Kostas Karnavalos

The hero Kostas Karnavalos, Mesogi.

He was born in Mesa Chorio Paphos¹. While studying at the Hellenic High School of Paphos, he joined EOKA distributing pamphlets and carrying bombs and ammunition wherever they wanted him. He is arrested by the British and after harsh interrogations in Dasoudi, he is sent to Kokkinotrimithia, Pyla and Central Prisons without revealing EOKA secrets. At some point he escapes from the Central Prisons and joins the guerrilla groups of Paphos, remaining uncaptured until the end of the struggle.

With the declaration of the Republic of Cyprus, the young fighter moved to Greece to study at the Higher Commercial School in Athens.

Against the Turkish rebellion, Kostas runs to help the Fatherland. On 7/3/64, the Turks of Moutallos² rushed to the bazaar and captured the Greeks who were carelessly doing their shopping. Then they set up rough roadblocks and fired machine guns at the Greeks. The only ones who could do something since there was no army were the EOKA Fighters. And all of them were there on the front line.

On March 9, 1964, Karnavalos leads a makeshift tank-digger along with his fellow fighters and marches against the Turkish rebels in the bazaar. They wanted to break the Turkish barricades there and free the prisoners. The tank moves forward amid withering fire. Suddenly Turkish bullets pass through the hole of the driver of the chariot. Two of them hit him and his compatriot, Vladimiros Herakleous from Chad. Both fall heroically for the freedom of Cyprus.

There are monuments to the hero in his village and in Paphos³. The road⁴ where he fell got its name.

Forever the memory of our hero.