Kouklia

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Kouklia
Κούκλια / Kouklia
Sakarya / Kukla
Kouklia (Cyprus)
Bluedot.svg
Basic data
State : Cyprus RepublicRepublic of Cyprus Republic of Cyprus
District : Cyprus RepublicRepublic of Cyprus Paphos
Geographic coordinates : 34 ° 41 ′  N , 32 ° 35 ′  E Coordinates: 34 ° 41 ′  N , 32 ° 35 ′  E
Residents : 669 (2001)
Church in Kouklia
Church in Kouklia

Kouklia ( Greek Κούκλια , Turkish Sakarya , also Kukla ) is a village in the south of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus . It belongs to the Paphos District of the Republic of Cyprus .

Surname

In Turkish, the village was called Kukla until it was renamed Sakarya in 1958 to commemorate the Battle of Sakarya in the Turkish War of Liberation .

geography

Location in the Paphos district

Kouklia / Sakarya is 16 kilometers southeast of Paphos and five kilometers east of Yeşilova / Mandria , on the south coast of the island. The village is located on Highway 6 between Limassol and Paphos .

population

Kouklia / Sakarya was a mixed village before 1974, until 1911 Cypriot Turks made up the majority, but from 1921 Cyprus-Greeks . After the island gained independence in 1960, there were 622 Cypriot Greeks and 419 Cypriot Turks in the village. In 1973 there were 613 Cypriot Greeks and 494 Cypriot Turks. The Cypriot Turks of the village fled to the north of the island after 1974.

history

On the southern outskirts of today's Kouklia was Palaiá Páphos with its Aphrodite sanctuary in antiquity. In the 12th century BC The first Greeks settled here and found an Ishtar - Astarte cult there. It was a stone cult, which Ishtar-Astarte and later Aphrodite worshiped in the form of a black conical stone. The great aphrodisias were celebrated every spring in honor of the goddess .

The village was also of historical importance during the Persian Wars . The Cypriots defended a fortress here during the Persian siege in the winter of 498/497 BC. The remains of the complex were excavated near today's Marcello hill , which is about 500 meters northeast of today's town center.

On July 22, 1974 , in response to the entry of Turkish troops into the north of the island , the Cypriot National Guard attacked the Turkish part of Kouklia / Sakarya in order to disarm the Turkish Cypriot fighters. During the attack, all Cypriot Turks left the village, except for the elderly and the sick. The Cypriot Turks from Kouklia / Sakarya first tried to seek refuge in Gökağaç / Alektora and Düzkaya / Avdimou, but these villages had already been evacuated. So the residents sought refuge in the British military base Akrotiri and stayed there until January 1975. They were then flown to Turkey and from there to the north of the island. On August 26, 1975, the 28 elderly Turkish residents of the village were evacuated from the village under the control of UNFICYP . The Turkish inhabitants of the village now live in Karavas / Alsancak , Lapta , Morfou / Güzelyurt , Kythrea / Değirmenlik , Kyra / Mevlevi , Trachhoni / Demirhan , Neo Chorio / Minareliköy , Gerolakkos / Alayköy , Famagusta / Gazimağefkoşa and Nicosia . The number of Turkish residents displaced is 450.

Attractions

Petra tou Romiou on the beach at Kouklia

Web links

Commons : Kouklia  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Kouklia / Sakarya , table on population development since 1831 and further information about Kouklia / Sakarya

Remarks

  1. ^ Andreas Schneider: Cyprus. P. 162f.