MOUTAYIAKA

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Moutayiaka is a village situated in the Limassol suburban area, two kilometers east of Germasogia. The origin of the name is obscure. Turkish Cypriots have always used the alternative name Mutluyaka, literally meaning “cheerful shore.” The village’s web site suggests that the name Moutayiaka could be the corruption of the Turkish name Mutluyaka (www.moutayiaka.com).  
 
Historical Population

As can be seen in the above chart, Moutayiaka/Mutluyaka was a Turkish Cypriot village from the Ottoman period. Throughout the British period the population of the village increased, rising from 166 persons in 1891 to 239 in 1960.

Displacement:

No one was displaced from this village during the 1950s emergency years, nor during the intercommunal fighting of 1963-64. However, the village served as a reception center for Turkish Cypriots who fled from nearby villages in 1964. Richard Patrick recorded eight displaced Turkish Cypriots still living in the village in 1971. The first conflict-related displacement from Moutayiaka/Mutluyaka took place after 1974, when by August 1975 all of the village’s Turkish Cypriot population had been escorted by UNFICYP to north Cyprus. The total number of displaced Turkish Cypriots from Moutayiaka/Mutluyaka can be estimated to be 300 (239 in the 1960 census). They were resettled in Stylloi(195) village in the Famagusta district and soon renamed the village Mutluyaka. Goodwin claims that one retired Turkish Cypriot policemen stayed on in the original Mutluyaka until his death at age 93 in September 1977.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by displaced Greek Cypriots from the north. Most of the displaced persons moved to the village after the Republic of Cyprus repaired the empty Turkish Cypriot houses in December 1975. There are also ten self-help housing settlements in the surrounding area which house about 2,500-3,000 displaced persons, and now an eleventh settlement is being built (www.moutayiaka.com). The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 2,695.  


 
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