Pyla (Cyprus)

Pyla Πύλα Pile
Basic data
State :	Cyprus
District :	Larnaka
Geographic coordinates :	35 ° 1 ′  N , 33 ° 42 ′  E Coordinates: 35 ° 1 ′  N , 33 ° 42 ′  E
Height above d. M .:	60  m
Surface:	28.3386 km²
Residents :	2771 (2011)
LAU-1 code no .:	CY-03
Website:	www.pyla.com.cy
Center of Pyla

Pyla ( Greek Πύλα , Turkish Pile ) is a town in the district of Larnaca in Cyprus . At the last official census in 2011, the place had 2,771 inhabitants.

location

Location of the municipality in the Larnaka district

Pyla is located in the southeast of the island of Cyprus at an altitude of 60 meters, about 33 km southeast of the capital Nicosia , 8 km northeast of Larnaka and 28 km west of Agia Napa .

The place is close to the coast to the Mediterranean Sea on Larnaka Bay . Part of the place is in the buffer zone to Northern Cyprus and part on the coast. Another, unpopulated part of the municipality is in the area of ​​the British military base Dhekelia . To the east of the town is the Kingsfield airfield within the military area.

Places in the vicinity are Pergamos in the north, Xylotymbou and Ormideia as Cypriot exclaves in the British military area in the east, Livadia and Larnaka in the southwest and Oroklini in the west.

history

Venetian tower of Pyla

The area of ​​the village has probably been inhabited since antiquity and especially in the Early and Middle Bronze Age (2400–1700 BC), as various archaeological excavations in the area show.

In the Middle Ages, a watchtower with a suspension bridge or wooden staircase was built and is still standing today. The Tower of Pyla and other towers were used to monitor the area around Larnaka Bay. When the Saracens attacked the area in 1425 , Pyla and other neighboring villages were also attacked.

The village, which was once considered a royal property, later became the property of the state , especially during the Venetian period , and was occupied by the Turks in 1570–71 . These settled in the village without, however, driving out the Greek inhabitants, as they had done in other villages. So the village was and remained mixed even after the Turkish invasion.

Population development

year	1881	1891	1901	1911	1921	1931	1946	1960	1973	1976	1982	2001	2011
Residents	378	450	485	556	604	698	866	961	1074	679	812	1334	2771
Source: 1881-2001, 2011

Web links

Commons : Pyla  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The community site (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Statistical Service. cystat.gov.cy, accessed March 24, 2019 .  (Download)
2. ↑ ^{a b} History , pyla.com, accessed April 2, 2019 (English)