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Skylloura is a village located in the Nicosia district, about halfway between the towns of Morphou/Güzelyurt and Nicosia. Goodwin suggests that the name of the village might derive from “skillos,” meaning “dog” in Greek or from a plant called “avroskilla.” Until 1964, the village was mixed, inhabited by Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name “Yılmazköy” in 1958.  

 

Skylloura had always been a mixed village. As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) constituted a slight majority of the population (55%). In 1891 the latter percentage increased to 65%. Throughout the British period, while the Greek Cypriot population increased steadily, the Turkish Cypriot population fluctuated. However, by 1960 the Greek Cypriot proportion of the population had declined to 63%.

Displacement:

The first conflict-related displacement occurred in 1958. No one was displaced from the village, but due to the intercommunal tension of the EOKA struggle and with the encouragement of the Turkish Cypriot leadership, the majority of the Turkish Cypriots of Akoursos/Akarsu(288) in the Paphos district left their village and moved to Skylloura/Yılmazkoy. After the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, almost all the Akoursos/Akarsu(288) Turkish Cypriots returned to their village. The second conflict-related displacement was in December 1963-64, following the abduction and murder of several Turkish Cypriots from Skylloura/Yılmazkoy and the nearby village of Agios Vasileios/Türkeli(010). In the wake of these events, all the Skylloura/Yılmazkoy Turkish Cypriots fled to more secure Turkish Cypriot villages such as Fota/Dağyolu(221), Ağırdağ(211), Geunyeli(038) and Ortakeuy/Ortaköy(080). The number of those who were displaced was around 300, going by the figures of the 1960 census. None of the Turkish Cypriots from this village returned in 1968, after the barricade of the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was lifted.

The third conflict-related displacement took place in 1974, when all the Greek Cypriots of Skylloura/Yılmazköy fled the village from the advancing Turkish army. Currently, like many displaced Greek Cypriots, they are scattered around south Cyprus with a large pocket in Nicosia town.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently, the village is occupied by its original Turkish Cypriot inhabitants, although a large part of the village is now a military camp. The last census of 2006 puts the total population of the village at 785, although probably half of that number represents the families of the army personnel stationed in the village.

  

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• Fehmi, Hasan (2003), “Güney’de Kalan Değerlerimiz,” Lefkoşa (Nicosia): Özyay Matbaacılık.
• Fellahoğlu, Esat (2010), “Ulusal Direnişte Baf Köyleri,” İstanbul: Bayrak Matbaacılık.
• Giray, Halil: KKTC Yerleşim Birimleri, Yürürlükteki ve Eski İsimler Listesi KKTC İskân Bakanlığı : KKTC Coğrafi İsimler Kataloğu : (Cilt – I and II), Lefkoşa.
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• Hart-Davis, C. H (1922), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1921, taken on the 24th April, 1921,” London: Waterlow & Sons.
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• Hatay, Mete, (2005). “Beyond Numbers: An Inquiery into the Political Integration of the Turkish ‘Settlers’ in Northern Cyprus,” PRIO/Cyprus Centre Report  4/2005, Nicosia/Oslo, PRIO.
• Hill, Sir George, (1952). A History of Cyprus, Vol. IV., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Ioannides, Christos P., 1991. “In Turkey’s Image: The Transformation of Occupied Cyprus into a Turkish Province,” Aristide D. Caratzas, New York.
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• Republic of Cyprus, 1961. “Census of Population and Agriculture, 1960: Volume I: Population by Location, Race, and Sex,” Nicosia
• TRNC 2006 census preliminary results can be found at:  www.devplan.org
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• Standing Cypriot Commission for the Standardization of Geographical Names (2007), “Οδηγος Τυποποιησης Ονοματων (Guide to Standardized Names),” Nicosia: Ministry of Education and Culture.
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• Republic of Cyprus (1962), “Census of population and agriculture, 1960,” Nicosia: Government Printing Office.
• Republic of Cyprus (1984), “Census of population 1982,” Nicosia: Department of Statistics and Research, Ministry of Finance.
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• Yorgancıoğlu,  Oğuz: Kıbrıs’ta Türkçe Yer Adları ve Veriliş Yöntemleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma Kıbrıs Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt : 2, Sayı : 3, Yıl : 96

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)