AGIRDA

Click Here for Map

Ağırdağ/Agirda village is situated on the southern slopes of the Five Finger mountains, only three kilometers from the Kyrenia pass. This village was always exclusively inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots claim that Agirda is the corrupted version of its Turkish name Ağırdağ which has been in use for centuries and means “Heavy Mountain.” On the other hand George Jeffrey (1918) claims that, “The village name of Agridhi, Agridin, Agridakin, Kridhia, etc., different forms derived from the old Greek Ager, a field or farmland, is very common in Cyprus. Most of the villages with such a name are probably of medieval origin, and correspond to the “chiftlik” of Turkish times, which may also develop into a village.”  
 
Historical Population

As can be seen from the chart above, the village was always inhabited almost exclusively by Turkish Cypriots. At the turn of the century there were only one or two Christians (Greek Cypriots) living in the village. The village population steadily increased from 130 in 1891 to 378 in 1960.

Displacement:

From its original population no one was displaced; however, the village served as a reception centre for many displaced Turkish Cypriots in 1963-64. From 1964 to 1974, it was administratively part of the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Nicosia. According to geographer Richard Patrick, in 1971 there were approximately 750 displaced Turkish Cypriots still residing in a camp that had been established in 1964 in an area between Ağırdağ and Boghaz(215) villages. The majority of those staying here came from Kyrenia villages and small towns such as Laphithos/Lapta(237), Vasileia/Karşıyaka(252), Diorios/Tepebaşı(219), Trapeza/Beşparmak(250), Agios Epiktitos/Çatalköy(208), Kazafani/Ozanköy(229), Agios Ermolaos/Şirinevler(209) and Kyrenia/Girne(236).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by its original villagers. However, during the last ten years, many Turkish Cypriots from Nicosia and some Turkish Cypriot returnees from the United Kingdom have also bought property and settled here. The 2006 census puts the village’s population at 454.

References

  


 
REFERENCES
 
Books and Reports:


Websites:



Print