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Sellain T’api is a small deserted and destroyed Turkish Cypriot village situated in the Tylliria/Dillirga region of Cyprus, four kilometers south of Mansoura/Mansur. The origin of the name is obscure, but Goodwin suggests that it possibly means “saddle of pears” in Greek Cypriot colloquial. Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name of Selçuklu in 1959. Selçuk is a man’s name in Turkish, but it was also the name of a Turkic Dynasty which ruled between the 11^th and 13^th centuries.

 

 

From 1891 to 1960, the village was solely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. Although the population fluctuated during the British period, ultimately there was a slight increase from 60 in 1891 to 66 in 1960.

Displacement:

All the Turkish inhabitants of Sellain T’api/Selçuklu(095) were displaced in 1964. The village was evacuated by UNFICYP in August 1964 when the area was under attack by General Grivas and his Greek Cypriot National Guard. Most of the Turkish Cypriots of Sellain T’api/Selçuklu(095) sought refuge in the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Kokkina/Erenköy(050). They remained there until 1976 when they were once again moved to the Turkish-controlled part of the island, to the Greek Cypriot village of Yialousa(205) in the Karpasia/Karpaz peninsula.

Current Inhabitants:

The village has remained abandoned since 1964; all of its houses and buildings are in ruins. A few of them are used as sheepfolds by Greek Cypriot shepherds from nearby villages.   

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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)