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Platani,or Çınarlı, is a Turkish Cypriot village situated in the Famagusta district, located nine kilometers north of Lefkonoiko/Geçitkale. The name is likely a corrupted version of “platinos” meaning “plane tree” in Greek. In 1958, Turkish Cypriots changed the name to Çınarlı, meaning “place with a plane tree.” They chose this name because of a large plane tree in the vicinity of the village that Cypriots use for votive offerings, believing that wishes made at that site will come true. 

 

As may 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 remained exclusively inhabited by Turkish Cypriots, apart from a handful of Greek Cypriots who appear in the records for short periods of time. During the first half of the 20^th century, the village’s population steadily increased from 218 in 1901 to 410 in 1946. However, there was a slight drop recorded in the 1960 census, from the previous 410 to 378. Some villagers left during the emergency years of the late 1950s, as did many other Cypriots, migrating to cities and often abroad, especially to England and Australia.

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 geographer Richard Patrick recorded a handful of displaced families from nearby villages who were still living in the village. From 1964 to 1974, Platani/Çınarlı was administratively part of the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Chatos/Serdarlı(135), and it served as an outpost for that enclave. Patrick estimated the village’s population at 390 in 1971.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by its original villagers. Because of the migration of youth to find jobs in the cities and abroad, the village’s population declined considerably, from 390 in 1971 to 185 in 2006.   

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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)