On this day, May 26, 1870, a Cypriot delegation composed of Greeks and Turks from Cyprus traveled to Constantinople, led by Archbishop Sophronius III, for a private audience with the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire and a Cypriot by birth, Kibrisli Mehmed Pasha, due to the severe drought

• On this day, May 26, 1870, a Cypriot delegation composed of Greeks and Turks from Cyprus traveled to Constantinople, led by Archbishop Sophronius III, for a private audience with the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire Kibrisli Mehmed Pasha

When a severe drought struck Cyprus in 1870, resulting in famine and misery for a large portion of the population, it was decided to send a joint delegation of two Greek Cypriots and two Turkish Cypriots, led by Archbishop Sophronius III, to Constantinople to request:

The revocation of the decision to incorporate Cyprus into the Archipelago Vilayet, whose seat was in Rhodes, and the conversion of Cyprus into an independent administration (responsibility) under the governance of a mutessarif (governor).

The main reason for this request by the Cypriots was that Cyprus’s incorporation into the Archipelago Vilayet created many administrative problems due to the extremely inadequate transportation systems of that era, and, in particular, it hindered the administration of justice, since litigants in serious cases had to travel to the vali’s seat in Rhodes.

They also requested that wheat and barley seeds be provided free of charge for the coming year from Cyprus’s state grain reserves.

The embassy visited Constantinople from May 26 to August 5, 1870and met with Kibrisli, who was very effective in helping to achieve both objectives of the mission. It appears, however, that the new arrangement regarding the administration of Cyprus did not last long, because in the following years and until 1878, when the British Empire took over the administration of Cyprus, the island had reverted to the jurisdiction of the vali of the Archipelago Vilayet. This likely occurred following the sudden death of Kibrisli in the fall of 1871.