STAVROKONNOU

Click Here for Map

Stavrokonnou is a village located on the southern foothills of the Troodos mountain range, twenty kilometers east of Paphos (Ktima) and three kilometers northwest of Mamonia. Stavrokonnou means “hill of the cross” in Greek. Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Aydoğan in 1958. Aydoğan is both a place and a male name in Turkey. Ay means “moon” and doğan means “falcon” in Turkish.
 
 
Historical Population:

As may be seen from the chart above, Stravrokonnou was a mixed village with a clear Turkish Cypriot majority from the Ottoman period. During the British period, the population of the village increased steadily from 243 in 1891 to 627 in 1960.

Displacement:

During the intercommunal strife of 1963-64, all six Greek Cypriots then living in the village were displaced. In this same period, the village became an important stronghold of Turkish Cypriot Fighters and served as an important reception center for many displaced Turkish Cypriots from nearby villages such as Kidasi/Ceyhan(310), Choulou/Hulu(298) and Kourtaka/Kurtağa(313). Richard Patrick recorded 100 displaced Turkish Cypriots living in Stravrokono in 1971.

The village did not surrender in 1974. Most of 554 Fighters and civilians in the village stayed there until it was evacuated on 7 September 1975 under the escort of UNFICYP. Some, however, did not wait until the scheduled evacuation date and secretly fled through the mountains to the island’s north. They were mainly resettled in Lysi/Akdoğan(167) village. Some also chose to be resettled in the towns of Famagusta(140), Kyrenia(236) and Morphou/Güzelyurt(072) or the villages of Fyllia/Serhatköy(035), Argaki/Akçay(020), Kyra/Mevlevi(055) and Koma tou Gialou/Kumyalı(154). The number of Stavrokonnou/Aydoğan Turkish Cypriots (excluding the other displaced persons who sought refuge there) who were displaced after 1974 was around 650 (621 in the 1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

After the departure of the Turkish Cypriots, the village was used for the settlement of displaced Greek Cypriots from the island’s north. The 2001 census recorded 102 displaced Greek Cypriots residing there. However, most of the village is not inhabited and is now in ruin.  


 
REFERENCES
 
Books and Reports:


Websites:



Print