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Chrysiliou is a small hamlet in the Morphou/Güzelyurt area, situated four kilometers northeast of the town of Morphou/Güzelyurt. Goodwin claims that the name of the village means “of the golden sun” (from “chrysos” and “ilios”). Turkish Cypriots changed the name to Yuvacık in 1975, meaning “little home” or “little nest.”

 

 

 

Until 1974, this hamlet was almost solely inhabited by Greek Cypriots. As may be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) constituted 94% of the inhabitants of the village. The tiny Turkish Cypriot presence ended at the time the British took over. Throughout the British period the Greek Cypriot population of the village constantly fluctuated. The 1960 census put the total population of the village at 69.

Displacement:

In August 1974, all the Greek Cypriots of the village fled from the advancing Turkish army to the other side of the divide. Currently, like most of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Chrysiliou are scattered throughout the island’s south, with large pockets in the towns. The number of the Chrysiliou Greek Cypriots who were displaced in 1974 was around 70-80 (69 in the 1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by displaced Turkish Cypriots from Kato Polemidia/Aşağı Binatlı(277) in the Limassol district. There are also a number of Turkish nationals most of whom are family members of Turkish military personnel serving in Cyprus. The 2006 Turkish Cypriot census put the village’s population at 214, but as explained, only half of these are permanent inhabitants.  

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• Standing Cypriot Commission for the Standardization of Geographical Names (2007), “Οδηγος Τυποποιησης Ονοματων (Guide to Standardized Names),” Nicosia: Ministry of Education and Culture.
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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)