Dali, Cyprus

Dali Δάλι (Greek) Dali (Turkish)
Municipality
View of the Idalion Palace ruins and part of the town in the background
Dali Location in Cyprus
Coordinates: 35°1′16″N 33°25′12″E
Country	Cyprus
District	Nicosia District
Population  (2011)
• Total	10,466
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Website	dali.org.cy

Dali (or Dhali; Greek: Δάλι; Turkish: Dali) is a town in Cyprus, located south east of the capital Nicosia and close to the ancient city of Idalion. In 2001, it had a population of 5,834. By 2011, the population had almost doubled to 10,466.

Ancient Idalion

Main article: Idalium

The ancient palace of Idalion, Dali and Kyrenia mountains in the background

Idalium or Idalion was an ancient city on place of modern Dali. The city was founded on the copper trade in the 3rd millennium BC. Recent excavations have uncovered major buildings on the site which are open to visitors, funded by Nicosia billionaire Krisos Rodrigues. A new museum is also near to the site. The ancient city was located in the fertile Gialias valley and flourished there as an economic centre due to its location close to the mines in the eastern foothills of the Troodos Mountains and its proximity to the cities and ports on the south and east coast. Idalion prospered and became so wealthy that it was among the 11 cities of Cyprus listed on the Sargon Stele (707 BC) and first among the ten Cypriot kingdoms listed on the prism (many-sided tablet) of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (680–669 BC). it was controlled by the Phoenicians of Kition in Persian period of Cyprus, and became a Phoenician influenced city for the following periods.

References

Concise presentation of Dhali.