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Lapithiou is a village located on the southwest foothills of the Troodos mountain range, two kilometers southwest of Panayia Khrysorroyiatissa monastery. The village was completely destroyed during the 1953 earthquake, and in 1954 the government (British) rebuilt the whole village from prefabricated houses. Goodwin claims that the village was named after a place in Greece from which its first settlers may have migrated sometime during the late Bronze Age. However, Turkish Cypriot villagers claim that the name means “small Lapithos,” and they believe that the first settlers of the village came from the town of Lapithos/Lapta in the Kyrenia region. Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name of Bozalan in 1958. It might have been inspired by a name in Turkey.
Historical Population:
As may be seen from the chart above, the village was solely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots from the Ottoman period. During the British period, the population of the village fluctuated between 110 and 150.
Displacement:
No one was displaced from this village during the emergency years of the 1950s. However, on 8 March 1964, Greek Cypriot forces surrounded the village, and a clash ensued. After this incident, the Turkish Cypriots of Lapithiou fled to the nearby village of Anadiou/Görmeli(290). Poor conditions in Anadiou(290) forced them to move ten days later to Chrysochou/Altıncık(299) village. Despite the conditions under which they left, however, some Lapithiou Turkish Cypriots returned to the village during harvest time, and later many chose to return. In 1971 there were 110 people living in Lapithiou. The 1973 census put the village’s population at 203 but this must have been just an estimation rather than the actual count since the Turkish Cypriot sources claim that approximately 50 of the village’s inhabitants continued to stay, until 1974, in the villages where they had sought refuge in 1964.
In 1975 the Lapithiou Turkish Cypriots, both those living in their village and those who had earlier moved to another village, began their move to the north. While some families left secretly over the mountains, 75 stayed behind and were eventually transferred to north Cyprus under the escort of UNFICYP on 27 August 1975. They were mainly resettled in Larnaca tis Lapithou/Kozanköy(238), Lapithos/Lapta(237), Morphou/Güzelyurt(072), Kyra/Mevlevi(055), Agridaki/Alemdağ(212), Kythrea/Değirmenlik(056), Komi Kebir/Büyük Konuk(155) and Famagusta(140). The number of Lapithiou Turkish Cypriots who were displaced after 1974 was around 170-180 (156 in 1960 census).
Current Inhabitants: After the departure of the Turkish Cypriots, Lapithiou/Bozalan village was not used for any resettlement. All the houses of the village fell into ruins.
REFERENCES
Books and Reports:
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Colonial Office (1893), “Cyprus: Report on the census of Cyprus, taken 6th April 1891,” Mediterranean, No. 39. London: Colonial Office.
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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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