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Amadies or Ammadhies was a Turkish Cypriot village situated in the Tylliria/Dillirga region, four kilometers west of Limnitis/Yeşilırmak, north of the Green Line. The village’s name derived from a corrupted Greek word “ammodouies,” meaning “sandy beach.” In 1958, Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Günebakan, literally meaning “facing the day.”

 

 

In all censuses for which the village is recorded, we see that it was predominantly inhabited by Muslims (Turkish Cypriots), with only a handful of Greek Cypriot inhabitants occasionally appearing in the records. The population of Amadies/Günebakan increased steadily from 118 in 1891 to 175 in 1946. However, a significant drop was recorded in 1960.

Displacement:

No one was displaced from this village during the intercommunal strife of the 1960s. However, during this period, the village served as an important reception center for Turkish Cypriot refugees who fled from nearby villages. According to Richard Patrick, in 1971 there were still 62 displaced Turkish Cypriots residing in the village. Patrick also writes that Amadies/Günebakan was part of the Limnitis/Yeşilırmak(061) enclave. Limnitis/Yeşilırmak(061), Xerovounos, Yörük köy (a refugee camp founded in 1964) and Amadies/Günebakan were enclosed on three sides by a fortified ceasefire zone which had been the scene of a close armed confrontation in early 1964 and 1968. Many displaced Turkish Cypriots from Vroisha/Yağmuralan(105) and Agios Ioannis/Süleymaniye(094), as well as some families from other Tylliria/Dillirga villages, sought refuge in this enclave during the 1960s. Because of the village’s proximity to the Green Line, it began to be used as a military camp in 1964. For this reason, as well as its nearness to potential confrontations, both the village’s original inhabitants and displaced persons from surrounding villages gradually began to move to Limnitis/Yeşilırmak(061) in the 1960s. After the 1974 war, all remaining civilians were transferred out of the village. Currently, the displaced Turkish Cypriots of Amadies/Günebakan are scattered throughout the island’s north, with large pockets in the town of Morphou/Güzelyurt(072) and the village of Karavostasi/Gemikonağı(045).

Current Inhabitants:

The village is empty and in ruins.  

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• 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.
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• TRNC 2006 census preliminary results can be found at:  www.devplan.org
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• Yorgancıoğlu,  Oğuz: Kıbrıs’ta Türkçe Yer Adları ve Veriliş Yöntemleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma Kıbrıs Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt : 2, Sayı : 3, Yıl : 96

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)