Click Here for Map

Mandria, or Mandirga,is a village located on the south coast of the island, twelve kilometers southeast of Paphos (Ktima) and five kilometers west of Kouklia, just off the Limassol-Paphos highway. Goodwin believes that the name Mandria derives from mandres or mandra, meaning “sheepfold” in both Greek and Turkish. In 1958 Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Yeşilova, meaning “green plain.”  

 

According to the Ottoman and British census reports, Mandria was a mixed village with a Turkish Cypriot majority until 1958. Because of rising intercommunal tensions in the late 1950s, the Greek Cypriot inhabitants abandoned Mandria and moved to nearby villages. The total population of the village increased steadily from 179 in 1891 to 414 in 1960.

Displacement:

Apart from one person, all the Mandria Greek Cypriots were displaced due to the intercommunal tensions of the late 1950s. Approximately 80-90 Greek Cypriots left behind their houses and moved to the safety of nearby villages such as Anarita(291), Kouklia(312) and Timi(340). During the same period the Turkish Cypriots of Anarita(291) and Timi(340) fled their homes and moved to Mandria. Although the Turkish Cypriots of Anarita(291) stayed in Mandria, those from Timi(340) returned to their village after three months. In 1959, the Turkish Cypriot Evkaf foundation built eight refugee houses for the Turkish Cypriots who had fled from Anarita(291).

No one was displaced during the intercommunal strife of 1963-64. However the village had by then become a Turkish Cypriot enclave and also a stronghold of Turkish Cypriot Fighters. As a result, Mandria became a very important reception center for Turkish Cypriots fleeing nearby villages such as Kourtaka/Kurtağa(313), Acheleia(282), Pitergou/Akkargı(331), Choulou/Hulu(298) and Geroskipou/Yeroşibu(306). Richard Patrick recorded 200 displaced Turkish Cypriots still residing in the village in 1971. He also put the total population of this enclave at 700. Most of these displaced Turkish Cypriots remained in Mandria until 1975, when they moved to the northern part of the divide.

On 20 July 1974, when the Turkish Army landed on the shores of north Cyprus, Greek Cypriot forces began an attack on Mandria village because of the geo-strategic location of the village. The fighting lasted for a day, resulting in many casualties. When the fighting was over, all the Turkish Cypriot males of fighting age were arrested and taken to Geroskipou POW camp. They were detained there for 66 days until they were exchanged for Greek Cypriot POWs from the north. Through this exchange many of the males of Mandria were sent to the north. The Turkish Cypriot civilians remaining in the village, on the other hand, had to wait until 1 September 1975 to be transferred under the escort of UNFICYP to the northern part of the island. Displaced persons from Mandria were mainly resettled in Karavas/Alsancak(226) in the Kyrenia district. Some were also resettled in the small towns of Lapithos/Lapta(237) and Morphou/Güzelyurt(072). The total number of the Mandria Turkish Cypriots (excluding the other displaced persons who had sought refuge there) who were displaced after 1974 is approximately 450-500 (413 in the 1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

After the departure of the Turkish Cypriots, many displaced Greek Cypriots arriving from the north settled in the village. The 2001 census put the total population of the village at 360.   

