Alaminos is a village situated in the Larnaca district, thee kilometers southwest of Anafotida and four kilometers southeast of Kofinou/Geçitkale. Throughout most of its history this village was inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots. A small stream divided the village, with Turkish Cypriot houses concentrated on the eastern bank and Greek Cypriot homes on the western bank. The village was most probably named after a German holy man who came to Cyprus in the 13th century. Turkish Cypriots call the village Aleminyo, a slightly different version of Alaminos.
Historical Population
As may be seen in the above chart, the village was mixed from the Ottoman period, and Muslims were in the majority until 1901. However, throughout the British period, while the Greek Cypriot population of the village increased significantly, the Turkish Cypriot population stagnated somewhat. During the British period the Greek Cypriot proportion of the population rose from 47% in 1891 to 55% in 1960.
Displacement:
No one was displaced during the intercommunal tensions of the late 1950s nor during the intercommunal strife of 1963-64. The first conflict-related displacement occurred in 1974, when in reaction to the Turkish military offensive of 20 July, the Greek Cypriot National Guard attacked the village. Turkish Cypriot men took up a defensive position; the two sides exchanged fire, and both sides suffered casualties, resulting in the death of five Greek Cypriots and eight Turkish Cypriots. On 21 July, the Turkish Cypriot Fighters surrendered, following which thirteen of them were taken to the village center and executed. Meanwhile, most of the civilian population sought refuge in Kofinou/Geçitkale(360), where males of fighting age were taken to a POW camp that had been erected beside the village. Many families fled to the other side of the divide through hills and plains, usually after sunset. By December 1974, there were no Turkish Cypriots left in the village. The remaining families who sought refuge in Kofinou(360) were transferred to the north in December 1974 together with the villagers from Kofinou/Geçitkale(360). The majority of the Alaminos Turkish Cypriots were resettled in Kythrea/Değirmenlik(056). The total number of displaced Turkish Cypriots from Alaminos is estimated to be 280 (292 in 1973).
Current Inhabitants:
Currently the village is mainly inhabited by its original Greek Cypriot villagers. However, there are approximately 40 displaced Greek Cypriots families living in the Turkish Cypriot neighborhood of the village (www.alaminos.org). The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 280.
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