Click Here for Map
Choulou, or Hulu, is a village in the southeast foothills of the Troodos mountain range, located twenty kilometers northeast of Paphos (Ktima) and two kilometers north of Lemona. The origin of the name is obscure. From the Ottoman period until 1964, the village was inhabited by both communities. Turkish Cypriots did not adopt an alternative name.
Historical Population:
Choulou was always a mixed village with a Christian (Greek Cypriot) majority. As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) constituted almost 70% of the population. This ratio slightly increased to 77% in 1891, almost fifteen years after the British arrived in the island. By the end of the first half of the 20th century, the Greek Cypriot proportion of the population increased much more, until it reached almost 86%.
Displacement:
On 3 February 1964, due to rising tension in the village, all the Turkish Cypriot families evacuated Choulou in the evening and sought refuge in Pitargou/Akkargı(331) village. However, on 6 February 1964, Greek Cypriot forces laid siege to Pitargou. After some deliberation amongst themselves, the Pitargou(331) villagers and the displaced Turkish Cypriots from Choulou decided to seek refuge in Axylou(297) village, believing that joining together with the Axylou Fighters would enable them better to defend themselves. Although many of the Choulou Turkish Cypriots remained in Axylou(297) until 1975, overcrowding forced others to seek refuge in other locations, such as Mandria/Yeşilova(322), Stavrokonnou/Aydoğan(338), and Paphos(329).
All the Choulou displaced Turkish Cypriots remained in these locations until 1975, when they fled to the island’s north. According to some villagers, many of them left secretly over the mountains to the north, while others found refuge in the Akrotiri Sovereign British Base Area until they were transferred to north Cyprus via Turkey. Those who stayed behind in the villages were eventually escorted by UNFICYP to the northern part of the divide on 30 August 1975. They were mainly resettled in Lapithos/Lapta(237), Karavas/Alsancak(236), Lysi/Akdoğan(167), Nicosia(074) and Famagusta(140). The number of Choulou Turkish Cypriots who were displaced after 1974 was around 130-140 (119 in 1960 census).
Current Inhabitants: Because Choulou’s Turkish Cypriot houses were destroyed in 1964 and therefore unusable after the island’s division, no displaced Greek Cypriots from the northern part of the divide were settled in the village. As a result, the village is currently occupied only by its original Greek Cypriot inhabitants. Over the last couple of decades, many young people have begun leaving the village and migrating to urban areas in search of a better future. Because of this new movement, the population of the village has declined significantly. According to the 2001 census, there were only 191 persons living in the village (521 in 1976).
REFERENCES
Books and Reports:
-
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:
|
Back to Top