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Softades is an abandoned Turkish Cypriot village situated in the Larnaca district, three kilometers west of Kiti. The origin of the name derives from Softa, meaning “religious person” in Turkish. The alternative name of the village for Turkish Cypriots was Softalar until 1958, when they decided to adopt the more secular name Düzova, meaning “flat plain.” In the 1831 Ottoman census the village was recorded as Suhteler, meaning “students of religion.”  

 

As can be seen in the above chart, the village was always predominantly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. Throughout the British period, the population of the village increased significantly, rising from 68 persons in 1891 to 117 in 1960.

Displacement:

All the Turkish Cypriots left the village during the intercommunal tensions of 1963-64 and sought refuge in Kivisili(358) and Dromolaxia(353). The second conflict-related displacement took place in 1974, when after August 1974, almost all the Turkish Cypriots from the village fled to the Turkish-controlled north of the divide. They were resettled in Limnia/Mormenekşe(164) village of the Famagusta district.

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is in ruins.

  

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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.
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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)