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KOURTAKA

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Kourtaka is a village located in the upper Ezousas valley, fifteen kilometers northeast of Paphos (Ktima) and three kilometers east of Letimbou. Goodwin suggests that Kourtaka may mean “rugged” or “half-destroyed” in Greek. On the other hand, Turkish Cypriots claim that the name derived from kurt ağa, meaning “wolf agha,” or possibly from Kürt ağa, meaning “Kurdish agha.” They also claim that this agha, or landlord, was the founder of the village. In 1958, Turkish Cypriots adopted the Kurtağa version as the alternative Turkish name for the village.

 
Historical Population:

As may be seen from the chart above, Kourtaka was a Turkish Cypriot village from the Ottoman period. Throughout the British period the village’s population fluctuated constantly but never increased.

Displacement:

No one was displaced from Kourtaka/Kurtağa during the emergency years of the 1950s. However, during the intercommunal strife of 1963 and early 1964, most of the villagers fled to Pitargou(331) on 3 February 1964. However, when three days later Pitargou(331) village was attacked, the Pitargou(331) villagers, along with Turkish Cypriots from Kourtaka and Choulou(298) who had taken refuge there, decided to flee to Axylou(297) village, believing that joining together with the Axylou Fighters would enable them to better defend themselves. Although some Kourtaka Turkish Cypriots remained in Axylou(297) until 1975, overcrowding forced others to seek refuge in other locations, such as Mandria/Yeşilova(322) and Stavrokonnou/Aydoğan(338).

In September 1975, all the Kourtaka Turkish Cypriots were evacuated under the escort of UNFICYP and transferred to the northern part of the divide, along with Turkish Cypriot villagers from the locations where they had taken refuge. They were mainly resettled in Lysi/Akdoğan(167) (7 families), Assia/Paşaköy(131) (2 families), Karavas/Alsancak(226) (2 families), Agios Georgios/Karaoğlanoğlu(210) of Kyrenia (2 families), Kazafani/Ozanköy(229) (2 families), Nicosia(074) (2 families) and Kyrenia(236) (1 family). The number of Kourtaka/Kurtağa Turkish Cypriots who were displaced after 1974 was around 50 (38 in 1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

After the departure of the Turkish Cypriots, the village was not inhabited. Meanwhile, due to the abandonment and looting of the village, most of the Turkish Cypriot houses of the village fell into ruin.  


 
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


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