Kourtaka is a village located in the upper Ezousas valley, fifteen kilometers northeast of Paphos (Ktima) and three kilometers east of Letimbou. Goodwin suggests that Kourtaka may mean “rugged” or “half-destroyed” in Greek. On the other hand, Turkish Cypriots claim that the name derived from kurt ağa, meaning “wolf agha,” or possibly from Kürt ağa, meaning “Kurdish agha.” They also claim that this agha, or landlord, was the founder of the village. In 1958, Turkish Cypriots adopted the Kurtağa version as the alternative Turkish name for the village.
As may be seen from the chart above, Kourtaka was a Turkish Cypriot village from the Ottoman period. Throughout the British period the village’s population fluctuated constantly but never increased.
Displacement:
No one was displaced from Kourtaka/Kurtağa during the emergency years of the 1950s. However, during the intercommunal strife of 1963 and early 1964, most of the villagers fled to Pitargou(331) on 3 February 1964. However, when three days later Pitargou(331) village was attacked, the Pitargou(331) villagers, along with Turkish Cypriots from Kourtaka and Choulou(298) who had taken refuge there, decided to flee to Axylou(297) village, believing that joining together with the Axylou Fighters would enable them to better defend themselves. Although some Kourtaka Turkish Cypriots remained in Axylou(297) until 1975, overcrowding forced others to seek refuge in other locations, such as Mandria/Yeşilova(322) and Stavrokonnou/Aydoğan(338).
In September 1975, all the Kourtaka Turkish Cypriots were evacuated under the escort of UNFICYP and transferred to the northern part of the divide, along with Turkish Cypriot villagers from the locations where they had taken refuge. They were mainly resettled in Lysi/Akdoğan(167) (7 families), Assia/Paşaköy(131) (2 families), Karavas/Alsancak(226) (2 families), Agios Georgios/Karaoğlanoğlu(210) of Kyrenia (2 families), Kazafani/Ozanköy(229) (2 families), Nicosia(074) (2 families) and Kyrenia(236) (1 family). The number of Kourtaka/Kurtağa Turkish Cypriots who were displaced after 1974 was around 50 (38 in 1960 census).
Current Inhabitants:
After the departure of the Turkish Cypriots, the village was not inhabited. Meanwhile, due to the abandonment and looting of the village, most of the Turkish Cypriot houses of the village fell into ruin.
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