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Psilatos, or Psyllatos, is a Turkish Cypriot village situated in the north Mesaoria/Mesarya plain, and is located five kilometers west of Lefkoniko/Geçitkale. The meaning of the name is obscure. According to Mas Latrie, the village may have come from the proper name “Psilo,” the presumed medieval owner of the fiefdom where the village is located. It may also have been, as Goodwin suggests, that the name was adopted by this local lord from a Greek word, such as “flea” (psillos) or “tall man” (psilos). In the past, Turkish Cypriots called the village İpsillad, and according to Turkish Cypriot accounts the name derives from the Greek word for flea because of a persistent problem with fleas in the area. In 1958 Turkish Cypriots changed the name to Sütlüce, meaning “milky.” 

 

 

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 still solely 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 steadly increased, from 361 in 1901 to 457 in 1931, after which growth stagnated. The village’s population was 455 in 1960.

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, political geographer Richard Patrick recorded twelve displaced persons living in the village. From 1964 to 1974, Psyllatos/Sütlüce was administratively part of the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Chatos/Serdarlı(144). Patrick estimated the village’s 1971 population at 480.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is primarily inhabited by its original villagers. After 1974, those displaced persons who had taken refuge in Psyllatos/Sütlüce returned to their villages, and gradually the youth began to migrate to find jobs in the cities and abroad. As a result, the village’s population experienced a considerable decline, from 480 in 1971 to 336 in 1996. The 2006 Turkish Cypriot population puts the village’s population at 349.  

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• 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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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)