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Kythrea is a small town located fifteen kilometers south of the Five Finger mountain peak and northeast of Nicosia. It is generally believed that the name Kythrea comes from the ancient kingdom of Chytroi, which was situated in the vicinity of the current settlement. Since the Ottoman period, the village has also been called Değirmenlik, meaning “place of mills,” most likely because in the mediaeval period the village had water mills used for grinding grain. Even as late as 1879, there were still 32 functioning mills situated in the village. These mills were turned by water from a spring at the top of the village.

 

 

The village had always been predominantly inhabited by Christians (Greek Cypriots). As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) constituted less than 1% of the population. Throughout the British period, the population increased steadily, reaching 2,955 in 1960 from 1,653 in 1891.

Displacement:

The first conflict-related displacement occurred in August 1974, when all the Greek Cypriots of this small town were displaced, fleeing from the advancing Turkish army. Currently, like many of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Kythrea are scattered throughout the island’s south, with large pockets in towns. The number of the Kythrea Greek Cypriots who were displaced in 1974 was approximately 3,000 (2,951 in the 1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Today the village is mainly inhabited by displaced Turkish Cypriots. The largest displaced community came from Alamino(347), a village in the Larnaca district. The other Turkish Cypriot displaced persons who currently live in Kythrea/Değirmenlik are from a variety of places, including Mathiatis/Matyat(069) in the Nicosia district; Aplanda(344) and Klavdia/Alaniçi(359) in the Larnaca district; Lapithiou/Bozalan(316), Kidasi(Jiyas)/Ceyhan(310), Tera/Çakırlar(339), Kouklia/Sakarya(312), Souskiou/Susuz(337), Istincho/Tabanlı(308), Foinikas/Finike(304), and Asprogia/Aktepe(296) in the Paphos district. In addition there are also Turkish nationals who settled in the village after 1974. They are mainly from the Mersin, Alaşehir, Anamur, Muş, Çaykara and Sürmene districts and provinces of Turkey. The last census of 2001 puts the total population of the village at 3,256.   

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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)