Old Paramali - Aphrodite meets Call of Duty

Published 27th of July, 2019

Back Outside

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Anyway, that's enough of an appetiser. Where's the village we promised you at the start, and what was that about Call of Duty?

Old Paramali

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Here we are. Just up the valley from the church, you come upon the old village of Paramali, now long-since abandoned.

Old Mosque

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So let's have a quick history lesson, courtesy of PRIO:

Historical Population

Although the village was solely inhabited by Muslims (Turkish Cypriots) during the Ottoman period, throughout the British period the population of the village was mixed, with Turkish Cypriots constituting the majority. Greek Cypriots began residing in the village after 1891. During the British period, the population of the village increased from 136 persons in 1891 to 248 in 1960.

Displacement:

No one was displaced from this village during the 1950s emergency years, but all the Greek Cypriots fled the village during the intercommunal strife of 1963-64. During the latter period the village formed a sub-unit of the Episkopi enclave and served as an important reception center for displaced Turkish Cypriots who fled the nearby villages of Prastio/Çeliktaş(279), Silikou/Silifke(280) and Malia/Bağlarbaşı(270). Richard Patrick recorded 103 displaced Turkish Cypriots still living in the village in 1971. On the other hand, the second conflict-related displacement from Paramali/Çayönü took place after 1974, when the village’s Turkish Cypriot population fled to the Akrotiri British Base Area. Apart from some who fled clandestinely to the north, most stayed in the Base Area until the end of 1974. In January 1975, they were eventually transferred to north Cyprus via Turkey and were subsequently resettled in Kalopsida(151) village of the Famagusta district, which they renamed Çayönü. The total number of displaced Turkish Cypriots from Paramali/Çayönü can be estimated to be 250 (218 in the 1960 census).

Current Inhabitants:

Currently the village is mainly inhabited by displaced Greek Cypriots from the north. While some displaced Greek Cypriots occupy Turkish Cypriot houses, much new housing has also been constructed for them in the area. The last Cypriot census of 2001 put the total population at 148.

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Two things we get from that. First, the place has been around for a while. Secondly, the Greek Cypriots clearly must reside in the Paramali on the other side of the motorway.

Prickly View

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Incidently, if you explore places like this, long trousers and decent boots are highly recommended. It can be very painful walking through this undergrowth in shorts.

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