Many Greek Christians, in Constantinople and Crete, pretended to be Muslims in order to avoid torture, rape and death but in reality remained Christians. They dressed like the Turks, accepted circumcision, prayed in the mosque, and observed all the other religious customs of the Turks. Inside their homes, however, they kept icons of Christian saints and performed the services of their true faith, with the help of crypto-Christian priests who simultaneously wore the attire of dervishes. These crypto-Christians formed distinct communities among the Turks and married among themselves, thus preserving their national homogeneity as well. In 1570–71, Cyprus was subjugated by the Muslim Turks, and many Greeks were forcibly converted to Islam. However, many of them became "crypto-Christians" and even acquired the nickname "linovamvakoi," meaning made of linen and cotton, since they had a dual conscience and dual faith. The most "spectacular" execution for the Muslim Turks was the dismemberment of the victim and the public display of the severed limbs. Muslims would tie them up and either bisect them into two pieces or cut them into many small pieces. This was their favorite torture, apart from flaying the skin while alive or impaling (staking). It was carried out publicly and given a festive character. When, toward the end of the 15th century, the Turks defeated the Venetians in the Peloponnese, they captured 500 prisoners and sent them to the City (Constantinople). There, they bisected all of them. Many times, Christian captives were placed in front of cannons that were fired, and they were turned into human rags of flesh. In other cases, they were tied to galleys that sailed in opposite directions and were torn apart. Dismemberment of victims was also carried out with horses, as in Western Europe. But the Turks surpassed the Europeans in barbarity, since they displayed the pieces of the victim on scaffolds and trees.
