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Lakatameia is a suburb of Nicosia with a separate municipality. Officially the town emerged from two different villages: Pano (Upper) and Kato (Lower) Lakatameia. Until 1958, Kato Lakatameia was co-inhabited by Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Its name originates from the Greek word alakatia, i.e., wells, which were apparently abundant in the old village. 

 

 

From the Ottoman period until 1958, the village was mixed, with a tiny Turkish Cypriot neighborhood. As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) constituted 73% of the population. In 1891, their percentage increased to 87%. Throughout the British period, while the Greek Cypriot population steadily increased, the Turkish Cypriot population fluctuated. The 1960 census put the village’s population at 1,128 (all Greek Cypriots).

Displacement:

The first conflict-related displacement took place during the intercommunal disturbances of 1958. All the Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of Kato Lakatameia fled the village and moved to the Turkish Cypriot-controlled part of Nicosia(074). Currently, most of the Turkish Cypriots of Lakatameia are scattered around north Cyprus, with a small pocket in Nicosia.

After the division in 1974, Lakatameia became an important reception center for displaced Greek Cypriots arriving from the north. Substantial refugee housing was developed in the area, with the largest development in Anthoupolis. In 1982, this refugee housing establishment alone was home to 4,708 displaced persons.

Current Inhabitants:

Today Lakatamia is mainly inhabited by its original Greek Cypriot villagers and displaced Greek Cypriots who relocated there in1974, after having fled from their homes in north Cyprus. According to theLakatamia municipality, the displaced families were housed in state refugee settlements or obtained accommodation under private self-housing schemes. This, in combination with the general trend of villagers living close to Nicosia to move to its suburbs, has resulted in a population explosion, changing Lakatameia from a village to a city. The last census of 2001 put the total population of this municipality (both Kato and Pano Lakatameia) at 28,477. The municipality, on the other hand, estimates the current population to be at least 40,000.  

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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)