AKANTHOU

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Akanthou or Akathou is a village near the north coast of the Karpasia/Karpaz peninsula, located six miles southwest of Phlamoudi and eight miles north of Lefkoniko/Geçitkale village. The name Akanthou possibly derives from the Greek word anghati, meaning “thorny.” According to Jack Goodwin, Akanthus is also the name of a bush which grows only in the Levant. In 1975, Turkish Cypriots renamed the village Tatlısu, after a village from which some of its current inhabitants derive. Tatlısu was the alternative Turkish name of the village of Mari/Tatlısu(363) in the Larnaca district of south Cyprus, meaning “sweet water.”
 
 
Historical Population:

As can be seen from the chart above, Akanthou was always predominantly inhabited by Greek Cypriots. In the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians constituted almost 96% of the population. Thirteen years after the British occupation, the same percentage prevailed (96.6% in 1891). During the first half of the 20th century, while the Greek Cypriot population increased steadily, the small Muslim population declined further, dropping drastically from 63 persons in 1891 to only 8 in 1946. By 1960 there were no Turkish Cypriots left in the village.

Displacement:

All the Greek Cypriots of Akanthou were displaced in August 1974. They fled from the advancing Turkish army to the southern parts of the island. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Akanthou are scattered throughout the island’s south with large pockets in the cities. The displaced population of Akanthou can be estimated to be around 1,300, since its Greek Cypriot population was 1,294 in 1973.

Current Inhabitants:

After 1974 and the flight of its Greek Cypriot villagers, Akanthou/Tatlısu was initially repopulated by displaced Turkish Cypriots from Mari/Tatlısu(363) village in the Larnaca district. However, due to the village’s relative distance from the cities, most of these displaced Turkish Cypriots asked to be resettled nearer to a city. When, in 1976, the Greek Cypriots of Belapais(214) were transferred to the south side of the Green Line, most of the Mari/Tatlısu(363) villagers relocated to Belapais(214). Eventually, about 100 Turkish Cypriots of an original 700 from Mari/Tatlısu(363) ended up settling in Akanthou village. After the departure of the Mari/Tatlısu(363) villagers in 1976, Akanthou was again repopulated, but this time by landless peasants from Turkey. They mainly arrived from places such as the Konya, Adana, Araklı, Osmaniye, Çaykara, Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep districts and provinces of Turkey. In addition, over the last ten years, many Europeans and some Turkish Cypriots from elsewhere in the island have also bought property, built houses, and settled in the vicinity of the village. The 2006 Turkish Cypriot census put the village’s population at 1,160. This number can easily go up to 2000 during the holiday seasons  


 
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