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Rizokarpaso is a small town situated on the Karpasia/Karpaz peninsula in northeastern Cyprus. It is located half-way between the small town of Yialousa/Yeni Erenköy and Apostolos Andreas monastery. The meaning of the name is obscure, although Jack Goodwin claims that Karpaso or Karpasia, means “root of the cotton” plant in ancient Greek. Turkish Cypriots slightly altered the name to Dipkarpaz, which means “bottom of the Karpasia.”
Historical Population
French historian Mas Latrie claimed that Rizokarpaso had a population of less than 500 in 1850 and was predominantly inhabited by Muslims at the time. However, as may be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians constituted the only inhabitants of the village. At the turn of the century there were only one or two Muslim families staying in the village. Although the population of the village showed a steady increase during the first half of the 20th century, a considerable drop was recorded after 1946. The first census of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960 put the village’s population at 3,153, falling from 4,052 only fourteen years earlier.
Displacement:
During the 1974 Turkish military offensive, the peninsula was cut off by Turkish troops, and this prevented the town's Greek Cypriot inhabitants from fleeing to the south. As of October 1975, the number of the Greek Cypriots who were still in the village was 1,996. By October 1976 their number dropped to 1,664, and by May 1980 their number decreased to 1,002. Today, despite the reduction in their numbers, with 250 only Greek Cypriot inhabitants, Rizokarpaso is the home of the largest Greek Cypriot population in the north. The total number of the Rizokarpaso Greek Cypriots who were uprooted from their homes between 1974 and 1985 is estimated to be around 2,500.
Current Inhabitants: This village was used for the settlement of Turkish nationals from Turkey in 1977. They came from very different locations in Turkey: Ağrı, Muş and Bulanık in eastern Turkey; the Akkuş, Çarşamba, Akkçaabat, Sürmene, Araklı and Trabzon districts and provinces of the Black Sea coast; and the Adana province in southern Turkey. According to the 2006 Turkish Cypriot census the population of the village was 1,935. During the last ten years, some Turkish Cypriots and European citizens have bought property and are now settled in the vicinity of the village.
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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