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The small town of Yialousa is located in the middle of Karpasia/Karpaz peninsula, twenty kilometers southwest of Rizokarpaso/Dipkarpaz and five kilometers northeast of Ayios Andronikos. It is situated on the Famagusta-Rizokarpaso road. Yialousa means “sea” in Cypriot Greek. It was renamed Maltepe by Turkish Cypriots in 1975 after a cigarette brand name (also a place name in Turkey). Many villages in the Karpasia/Karpaz region were renamed after certain cigarette brand names in 1975 (Vathklakkas became Derince, Vasili became Gelincik, Vokholidia became Bafra and Ayia Trias became Sipahi). The explanation given was that the region was the main tobacco growing area of Cyprus. In 1981 it was renamed again after the home village (Kokkino) of those displaced Turkish Cypriots who were resettled there in 1976. Erenköy was the alternative Turkish name of Kokkina(050) in the Tylliria/Dillirga region, which was adopted in 1958. It means “saintly village.” Erenköy is also a name of a neighborhood in Istanbul.
Historical Population:
As can be seen from the chart above, Yialousa was always predominantly inhabited by Greek Cypriots. In the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians constituted the sole population. During the first half of the twentieth century, the population increased steadily from 2,033 in 1901 to 3,186 in 1931. However in 1946, the population of the village declined drastically to 2,768. This negative trend continued until 1973, when the population of the village was estimated at 2,460. Goodwin claims that Yialousa did not grow between 1931 and 1960 because of the economic hardship prevailing in the region at the time. During this period many people from Yialousa and surrounding villages migrated to the UK, US and Australia to find a better life. The other important reason for the decline is that, until 1946, Ayia Trias village was included within Yialousa’s village borders and was counted as part of Yialousa in censuses.
Displacement:
Most of the Yialousa Greeks were initially not displaced in August 1974, when the Turkish army and Turkish Cypriot fighters reached the village. The village had an enclaved Greek Cypriot population of 1,909 as late as October 1975. By early December 1975, this number was down to 537. The number of enclaved persons dropped further to 310 by July 1977, and by April 1978 only two Greek Cypriots remained. The restrictions such as freedom of movement and education rights imposed on them were the major causes of their departure. The other important reason was family reunifications. When 139 fighting-age males of the village were taken to POW camps and later exchanged with Turkish Cypriot POWs from the south, they ended up on other side of the divide. Consequently, many families left the village to reunite with them in south Cyprus. They were not allowed back. From the above-mentioned POWs, eleven went missing, never to be seen again. In addition, the arrival of displaced Turkish Cypriots from Tylliria in 1976 also accelerated their departure. After the Vienna agreements, UNFICYP established an operation post there in August 1975. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Yialousa are scattered throughout the island’s south, with large pockets in towns. The number of the Yialousa Greek Cypriots who were displaced in 1974 was around 2500 (2460 in the 1973 census).
Current Inhabitants: Following the unfortunate departure of the Yialousa Greeks in 1975-78, the town was repopulated by Turkish Cypriots from the Tylliria region in northwest Cyprus. The displaced Turkish Cypriots mainly came from villages such as Kokkina(050) (now a military exclave), Alevga(014), Mansoura(66), Sellain T’Appi(095) and Agios Theodoros(009). Over the last twenty years, many European citizens, Turkish nationals and wealthy Turkish Cypriots from elsewhere in the island’s north (including returnees from abroad) have also bought property, built houses, and settled here. The 2006 census puts the village’s population at 1,640.
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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