Mehmetçik / Galatia

Mehmetçik / Galatia Γαλάτεια Mehmetçik
Basic data
State :	Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (de facto)
District :	İskele
Geographic coordinates :	35 ° 25 ′  N , 34 ° 4 ′  E Coordinates: 35 ° 25 ′  N , 34 ° 4 ′  E
Residents :	497 (2011)
Mayor :	Cemil Sarıçizemli
Website:	Mehmetçik Municipality

Mehmetçik or Galateia (Greek: Γαλάτεια) is a village on the Karpas peninsula in the north of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus , which was given the Turkish name Mehmetçik in 1958. In 1974 the place and the northern part of the island were occupied by Turkish troops and de facto belongs to the İskele district of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, founded in 1983 .

Beach near Mehmetcik, 2003

In 1831 the place had 131 male inhabitants (only these were counted), in 1891 575 Turks and two Greeks lived there. By 1931 the population had risen to 938, at which time six Greeks were counted. In 1960 there were no more Greeks living in the village besides the 1260 Turks, from 1964 to 1971 Mehmetçik was the administrative center for the Turkish enclave in Northern Cyprus. In 1971 there were 71 displaced persons living there with a population of 1550. By 1996 the population sank to 1,056, because many of the younger ones left the region because of the poor economic prospects. In 2006 there were 1196 inhabitants again, in 2011 there were 3729.

Web links

• Table on population growth since 1831 and the recent history (Engl.)

Remarks

1. ↑ Galateia .
2. ↑ KKTC 2011 Nüfus ve Konut Sayımı . TRNC. August 6, 2013.