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Krideia, or Kilitkaya, is a Turkish Cypriot village situated in the Karpasia/Karpaz peninsula, located three miles southeast of Kantara castle. The meaning of the name is obscure. Goodwin suggests that Krideia is perhaps a corruption of “agrideia,” meaning locust in Cypriot Greek. Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Kilitkaya in 1959, meaning “main or key rock.”  

 

 

As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) constituted the sole inhabitants of the village. Throughout the British period the village was always solely inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. During the first half of the 20^th century, the village’s population steadly increased from 154 in 1901 to 327 in 1946. The 1960 census confirms that this upward growth trend continued, and the population in that year was recorded as 353.

Displacement:

From its original population no one was displaced; however, the village served as a transitory reception centre for displaced Turkish Cypriots in 1964. In 1971, the political geographer Richard Patrick recorded that seven displaced Turkish Cypriots were still living in the village. From 1964 to 1974, it was administratively part of the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Galatia/Mehmetcik(144). Patrick estimated the village’s population at 400 in 1971, a rise from 353 in 1960.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by its original villagers. After 1974, due to the migration of the youth to find jobs in the cities and abroad, the village’s population declined considerably, from 400 in 1971 to 177 in 2006.  

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• TRNC 2006 census preliminary results can be found at:  www.devplan.org
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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)