Click Here for Map

Mari is a large village situated in the Larnaca district, twenty-five kilometers east of the city of Limassol on a hill immediately south of the Nicosia-Limassol highway. Goodwin suggests that Mari could mean a “small marina” or else could be the corruption of a church name, Agia Marina. Since the Ottoman period Turkish Cypriots have used the alternative name Tatlısu, meaning “sweet water.”

 

 

As can be seen in the above chart, although there was a small Greek Cypriot community living in the village in 1921, from the Ottoman period the village was predominantly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. Throughout the British period, the population of the village increased significantly, rising from 270 persons in 1891 to 922 in 1960. The reason for the sudden appearance of 256 Greek Cypriots living in the village in 1960 was due to a new mining area in Mari’s vicinity. Richard Patrick argues that both Mari and Ziygi were in fact solely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots before the fighting started in 1963. He adds that the 1960 figures “may indicate the presence of an itinerant Greek Cypriot labour force working in or near those villages at the time of the 1960 census.”

Displacement:

In 1963 and 1964 the village served as an important reception centre for Turkish Cypriot displaced families who evacuated their villages. Richard Patrick recorded 180 displaced Turkish Cypriots still living in the village in 1971. The majority of the displaced Turkish Cypriots who were living in the village at the time fled from Ziygi/Terazi(376) Maroni(364) and Kalavasos(355) villages. The last conflict-related displacement took place during the 1974 war. In September 1974, most of the Turkish Cypriots from the village fled to the Turkish-controlled north of the island. Many also sought refuge in the Dhekelia and Akrotiri British Sovereign Base Areas until they were resettled in the north. The remaining Turkish Cypriots were evacuated by UNFICYP in August 1975. Most of the Turkish Cypriots of Mari were first resettled in Akanthou(126) village in the Famagusta district, renaming it Tatlısu. However, following the displacement of the Greek Cypriots from Belapais(236), the majority of the Mari Turkish Cypriots managed to resettled in that village in 1976-77 and have remained there. The total number of Turkish Cypriot displaced persons from this village is estimated to be around 700 (666 in 1960).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is inhabited by Greek Cypriot displaced persons from the north. According to the village’s web-site, they mainly came from Kalograia(223), Agios Epiktitos(208), Klepini(231), Koutsovendis(234), Kalopsida(151), Pigi Peristerona(183), Exo Metochi(032), Kontea(156), Agia Trias(114), Famagusta(140), Argaki(020), Angastina(128), Prastio(186) of Famagusta, Gypsou(150), Akanthou(126), Kapouti(042), Lysi(167), Milia(175), Davlos(136), Makrasyka(169), Stylloi(195), Zodeia(047), and Acheritou(110)( www.mari.org.cy). In 1976 the inhabitants of the settlement numbered 651. However, the 2001 census put the village’s population at 177.   

• Colonial Office (1893), “Cyprus: Report on the census of Cyprus, taken 6th April 1891,” Mediterranean, No. 39. London: Colonial Office.
• 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

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)