Meneou is a village situated in the Larnaca district, almost eight kilometers southwest of the town of Larnaca on the road to Kiti. The origin of the name is obscure. However, according to Goodwin the villagers claim that the name derives from “milliunia,” meaning “innumerable.” On the other hand he suggests that the place was most likely named after a feudal lord who owned the area as a fief during the mediaeval period. The Turkish Cypriot alternative name Menevi has been in use since the Ottoman period. The origin of this name is obscure.

As can be seen in the above chart, the village has had a mixed population since the Ottoman period. However, Greek Cypriots were always in a clear majority. Throughout the British period, while the Greek Cypriot population increased steadily, the Turkish Cypriot proportion declined from 44% in 1891 to 13% in 1960.

Displacement:

The first-conflict related displacement took place between December 1963 and January 1964, when all the Turkish Cypriots from this village fled the village and sought refuge in nearby villages such as Dromolaxia/Mormenekşe(353) and Alaminos(347). The number of Turkish Cypriots who fled the village was approximately 25-30 (22 in 1960). They remained in those villages where they sought refuge until 1974 when they were once again moved, this time to the Turkish-controlled north of the island, to be resettled in the Famagusta district.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by Greek Cypriots displaced from their homes in the north and the village’s original Greek Cypriot residents. By 1980 a large Modern Housing Development with 470 units had been constructed for the displaced Greek Cypriots from the north. The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 1,196.

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• Fehmi, Hasan (2003), “Güney’de Kalan Değerlerimiz,” Lefkoşa (Nicosia): Özyay Matbaacılık.
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• Giray, Halil: KKTC Yerleşim Birimleri, Yürürlükteki ve Eski İsimler Listesi KKTC İskân Bakanlığı : KKTC Coğrafi İsimler Kataloğu : (Cilt – I and II), Lefkoşa.
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• Hart-Davis, C. H (1922), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1921, taken on the 24th April, 1921,” London: Waterlow & Sons.
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• 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.
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  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
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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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• 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.
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• 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)