Until 1964, Lefka/Lefke was a mixed small town with a Turkish Cypriot majority. According to the 1831 Ottoman census, Muslims constituted 90% of Lefka’s population. This percentage slightly dropped to 80% in 1891, almost fifteen years after the British arrived. Throughout the twentieth century, the population growth of the village was quite steady, substantially increasing when the copper mines in nearby locations began to operate in 1921. These mine works attracted many workers and their families from all around Cyprus, who then settled in the town. By 1960 the population of Lefka was 3,674, quite an important rise from 1,162 in 1921.
Displacement:
The first conflict-related violence took place in the late 1950s, when most of the Greek Cypriots of the town fled from the intercommunal tensions caused by the EOKA struggle. By 1960 there were only 88 Greek Cypriots left in the town. However, four years later, again due to intercommunal strife, all the remaining Greek Cypriots of Lefka/Lefke fled the town. Although none of the town’s Turkish Cypriots were displaced in the 1960s, during that period the village served as an important reception center for many displaced Turkish Cypriots who had fled from nearby villages. According to Richard Patrick, the first evacuation in the Lefka region took place at Karavostasi(045) and Xeros at the end of December 1963, when Greek Cypriot irregulars forced a number of Turkish Cypriots to leave at gunpoint. Patrick claims that this harassment was probably in retribution for the above-mentioned evacuation of hundreds of Greek Cypriots from Lefka/Lefke in 1958 during the EOKA campaign. The second wave of displacement followed the freedom of movement agreement in January 1964. Most of the families displaced during these two periods of conflict found refuge in Lefka/Lefke, and Richard Patrick recorded 900 displaced Turkish Cypriots still residing in Lefka/Lefke in 1971. The displaced Turkish Cypriots mainly came from villages such as Xeros- Karavostasi/Gemikonağı(045), Flasou(034), Peristerona(085), Koutrafas/Kurtboğan(054), Morphou/Güzelyurt(072), Akaki/Akaça(013), Agios Epiphanios/Esendağ(005), Linou(062), Korakou(051), Petra/Dereli(087), Peristerona(085), Agioi Iliofotoi/Zeytinlik(003), Orounta(079), Mansoura/Mansur(066), Sellain T’api/Selçuklu(095).
Current Inhabitants:
Lefka/Lefke is currently largely occupied by its original inhabitants. In addition, there are some Turkish Cypriots who were displaced from their original villages in 1964 or 1974 remained in the town. For the last twenty years, since the establishment of Lefke European University, many Turkish and third-country nationals have come to study, residing in the town for at least four years. The last Turkish Cypriot census of 2006 put the village’s population at 2,908.
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