fought against the Ottoman Empire. Some Armenian refugees arrived from Palestine and Egypt. The Armenian-Cypriot community prospered throughout the British Era, by establishing associations. In many ways unique across the whole Armenian Diaspora, it was built just outside Nicosia between 1924–1926, after the generous and benevolent donation of the Egyptian-Armenian tobacco trading brothers Krikor and Garabed Melkonian, initially in order to shelter and educate 500 orphans of the Genocide, who planted the trees in front of the school in memory of their slaughtered relatives. From an orphanage (1926–1940), it gradually became a world-renowned secondary school with a boarding section. Independence Era (1960–present) The end of the EOKA struggle found Armenian-Cypriots having forged strong bonds with the rest of the Cypriots. The 1960 Independence brought a new era for the Armenians of Cyprus, who – together with the Maronite and Roman Catholics – were recognised as a "religious group" by the Cypriot Constitution and were now represented by an elected Representative. The size of the community, however, had been reduced because of the emigration of about 900 Armenian-Cypriots to the United Kingdom, due to the emergency situation caused by the EOKA struggle and the poor state of the local economy. A second factor that contributed to the reduction of the community's size was the emigration of about 600 Armenian-Cypriots to Soviet Armenia, as part of the pan-Armenian movement for repatriation. During the intercommunal Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, the Armenian-Cypriot community suffered major losses, as the Armenian quarter of Nicosia fell into the Turkish Cypriot-controlled area: taken were the Prelature building, the mediaeval Notre Dame de Tyre, the Melikian-Ouzounian school, the Genocide Monument, the club houses of the Armenian Club, AYMA and Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), as well as the Armenian Evangelical church; also taken was the mediaeval Ganchvor church in Famagusta. In total, 231 Armenian-Cypriot families became victims and/or lost their shops and enterprises. As a result, hundreds of Armenian-Cypriots left for Great Britain, Canada, Australia and the United States. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Armenian-Cypriot community suffered additional losses, several families became refugees, the renowned Magaravank monastery in Pentadhaktylos was taken by the Turkish troops, the Melkonian boys dormitory was bombed by the Turkish Air Force, while the Ayios Dhometios Armenian cemetery was hit by mortars and fell within the buffer zone. As a result, dozens of Armenian-Cypriots emigrated, mainly to Great Britain. In total, about 1,300