KATO ZODEIA

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Kato (lower) Zodeia is a twin village of Pano (upper) Zodeia, located five kilometers southeast of the town of Morphou/Güzelyurt in the middle of the Morphou plain. Goodwin claims that Zodeia means “ghost” in ancient Greek. Interestingly, in Cypriot Greek, Zodkia or Zotkion means “witch.” Turkish Cypriots changed the name to Aşağı (Lower) Bostancı in 1975. Bostancı means “gardener.” Currently, Zodeia hosts one of the six crossing points across the Green Line.
 
 
Historical Population:

Until 1974, the village was solely inhabited by Greek Cypriots. As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) constituted the sole inhabitants of the village. Throughout the British period the Greek Cypriot population of the village increased significantly, from 566 in 1891 to 2,278 in 1960.

Displacement:

In August 1974, all the Greek Cypriots of the village fled from the advancing Turkish army. According to Goodwin, many of the displaced were resettled in Kato Polemidia(277) and Pano Polemidia(278). The number of the Greek Cypriot displaced from Kato Zodeia was approximately 2,900 (2,894 in 1973).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by displaced Turkish Cypriots from Agios Ioannis(285) in the Paphos district. There are also some families from various other Paphos and Limassol villages, including: Episkopi(262), Asomatos(259), Malia(270) and Kantou(265) in the Limassol district; and Kidasi(310), Tera(339), Vretsia(342), Agios Georgios(284) and Gialia/Yayla(307) in the Paphos district. There are also some families from Turkey who settled in the village in 1976-77. During the orange-picking seasons, the village also hosts many seasonal agricultural workers from Turkey. They are usually lodged in tents or prefabricated accommodations that are specifically erected for them, usually located in the orange orchards where they work.

  


 
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