Lakatamia

Lakatamia is a suburb in Nicosia and has been an independent municipality since 1986.Lakatamia is split into Upper and Lower Lakatamia and is located at an altitude of 250 metres. During the inventory in 2002 it had 28,477 residents. The old Nicosia airport is located in Lakatamia.

History

The oldest written proof of Lakatamia is in 1436 when the count of Tripolis Peter Louzian gave it as a present to his niece Carlotta. During the Frank period, there were feuds and agricultural communities which were inhabited by the Ottoman Turks. During this period there were three communities which formed the core of today’s Lakatamia, Upper Lakatamia, Lower Lakatamia and Koulouratos. In the course of the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot problems, the Turkish residents abandoned Lakatamia and established themselves in Nicosia. After the Turkish invasion in 1974 Lakatamia received many refugees from other areas which increased its population from 5000 residents to 40000 today. The residents from the Maronite villages also established themselves in Lakatamia making it a Maronite community today.

Name

It is believed that the name comes from the Alakatia which they villagers used to pump water from the wells. Historians of the medieval times mention it as being called Alakatamia. Another version states that the name comes from the ancient Lakedemonious and the word changed from time into what it is today.