uncertainty, the rumors, the silence of empty streets, and the fear of what would come next.
But history is also made up of smaller, more personal moments.
The image of 13 Egyptian children arriving at the Presidential Palace expecting to meet Cyprus’ leader, only to witness the beginning of a national tragedy, is one of those moments that reminds us that behind every major historical event are ordinary people whose lives are suddenly changed forever.
Fifty-two years later, July 15 remains more than just a date on the calendar. It is the beginning of a chain of events that would reshape Cyprus forever, a day filled with unanswered questions, personal stories, and memories that continue to be passed from one generation to the next.
