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Galataria is a village in the southwest foothills of the Troodos mountain range, located twenty-five kilometers northeast of Paphos (Ktima) and immediately south of Kilinia. There is a widespread belief that the village was named after a woman with the nickname Galatarka. The reason for this nickname was that her sheep produced more milk (gala) than those of others. The Turkish Cypriot alternative name Yoğurtçular was adopted in 1958. It means “yoghurt makers” and so implies a relationship to the Greek name.

 

 

Galataria was a mixed village until 1958. As may be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) constituted almost 78% of the population. During the British period, the Greek Cypriot percentage of the population continued to increase from 78% in 1891 to 80% in 1960.

Displacement:

No one was displaced during the emergency years of the 1950s. However, on 5 February 1964, rising tensions in the vicinity of the village spurred the flight of the Galataria Turkish Cypriots, who sought refuge in the villages of Agios Ioannis/Aydın(285), Vretsia/Dağaşan(342) and Faleia/Gökçebel(301). They remained in the places where they had taken refuge until 1975, when on 30 August of that year they were all evacuated under UNFICYP escort to the northern part of the divide. They were mainly resettled in Morphou/Güzelyurt(072), Zodeia/Bostancı(083), Katokopia/Zümrütköy(048), Agios Giorgios/Karaoğlanoğlu(210) (Kyrenia district) and Kythrea/Değirmenlik(056) (Nicosia district). The number of Galataria Turkish Cypriots who were displaced after 1974 was around 70 (58 in 1946 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently, the village is primarily occupied by its original Greek Cypriot inhabitants. According to the 2001 census, there are only 55 persons residing in the village.   

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Websites:

• http://www.cyprus-village.com/ (for the villages)
• http://news.karpasha.com/
• http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspot.com/
• http://kypros.org/Occupied_Cyprus/ (for the villages in the north)