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PATRIKI is a village in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, about 25 km NE of the city, one km from the Karpas Penisula main road and on the road to the KANTARA fortress which is one of the medieval castles of the Pentadactylos mountain.
The village until the Turkish invasion of 1974 was inhabited for many centuries by Greek population. On the 14 August 1974 the 800 Greek inhabitants of the village were forced to leave their homes in order to escape humiliation, torture and death in the hands of the advancing Turkish army. Their properties were looted and their monuments destroyed by the Turks.
Most of the inhabitants of Patriki moved to the free part of Cyprus where they found safety. Thereafter a large number of the inhabitants of the village emigrated to Australia, Canada, USA and Great Britain to seek work while awaiting their safely return to their homes. The majority of those who remained in Cyprus live at Kokkines Refugee housing estate of Larnaca.
Patriki has a number of archaeological sites amongst which the stone-built tombs discovered by the Department of Cyprus Antiquities which suggest that its history begins at 700 BC. During the period of the Arab attacks on Cyprus (7th to 9th century AD) the population of the village increased as many inhabitants of the city - port Palea at the southern seashore moved to the village for protection.
The Association of Patriki in the United Kingdom is very active regarding the enlightenment of the international community on the violations of human rights of the Greek Cypriot refugees, participating so in the campaign for Justice to Cyprus, repatriation of the illegal settlers and the termination of the occupation of the island by Turkey.
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