• Colonial Office (1893), “Cyprus: Report on the census of Cyprus, taken 6th April 1891,” Mediterranean, No. 39. London: Colonial Office.
• Department of Statitstics and Research, 1997. Estimates of Turkish Cypriots and Settlers from Turkey, Ministry of Finance [Republic of Cyprus], Nicosia.
• Fehmi, Hasan (2003), “Güney’de Kalan Değerlerimiz,” Lefkoşa (Nicosia): Özyay Matbaacılık.
• Fellahoğlu, Esat (2010), “Ulusal Direnişte Baf Köyleri,” İstanbul: Bayrak Matbaacılık.
• Giray, Halil: KKTC Yerleşim Birimleri, Yürürlükteki ve Eski İsimler Listesi KKTC İskân Bakanlığı : KKTC Coğrafi İsimler Kataloğu : (Cilt – I and II), Lefkoşa.
• Goodwin, Jack C. (1984), “An Historical Toponymy of Cyprus (Forth edition),” Nicosia (copy number 6).
• Hart-Davis, C. H (1922), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1921, taken on the 24th April, 1921,” London: Waterlow & Sons.
• Hart-Davis, C. H (1932), “Report of the Census of 1931,” Nicosia: Cyprus Government Printing Office.
• Hatay, Mete, (2005). “Beyond Numbers: An Inquiery into the Political Integration of the Turkish ‘Settlers’ in Northern Cyprus,” PRIO/Cyprus Centre Report  4/2005, Nicosia/Oslo, PRIO.
• Hill, Sir George, (1952). A History of Cyprus, Vol. IV., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Ioannides, Christos P., 1991. “In Turkey’s Image: The Transformation of Occupied Cyprus into a Turkish Province,” Aristide D. Caratzas, New York.
• KKTC Başbakanlık Devlet Planlama Örgütü Müsteşarlığı, “15 Aralık 1996 Genel Nüfus Sayımı Sonuçları (Özet), 26, November 1997,” Nicosia.
• Mavrogordato, Alexander (1901), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1901, taken on the 1st April, 1901,” Nicosia: Government Printing Office.
• Mavrogordato, Alexander (1912), “Report and general abstracts of the census of 1911, taken on the 2nd April, 1911,” London:  Waterlow & Sons.
• Menardos, Simos (2001), Τοπωνημικαι και Λαογραφικαι Μελεται (Topographical and Folkloric Studies), Nicosia: Centre for Scientific Studies
  Perry, Frederic W., 1884. Report on the Census of Cyprus 1881, Eyre and Spottiswoode, London.
• Republic of Cyprus, 1961. “Census of Population and Agriculture, 1960: Volume I: Population by Location, Race, and Sex,” Nicosia
• TRNC 2006 census preliminary results can be found at:  www.devplan.org
  TRNC Prime Ministry State Planning Organisation Statistics and Research Department, Census of Population: Social and Economic Characteristics of Population, December 15, 1996, TRNC Prime Ministry, Nicosia, 1999.
• Standing Cypriot Commission for the Standardization of Geographical Names (2007), “Οδηγος Τυποποιησης Ονοματων (Guide to Standardized Names),” Nicosia: Ministry of Education and Culture.
• Ministry of Finance (1973), “Micro-Census (April 1973) Population by Village and Ethnic Group, Volume I.” Nicosia: Department of Statistics and Research.
• Özad, Murat Hüsnü (2002), “Baf ve Mücadele Yılları,” Lefkoşa (Nicosia): Akdeniz Haber Ajansı Yayınları.
• Patrick, Richard (1976), “Political Geography and the Cyprus Conflict: 1963-1971,” Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo.
• Percival, D.A. (1949), “Census of population and agriculture 1946 report,” Nicosia: Cyprus Government Printing Office.
• Republic of Cyprus (1962), “Census of population and agriculture, 1960,” Nicosia: Government Printing Office.
• Republic of Cyprus (1984), “Census of population 1982,” Nicosia: Department of Statistics and Research, Ministry of Finance.
• Republic of Cyprus (2003), “Census of population 2001,” Nicosia: Department of Statistics and Research, Ministry of Finance.
• St John-Jones, L. W., 1983. “The Population of Cyprus: Demographic Trends and  Socio-Economic Influences” (with a foreword by W. H. Morris-Jones), Maurice  Temple, Smith Limited, London.
• T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü (2000), “Osmanlı İdaresinde Kıbrıs (Nüfus-Arazi Dağılımı ve Türk Vakıfları),” Ankara: Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı Yayın No: 43.
• Yorgancıoğlu,  Oğuz: Kıbrıs’ta Türkçe Yer Adları ve Veriliş Yöntemleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma Kıbrıs Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt : 2, Sayı : 3, Yıl : 96

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)