PENTAKOMO

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Pentakomo is a village of the Limassol district, almost four kilometers east of Moni and ten kilometers east of the ancient city of Amathus. The name of the village means “five villages” in ancient Greek. In 1958 Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Beşevler, literally meaning “five houses.”

 
Historical Population

As can be seen in the above chart, Pentakomo/Beşevler was a mixed village from the Ottoman period, and it always had a Turkish Cypriot majority. The Greek Cypriot portion of the population fluctuated between 32% and 49%, until eventually in 1960 they constituted 47% of the total population. The total population of the village increased throughout the British period, rising from 316 persons in 1891 to 598 in 1960.

Displacement:

No one left the village during the emergency years of the late 1950s, or during the intercommunal strife of 1963-64. However, the village served as a reception centre for displaced Turkish Cypriots during the latter period. Richard Patrick recorded 16 displaced Turkish Cypriots still living in the Turkish neighborhood of the village in 1971. After the island’s division, many Pentakomo Turkish Cypriots attempted to stay in the village. However, according to Goodwin, because of problems of insecurity they later asked to be transferred to the northern part of the island and were escorted there by UNFICYP in August 1975. They were soon resettled in Angastina/Arslanköy(128) village in the north and currently live there. The total number of displaced Turkish Cypriots from Pentakomo/Beşevler can be estimated to be 350-400 (392 in the 1973 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly occupied by its original Greek Cypriot inhabitants and displaced Greek Cypriots from the north. The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 388.  


 
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