Alethriko is a village situated in the Larnaca district, approximately sixteen kilometers southwest of the town of Larnaca and three kilometers northwest of Kivisili/Cevizli village. The origin of the name is obscure, though some suggest that it may have derived from “aletho,” meaning “to grind” in Greek.

Historical Population

As can be seen in the above chart, the village had a mixed population from the Ottoman period. Throughout the British period, while the Greek Cypriots always constituted the clear majority, the Turkish Cypriot share of the population fluctuated between 8 and 14%.

Displacement:

The first conflict-related displacement took place in the emergency years of the late 1950s, when all the Alethriko Turkish Cypriots fled and sought refuge in nearby Turkish Cypriot villages. The number of Turkish Cypriots who fled the village was approximately 70 (57 in 1946). Twenty-five of these returned to the village after 1960, though they were once again displaced in December 1963. Due to the intense fighting in Larnaca and some villages in the vicinity, all of the Turkish Cypriots of Alethriko sought refuge in the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Kivisili/Cevizli(358). They remained there until 1974, when they fled, mostly at night, to the island’s north or to the Dekelia base area. They were later resettled in the Famagusta district.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by its original Greek Cypriot villagers. The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 793.

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Websites:

• http://www.cyprus-village.com/ (for the villages)
• http://news.karpasha.com/
• http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspot.com/
• http://kypros.org/Occupied_Cyprus/ (for the villages in the north)