Crypto-Christians or secret Christians in Ottoman Cyprus who pretended to be Moslem. These guys were Latin and Maronite Catholics who became Turkish Cypriots over three centuries of Turkish rule. Linobamvaki is a derogratory term used throughout Cyprus to describe these folk. It means Cotton-Linen in Greek, as on one side they were Cotton and on the other they were Linen, in other words they were both! Meaning indecisive!
Example people from Louroudjina, Monarga, Limniti, Ayios Theodoros (Larnaca), Anglisides, Potamia, Ayios Sozomenos, Galinoporni and Ayios Thomas (Limassol) village in Cyprus are of Linobamvaki origin.
by olcay January 4, 2007
Get the Linobamvaki mug.