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Agios Theodoros is a village situated in the Larnaca district, four kilometers south of Kofinou/Geçitkale and immediately off the Nicosia-Limassol motorway. Throughout most of its history this village was inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots. It is named after “Saint Theodore.” In 1958, Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name of Boğaziçi, meaning “strait” or “Bosphoros.”
Historical Population
As can be seen in the above chart, the village was mixed from the Ottoman period. The population was almost always evenly divided between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Although throughout the British period the village’s Greek Cypriot population was slightly larger than that of the Turkish Cypriots, by the time of the 1960 census the Turkish Cypriots had become the majority in the village. During the British period the Greek Cypriot proportion of the population declined from 52% in 1891 to 43% in 1960.
Displacement:
Although no one was displaced neither during the emergency years of the late1950s, nor during the intercommunal strife of 1963-4, the village witnessed many violent events. The village’s Turkish Cypriot quarter was sealed off by Turkish Cypriot Fighters in December 1963 and became part of the Kofinou/Geçitkale enclave, controlled by Turkish Cypriot Fighters. In April 1964 there were clashes between the two communities. The enclaved Turkish Cypriot quarter of the village also became, during this period, an important reception area for displaced Turkish Cypriots from neighboring villages. Richard Patrick recorded 96 Turkish Cypriot displaced persons still living in the village in 1971. Those who sought refuge in Agios Theodoros came mainly from nearby mixed and Turkish Cypriot villages such as Perivolia/Bahçalar(369), Anafotida/Akkor(349) and Anglisides/Aksu(350).
The first conflict-related displacement from Agios Theodoros occured in 1974, when all the Turkish Cypriots fled to the Turkish-controlled areas that had been established in the island’s north after August of that year. Those who were left behind and could not flee were eventually transferred by UNFICYP to the north in August 1975. Most of the Turkish Cypriots of Agios Theodoros were resettled in Agios Sergios(123), a village in the Famagusta district. They, renamed it Yeni Boğaziçi (New Boğaziçi) after the Turkish alternative name of Agios Theodoros. The total number of Turkish Cypriot displaced persons from this village is estimated to be around 700-750 (685 in 1960).
Current Inhabitants: Currently the village is mainly inhabited by its original Greek Cypriot villagers. However, there are some displaced Greek Cypriots living in the former Turkish Cypriot neighborhood of the village. The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 599.
REFERENCES
Books and Reports:
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Colonial Office (1893), “Cyprus: Report on the census of Cyprus, taken 6th April 1891,” Mediterranean, No. 39. London: Colonial Office.
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Department of Statitstics and Research, 1997. Estimates of Turkish Cypriots and Settlers from Turkey, Ministry of Finance [Republic of Cyprus], Nicosia.
- Fehmi, Hasan (2003), “Güney’de Kalan Değerlerimiz,” Lefkoşa (Nicosia): Özyay Matbaacılık.
- Fellahoğlu, Esat (2010), “Ulusal Direnişte Baf Köyleri,” İstanbul: Bayrak Matbaacılık.
- Giray, Halil: KKTC Yerleşim Birimleri, Yürürlükteki ve Eski İsimler Listesi KKTC İskân Bakanlığı : KKTC Coğrafi İsimler Kataloğu : (Cilt – I and II), Lefkoşa.
- Goodwin, Jack C. (1984), “An Historical Toponymy of Cyprus (Forth edition),” Nicosia (copy number 6).
- Hart-Davis, C. H (1922), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1921, taken on the 24th April, 1921,” London: Waterlow & Sons.
- Hart-Davis, C. H (1932), “Report of the Census of 1931,” Nicosia: Cyprus Government Printing Office.
- Hatay, Mete, (2005). “Beyond Numbers: An Inquiery into the Political Integration of the Turkish ‘Settlers’ in Northern Cyprus,” PRIO/Cyprus Centre Report 4/2005, Nicosia/Oslo, PRIO.
- Hill, Sir George, (1952). A History of Cyprus, Vol. IV., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- Ioannides, Christos P., 1991. “In Turkey’s Image: The Transformation of Occupied Cyprus into a Turkish Province,” Aristide D. Caratzas, New York.
- KKTC Başbakanlık Devlet Planlama Örgütü Müsteşarlığı, “15 Aralık 1996 Genel Nüfus Sayımı Sonuçları (Özet), 26, November 1997,” Nicosia.
- Mavrogordato, Alexander (1901), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1901, taken on the 1st April, 1901,” Nicosia: Government Printing Office.
- Mavrogordato, Alexander (1912), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1911, taken on the 2nd April, 1911,” London: Waterlow & Sons.
- Menardos, Simos (2001), Τοπωνημικαι και Λαογραφικαι Μελεται (Topographical and Folkloric Studies), Nicosia: Centre for Scientific Studies
Perry, Frederic W., 1884. Report on the Census of Cyprus 1881, Eyre and Spottiswoode, London.
- Republic of Cyprus, 1961. “Census of Population and Agriculture, 1960: Volume I: Population by Location, Race, and Sex,” Nicosia
- TRNC 2006 census preliminary results can be found at: www.devplan.org
TRNC Prime Ministry State Planning Organisation Statistics and Research Department, Census of Population: Social and Economic Characteristics of Population, December 15, 1996, TRNC Prime Ministry, Nicosia, 1999.
- Standing Cypriot Commission for the Standardization of Geographical Names (2007), “Οδηγος Τυποποιησης Ονοματων (Guide to Standardized Names),” Nicosia: Ministry of Education and Culture.
- Ministry of Finance (1973), “Micro-Census (April 1973) Population by Village and Ethnic Group, Volume I.” Nicosia: Department of Statistics and Research.
- Özad, Murat Hüsnü (2002), “Baf ve Mücadele Yılları,” Lefkoşa (Nicosia): Akdeniz Haber Ajansı Yayınları.
- Patrick, Richard (1976), “Political Geography and the Cyprus Conflict: 1963-1971,” Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo.
- Percival, D.A. (1949), “Census of population and agriculture 1946 report,” Nicosia: Cyprus Government Printing Office.
- Republic of Cyprus (1962), “Census of population and agriculture, 1960,” Nicosia: Government Printing Office.
- Republic of Cyprus (1984), “Census of population 1982,” Nicosia: Department of Statistics and Research, Ministry of Finance.
- Republic of Cyprus (2003), “Census of population 2001,” Nicosia: Department of Statistics and Research, Ministry of Finance.
- St John-Jones, L. W., 1983. “The Population of Cyprus: Demographic Trends and Socio-Economic Influences” (with a foreword by W. H. Morris-Jones), Maurice Temple, Smith Limited, London.
- T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü (2000), “Osmanlı İdaresinde Kıbrıs (Nüfus-Arazi Dağılımı ve Türk Vakıfları),” Ankara: Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı Yayın No: 43.
- Yorgancıoğlu, Oğuz: Kıbrıs’ta Türkçe Yer Adları ve Veriliş Yöntemleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma Kıbrıs Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt : 2, Sayı : 3, Yıl : 96
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