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Pelathousa is located on the western foothills of the Troodos mountain range, five kilometers east of Polis. According to Goodwin, Pelathousa was named after the wild “broom” plant, a type of “maquis shrub.” In 1958 Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Karaağaç, meaning “black tree.” 

 

 

As may be seen from the chart above, Pelathousa was always a Turkish Cypriot village. Throughout the British period, the total population of the village increased steadily from 185 persons in 1891 to 348 in 1960.

Displacement:

No one was displaced either during the tensions of the late 1950s or during the intercommunal strife of 1963-64. However, the village was an important Turkish Cypriot enclave from 1963 to 1975 and, as a result, became a reception center for Turkish Cypriots who fled Agios Isidoros(286), Prodromi/Karşıyaka(334) and Polis(332). It was one of the five Paphos villages that refused to surrender to Greek Cypriot forces in 1974. On 27 August 1975, the residents of Pelathousa were evacuated under UNFICYP escort and transferred to the island’s north, taking their guns with them. Many of them were resettled in Charkeia(216), a village in the Kyrenia district. It is important to note that the name of Charkeia(216) was change to Karaağaç in 1976. The total number of Pelathousa Turkish Cypriots who were displaced after 1974 was approximately 450 (450 in 1973 census).

Current Inhabitants:

After the departure of the Turkish Cypriots, a small number of displaced Greek Cypriots from the north were resettled in the village. The 2001 census put the village’s population at 49.  

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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)