The village of Mathiatis or Matyat (by Turkish Cypriots) is located in the Nicosia district, on the eastern foothills of the Troodos mountains and west of Lythrodhonda. The origin of the name is obscure. The village was mixed until 1964, and for much of the twentieth century the majority of its population was employed in the nearby mines.
As explained above, until 1964 the village had always been mixed. In the Ottoman census of 1831, Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) constituted the majority of the population at 65%. In 1891 their percentage decreased to 63%., and throughout the twentieth century, while the Greek Cypriot population increased steadily, the Turkish Cypriot population fluctuated and eventually stagnated. In 1960, the Turkish Cypriot share of the population had declined to 50.8%.
Displacement:
The first conflict-related displacement took place during the intercommunal disturbances on 23 December 1963. Even though they were in a slight majority, all the Turkish Cypriots of the village fled and sought refuge in other villages solely controlled by Turkish Cypriots, such as Kotsiatis/Koçyatağı(052), Margi/Küçük köy(067), Pergamos/Beyarmudu(368) and the capital city of Nicosia. None of the Turkish Cypriots from this village returned. Currently, most of the Turkish Cypriots of Mathiatis are scattered around north Cyprus, with a large pocket in Kythrea/Değirmenlik.
Current Inhabitants:
Currently the village is mainly occupied by its original Greek Cypriot inhabitants and some displaced Greek Cypriots from the north. Although some Turkish Cypriot houses were allocated to Greek Cypriot displaced families after 1974, most Turkish Cypriot homes had been ruined by neglect due to their abondonment since 1964 and were consequently cleared away in the early 1980s by the authorities. The last census of 2001 puts the total population of the village at 581.
Websites: