STYLLOI

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Stylloi or Styllos is a village of the lower Mesaoria/Mesarya plain, located only four miles west of the ancient city of Salamis and two and a half miles east of Gaidhourdas/Korkuteli village. Stylloi means “pillar” in Greek. In 1975, Turkish Cypriots renamed it Mutluyaka after the village from which many of the village’s current inhabitants derive. Mutluyaka was the alternative Turkish name of the village of Mouttagiaka(272) in the Limassol district. Mutluyaka literally means “happy bank.” 
 
Historical Population:

As may be seen from the chart above, Stylloi was a mixed village with a Greek Cypriot majority until 1946. In the Ottoman census of 1831, Christians constituted almost 72% of the population. In 1891, almost two decades after the British colonized the island, this number had increased to 77%. During the first half of the 20th century, while the Greek Cypriot population increased steadily, the Turkish Cypriot population declined. In the 1946 census, Turkish Cypriots constituted only 4% of the population. By 1960 there were no Turkish Cypriots left in the village.

Displacement:

In 1958, due to intercommunal strife, all the Stylloi Turkish Cypriots fled and took refuge in nearby villages and in Nicosia, remaining in those locations until 1974. Only a small number showed an interest in being relocated back to their village after 1974. The majority stayed where they had sought refuge in 1958 or resettled in some other locations, mainly in the cities.

All the Greek Cypriots of Stylloi were displaced in August 1974. They fled from the advancing Turkish army to the southern parts of the island. Currently, like the rest of the displaced Greek Cypriots, the Greek Cypriots of Stylloi are scattered throughout the island’s south. The displaced population of Stylloi could be estimated to be around 580, since its Greek Cypriot population was 572 in 1973.

Current Inhabitants:

Apart from a small number of original Turkish Cypriots of Stylloi who returned in 1974, the majority of the village’s current inhabitants are from Mouttagiaka(272) in the Limassol district. A handful of families from Turkey also settled in the village during the late 1970s. Over the last ten years, some Turkish Cypriots from other parts of the island’s north and Turkish Cypriot returnees from abroad have also bought property, built houses, and settled here. The 2006 Turkish Cypriot census put the village’s population at 404.  


 
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