KAZAFANİ

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Kazaphani, or Kazafana, is situated on the northern coast of Cyprus, half a mile north of Bellapais village and two miles east of the town of Kyrenia. It was a mixed village until 1974. The name of the village derives from the words “Casal Epiphani,” or “village of St. Epiphanius.” However, Turkish Cypriots in 1959 found an alternative name for the village, Ozanköy, meaning the “village of the poet” after the well-known Turkish Cypriot poet Osman Türkay, who was originally from this village.  
 
 
Historical Population

According to the 1831 Ottoman census, Christians constituted a slight majority in the village. The second British census of 1891 however, puts the Muslim ratio at 62%. It is known that many Christians from the village moved to Kyrenia following the departure of the Ottoman administrators and soldiers in 1878. This population ratio continued until 1960 with a slight drop (56%).

Displacement:

Due to intercommunal strife, in January 1964 some of the Turkish Cypriots of Klepini took refuge in Kazafani. However, in early March 1964 the National Guard attacked the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Kazafani village. When a ceasefire was arranged, almost 40% of the Turkish Cypriots left the village, as well as all the displaced persons of Klepini. Many of them were moved to the camps in Aghirda/Ağırdağ(211) and Boğhaz(215). The rest of the villagers stayed in the village until 1974. UNFICYP maintained a post there between 1964 and 1974.

The displacement of all the Greek Cypriots from this village took place in 1974, when most of the Kazafani Greek Cypriots fled from the advancing Turkish army in July and sought refuge in the south. Some Greek Cypriot residents attempted to remain in the village during and after the 1974 war. In November 1975, the number of those who were enclaved in the village was 107. That number dropped to 99 by September 1976. By October of that year, no Greek Cypriots lived in Kazafani. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Kazafani are scattered throughout the island’s south, with some small pockets in towns. The number of Greek Cypriots displaced from Kazafani between 1974 and 1976 was around 430 (410 in the1973 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is inhabited by its original villagers and some displaced Turkish Cypriots from villages in the Limassol and Paphos districts (e.g., Kourtaka/Kurtağa(313)). There are also some Turkish nationals who settled here in 1977 (109 of the Turkish Cypriot citizens who lived in the village in 1996 declared Turkey as their birthplace). Over the last thirty years, many European citizens and Turkish Cypriots from elsewhere in the island’s north have also bought property, built houses, and settled here. Due to the recent construction boom and the development in tourism, the village hosts many immigrant workers from Turkey and Pakistan to work in these sectors. The 2006 Turkish Cypriot census gives the village’s population as 2,584. This number can easily rise to 3,000 during holiday months.  


 
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