MAKOUNTA

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Makounta is a village located four kilometers inland from Chrysochou bay and three kilometers north of Pelathousa. Goodwin claims that Makounta means “mushrooms” in ancient Greek. Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Yakacık in 1958. Yaka means “collar,” “bank,” “edge” or “shore.”
 
 
Historical Population:

As may be seen from the chart above, Makounta was a predominantly Turkish Cypriot village from the Ottoman period. Throughout the British period the village’s population increased steadily from 88 in 1891 to 196 in 1960.

Displacement:

No one was displaced from this village, either during the emergency years of the 1950s, nor during the intercommunal fighting of 1963-64, although the village became an important stronghold for Turkish Cypriot Fighters. After 1974 and division of the island, all the villagers of Makounta/Yakacık fled to the north. This movement took place in two phases. In the first phase, almost 140 of the villagers fled secretly over the mountains to the Turkish-controlled north in late 1974 and early 1975. In the second phase, the remaining 113 villagers were evacuated under UNFICYP escort on 20 August 1975 and taken to the northern part of the divide. They were mainly resettled in Nikitas/Güneşköy(075) in the Morphou/Güzelyurt area. Some were also resettled in the town of Morphou/Güzelyurt(072). The number of the Makounta/Yakacık Turkish Cypriots who were displaced after 1974 was around 200-220 (196 in the1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

After the departure of the Turkish Cypriots, the village was used for the settlement of some displaced Greek Cypriots from the island’s north. However, in 2001 around 60 Turkish Cypriot Roma crossed the island’s Green Line and settled in Makounta, primarily in tents and other makeshift accommodations. Eventually, the RoC government built twenty prefabricated houses for them in 2003. The 2001 census put the total population of the village at 66, but after the arrival of this group of Roma the numbers increased to around 150.  


 
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