Dead designer Thursday

Written by: admin

We all know the story of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots (they used to fight quite a bit), but do we know the story of the flag? Or who designed it?

İsmet Güney, a Turkish Cypriot artist and cartoonist died last month. In 1960, he won a competition to design a neutral flag for Cyprus, to unite the two sides of the island. 

The competition stipulated that the design could not contain the colours blue or red, or the symbols of  a cross or a crescent. 

Symbolism of Güney’s flag:

The white is representative of young Cyprus, and peace between the Greeks and Turks. The gold colour of the island makes reference to copper, the metal that Cyprus’s name was derived from. The two olive  branches with crossing stalks show peace between the two sides of the island.

Tags: cyprus, flag
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