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Vavilas/Güzelyalı is situated in the Kyrenia district, almost three kilometers west of Lapithos on the coast line and below Vasileia/Karşıyaka village. It was historically a Greek Cypriot dominated village. The origin of the village’s name is obscure. In 1975 Turkish Cypriots adopted an alternative name, Güzelyalı, meaning “beautiful villa,” in reference to an old mansion situated in the village near the water. The village had a functioning small port mainly serving fishermen, with fourteen boats registered there in 1970. Goodwin claims that in 1960 there were 225 Greek Cypriots and 25 Turkish Cypriots residing in the village.

 

As can be seen from the chart above, Christians almost always constituted the sole inhabitants of this settlement. At the turn of the century there were no Muslim inhabitants living in the village. Until 1921, the village had around 30-40 inhabitants. We could not determine the separate demographics of the village after 1921, because the village’s population was counted with Vasileia in censuses after that date.

Displacement:

Due to intercommunal strife, all the Turkish Cypriots (approximately 25 persons) were displaced from the village on 16-17 January 1964 and took refuge in Templos/Zeytinlik(248) and Boghaz(215) villages. The Turkish Cypriots remained in enclaves until the end of 1974, when they returned to Vavilas after the flight of the village’s Greek Cypriot inhabitants. Currently the displaced Greek Cypriots of Vavilas are scattered throughout the island’s south, with small pockets in towns. The total number of Greek Cypriots displaced from Vasileia and Vavilas in 1974 was estimated to be around 950. Of these, 250 are estimated to be from Vavilas.

Current Inhabitants:

The original Turkish Cypriots of Vavilas returned in 1974 and 1975, along with some of the original Turkish Cypriots from Vasileia whose homes had been destroyed in the previous decade and who settled in Greek Cypriot properties in Vavilas. The current inhabitants of Vavilas also include displaced Turkish Cypriots from the island’s south, from villages such as Agioi Iliofotoi(003) in the Nicosia (south) district and various Paphos villages. During the last 20 years, many European citizens and Turkish Cypriots from elsewhere (including returnees from the UK) have bought property and settled in the village. The 2006 census gives the Vasileia (including Vavilas) population as 2,110, but this number can exceed 3,000 during holiday seasons because of summer houses in the area. 

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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)