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Agios Andronikos, or Topçuköy, is a Turkish Cypriot village situated in Famagusta district, four miles west of the Trikomo/Yeni İskele municipality. Agios Andronikos means “Saint Androniko” in Greek, and the village probably acquired that name before the Ottomans arrived in the sixteenth century. The Turkish name, Topçuköy, has been in use at least since the seventeen century. It means “village of cannoneers,” and Turkish Cypriots from this village claim that their ancestors arrived as soldiers with the Ottoman conquest. 

 

 

As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831 Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) constituted the sole inhabitants of the village. Throughout the British period the village was always predominantly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots, and a small number of Greek Cypriots appear in the records in the last decade of the nineteenth century. During the first half of the twentieth century, the village’s population steadily increased from 129 in 1901, to 286 in 1946. The 1960 census confirms that this upward growth trend continued, and the population in that year was recorded as 297.

Displacement:

From its original population no one was displaced; however, the village served as a transitory reception centre for displaced Turkish Cypriots in 1964. From 1964 to 1974, it was administratively part of the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Famagusta. Patrick estimated the village’s population at 375 in 1971, an increase from 297 in 1960.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently Topçuköy is mainly inhabited by its original villagers. The last Turkish Cypriot census of 2006 puts the village’s population at 336.  

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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)