KIVIDES KATO

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Kato Kivides is one of the twin villages of Kato and Pano Kivides. Kato Kivides has always been inhabited by Turkish Cypriots, while Pano Kivides has always had Greek Cypriot inhabitants. It is situated in the Limassol district, on the foothills of the Troodos mountain range. Although “kivas” means “coffin” in Greek, Goodwin suggests that the village was named after a certain Quevidhes, a Frankish fief holder of the 13th century who later became the governor of Paphos. In 1958 Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Alsandık, literally meaning “red wooden box.” 
 
 
Historical Population

As can be seen in the above chart, Kato Kivides/Aşağı Alsandık was a Turkish Cypriot village from the Ottoman period. Although at the turn of the 20th century some Greek Cypriot families had settled there, by 1921 they all had left the village. The population of the village fluctuated constantly and increased only slightly throughout the British period, rising from 106 persons in 1891 to 117 in 1960.

Displacement:

No one was displaced from this village during the 1950s emergency years. However, the village was evacuated during the intercommunal fighting of 1963-64. Most of those who fled returned to the village in 1965, and Richard Patrick recorded 95 Turkish Cypriots living in Kivides in 1971, out of 116 who had been recorded in the 1960 census. The second conflict-related displacement from Kato Kivides/Aşağı Alsandık took place after 1974, when the village’s Turkish Cypriot population fled to the other side of the divide. Although some fled clandestinely to the north, others sought refuge in the Akrotiri Base Area and stayed there until January 1975, when they were transferred to the northern part of the island. They were mainly resettled in Prastio/Aydınköy(091) village of the Morphou region. The total number of displaced Turkish Cypriots from Kato Kivides/Aşağı Alsandık can be estimated to be 140-150 (117 in the 1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is empty and in ruins.  


 
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