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Kalopsida is a village in the east Mesaoria plain, located eight kilometers east of Lysi/Akdoğan(167). Kalopsida means “good thyme” in Greek. Kalos means “good” or “fine,” opsida means “thyme.” Until recently, the village and its vicinity, was well known for its thyme. In 1975 it was renamed Çayönü after a village from which many of the village’s current inhabitants had come. Çayönü was the alternative Turkish name (adopted in 1959) of the Paramali village located in the Limassol district. It literally means “stream front.” There are many places in Turkey called Çayönü.

 

 

As can be seen from the chart above, Kalopsidha was a mixed village during the Ottoman period. In the Ottoman census of 1831, Muslims constituted approximately 21% of the population. However, by 1891 there were no Muslims left in the village. During the first half of the 20^th century the population of the village increased steadily (from 382 in 1901 to 975 in 1960). In 1973 the village’s population was recorded to be 1,023.

Displacement:

Most of the Greek Cypriots of Kalopsidha were displaced in August 1974. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Kalopsidha are scattered throughout the island’s south, with small pockets in towns. The number of Kalopsida Greek Cypriots who were displaced in 1974 was approximately 1,030 (1,023 in 1973 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Today the village is mainly inhabited by displaced Turkish Cypriots from the island’s south, from places such as Paramali/Çayönü(274), Margi/Küçükköy(067), Kataliontas(046) and various Paphos villages. There are also some families from Turkey living in the village. They mainly came from the Kozan and Ceyhan districts and Hatay province of Turkey in 1976-7. The 2006 Turkish Cypriot census puts Kalopsida’s population at 652.  

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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)