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Sygkrasi is a village in the Famagusta district, located threekilometers east of Lapathos/Boğaziçi. It means “mixing” or “merging” in Greek. The reason for using this name is unknown, but Goodwin suggests the name might be explained by the location of the village, as it is situated where the Mesaoria Plain “mixes” with the foothills of Five Finger mountain range. In 1958, Turkish Cypriots adopted an alternative Turkish name, Sınırüstü, meaning “on the border.” The same rationale may apply to their choice of this name. Interestingly, in 1975, Turkish Cypriots renamed the village Gölbaşı; however, for undetermined reasons, they soon returned to using Sınırüstü, which is the current Turkish name of the village.
Historical Population:
As can be seen from the chart above, Sygkrasi/Sınırüstü had been a mixed village since the Ottoman period. In the 1831 Ottoman census, Christians constituted a slight majority at 53%. This percentage decreased considerably after the first decades of the British administration, falling to 33% in 1891. However, during the first half of the 20th century, while the Greek Cypriot population increased, the Turkish Cypriot population became stagnant and gradually declined. In the 1946 census, Turkish Cypriots constituted only 35% of the population, a considerable drop from 66% in 1891. Over the course of the 20th century, the total population of the village experienced a steady rise until 1946, when the population was recorded as 345, but the subsequent 1960 census shows a decline to 277.
Displacement:
In February 1964, due to intercommunal strife, all the Sygkrasi Turkish Cypriots fled and took refuge in nearby villages, mainly in Agios Iakovos/Altınova(121), and in the town of Famagusta. Although some returned to the village after 1968, the majority remained in the places where they had sought refuge. Most of those who did not return in 1968 were relocated back to their village after the 1974 war, though some still refused to return and instead stayed in the locations where they had sought refuge in 1964 or resettled in some other locations, mainly in the cities. Geographer Richard Patrick recorded 35 Turkish Cypriots living in Syngrasis in 1971.
All the Greek Cypriots of Sygkrasi were displaced in August 1974. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Sygkrasi are scattered throughout the island’s south with large pockets in the cities. The displaced population of Sygkrasi could be estimated to be around 200, since its Greek Cypriot population was 175 in 1960.
Current Inhabitants: Apart from the original Turkish Cypriots of Sygkrasi /Sınırüstü who returned after 1974, the village was also repopulated by Turkish Cypriots from nearby villages. In addition, a small number of families from Turkey settled in the village in 1976. They are mainly from the Çarşamba district of Samsun Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The 2006 census puts the village’s population at 154.
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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