KRITOU MAROTTOU

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Kritou Marottou village is located in the western foothills of the Troodos mountain range, twenty kilometers northeast of Paphos and two kilometers northwest of Kannaviou. The origin of the name is obscure, although Goodwin suggests that the name may be related to a nearby village called critou terra . He claims that critou may be derived from erokratos, “judge of love.” Turkish Cypriots have always called the village Girit Marot.
 
 
Historical Population:

Kritou Marottou was a mixed village with a Greek Cypriot majority until 1960. As may be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians (Greek Cypriots) constituted almost 62% of the population. This ratio increased to 72% in 1891, almost fifteen years after the British arrived. By the end of the first half of the 20th century, the Greek Cypriot proportion of the population increased to 91%. By 1960, there were only three Turkish Cypriots left in the village.

Displacement:

According to some Turkish sources many of the Turkish Cypriots of the village, including the mukhtar, converted to Christianity during the 1950s. According to Murat Hüsnü Özad, in 1963 there were only three families (6 persons) left in the village who still claimed to be Muslim. As a result of tensions in the village during the intercommunal fighting of 1963-64, the Muslims evacuated the village on 19 August 1964 and sought refuge in Anadiou/Görmeli(314) village. From there they fled to the Turkish-controlled north of the island after 1974.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is occupied by its original Greek Cypriot inhabitants, although the majority of the youth have preferred to migrate to urban areas in recent years. According to the 2001 census there were only 61 persons living in the village (150 in 1976).

  


 
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