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Askeia or Assia or Asha is a large village in the Famagusta district, located sixkilometers northwest of Vatili/Vadili(201) and two kilometers east of Afanteia/Gaziköy(112) village.The origin of the name is obscure. According to some Greek Cypriots, the name derived from the Greek word “askia,” meaning “without any shade.” On the other hand, Turkish Cypriots claim that the name is the corrupted version of the Turkish word “paşa,” meaning “military general.” Because the Turkish version of the village’s name, Paşa köy, has also been in use for centuries, it is very hard to tell which claim is correct. However, the Greek Cypriot scholar Menardos insists that, during the Lusignan period, the name of the village was already “Ashia.” 

 

As can be seen from the chart above, Assia had been a mixed village since the Ottoman period, and all censuses show a significant Greek Cypriot majority. In the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) made up almost 62% of the population. This percentage increased during the first decades of the British occupation, rising to 87.7% in 1891. During the first half of the 20^th century while the Christian (Greek Cypriot) population increased further, the Muslim population stagnated. In the 1946 census, the Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) constituted only 6% of the population. This percentage had been almost 13% in 1891.

Displacement:

In 1958, due to intercommunal strife, all the Turkish Cypriots of the village fled and took refuge in nearby villages such as Afanteia/Gaziköy(112), and later in Nicosia. While some were relocated back to Assia/Paşaköy after 1974, many remained where they had taken refuge in 1958 or resettled in other locations, particularly in cities. The number of the displaced Turkish Cypriots in 1958 could be estimated to be around 150, since its Turkish Cypriot population was 136 in 1946.

All the Greek Cypriots of Assia were displaced in August 1974. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Assia are scattered throughout the island’s south with a large pocket in Nicosia. The displaced population of Ashia could be estimated to be around 2,750, since its Greek Cypriot population was 2,734 in 1973.

It is also important to note that Assia has the largest number of Greek Cypriot missing persons from the 1974 war. A total of 105 persons are still listed as missing after having last been seen in Assia, the largest number for any single location in Cyprus.

Current Inhabitants:

Apart from the original Turkish Cypriots of Assia who returned after 1974, the village was mainly repopulated by displaced Turkish Cypriots from villages such as Evretou/Dereboyu(300), Pelathousa/Karaağaç(330), Melandra/Beşiktepe(325), Meladeia/Malatya(324), Loukrounou/Olukönü(318), Trimithousa Chrysochou/Uzunmeşe(341) and Zacharia/Tatlıca(343) in the Paphos district. There are also some families from Turkey who were settled in the village in 1976, mainly from the Adana and Gaziantep provinces. The 2006 census puts the village’s population at 1,929.   

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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)