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Deneia is a village located in the Nicosia district of Cyprus, thirteen miles west of the capital city of Nicosia. It is one of the four villages located within the United Nations-controlled buffer zone. The origin of the name is obscure. Unlike for many other villages in which they lived, Turkish Cypriots never adoped an alternative name for this village.

 

 

Deneia was a mixed village until 1964. As may be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) constituted the majority of the inhabitants (68%). In 1891, however, their percentage decreased to 49%. By the time of the 1960 census, the Turkish Cypriot share of the population had declined to 39.5%.

Displacement:

The first conflict-related displacement took place in January 1964, when the Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of Deneia left the village for more secure Turkish Cypriot-controlled settlements such as Fota/Dağyolu(221), Krini/Pınarbaşı(235), Ortakeuy/Ortaköy(080) and Lefka/Lefke(060). They stayed in those locations until 1974, and after the war many of them were given accommodations and land in Agios Ermolaos/Şirinevler(209), where they settled. The number of those who were displaced was approximately 140 (128 in 1960). In addition, the Greek Cypriot inhabitants of Deneia were temporarily displaced when the Turkish army occupied the village in 1974, but the later readjustment of the ceasefire line resulted in the army’s evacuation of the village and the Greek Cypriots’ return.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is inhabited only by its original Greek Cypriot villagers. The Turkish sector of the village is in ruins. Although the Green Line runs through Dhenia village, the only soldiers in the village are from UNFICYP. The last census of 2001 puts the total population of the village at 304.

  

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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)