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Kondea or Kontea is a village located in the Famagusta district, only three kilometers east of Lysi/Akdoğan and four kilometers west of Kouklia/Köprü villages. Kondea derives from the word “count,” a title of royalty in French. The village was once owned by the Orthodox church of Cyprus, but according to Goodwin, it was confiscated by the Ottomans in 1821. The village and its large farm were taken over in 1823 by a landowner named Lapierre, who was also a close friend of the Ottoman governor. During this period the village was known as Kondea Çiftliği, or the farm of Kondea. After Lapierre fled the island in 1833, the farm was transferred to another landowner of Levantine origin named Mattei, who was also Lapierre’s former business partner. However, he went bankrupt and sold his shares to the villagers through the Ottoman bank in the 1880s. The village took its current form in the beginning of the British period. During the British period, it was predominantly inhabited by Greek Cypriots. In 1975, Turkish Cypriots changed the name to Türkmenköy, meaning “village of Turcomans.” 

 

As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, two Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) constituted the only inhabitants of the village (only males were counted). It is important to note that the village was just a farm at the time. It was called Kondea Çiftliği. However, throughout the British period the village was predominantly inhabited by Greek Cypriots with a tiny Turkish minority. Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) left the village after 1946. Kontea’s population steadily increased from 301 in 1891, to 1,305 in 1960.

Displacement:

All of the village’s inhabitants were displaced in 1974. Most fled between July and August of that year from the advancing Turkish army to the southern part of the island. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Kontea are scattered throughout the island’s south, with large pockets in towns. The number of the Kontea Greek Cypriots who were displaced in 1974 was around 1360 (1359 in the 1973 census).

Current Inhabitants:

After 1974, the village was populated by displaced Turkish Cypriots from Platanisteia(276), Agios Thomas(255), Anogyra(257), Avdimou(260), Paramali(274) villages in the Limassol district and Pano Archimandrita(293), Fasoula(263), Melandra(325), Vretsia(342), Agios Georgios(284) villages in the Paphos district. There are also some displaced Turkish Cypriots from various locations in the Larnaca district, as well as a small number of persons from the Adana province of Turkey who settled there in 1976.  

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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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)