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Pyrga is a village situated in the Larnaca district, almost eighteen kilometers west of the town of Larnaca and three kilometers east of Kornos, near the old Nicosia-Limassol highway. According to the village’s website, the village was named after the red colour (pyrron) of the region's soil. “That is, the name of the village is quite ancient and originates from pyr (fire) and the Doric idiom ga (instead of "gi" which means earth)” (www.pyrga.org). Since 1958 Turkish Cypriots have used the alternative name Çamlıbel, meaning “place of pines.”

 

 

As can be seen in the above chart, the village has had a mixed population since the Ottoman period. Throughout the British period, while the Greek Cypriot population increased steadily, the Turkish Cypriot proportion stagnated. The Greek Cypriot population of the village increased from 46% in 1891 to 72% in 1960.

Displacement:

The first conflict-related displacement took place in January 1964, when all the Pyrga/Çamlıbel Turkish Cypriots fled and sought refuge in nearby Turkish Cypriot villages such as Kofinou(360), Klavdia(359), Menoyia(367) and Tochni(361). The number of Turkish Cypriots who fled the village was approximately 110 (108 in 1960), and they remained in those places where they sought refuge until 1974, when they were once again moved, this time to the north of the island.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by its original Greek Cypriot villagers. The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 572.

  

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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)