The primary aim of the programme is to contribute to the creation of a corpus of Ottoman sources on 19th century Cyprus. The kaza of Kouklia, that is Palaipaphos, along with the kazas of Paphos and Chrysochous, make up the southwest part of Cyprus. The composition of the villages within the kaza of Kouklia varies throughout the 19th century, as proved by the archival material we are publishing. The kaza of Kouklia, small in size, as defined by its villages, occupies geographically the inner section of the kaza of Paphos, surrounded on all sides by Paphiot villages.
The book to be published in 2015 will be a volume of Ottoman sources collected from the Başbakanlık Osmalı Arşivi (Istanbul), the National Archives (Kyrenia) and the Archives of the Archdiocese of Cyprus (Nicosia). They record the Christian and Muslim populations of the villages in the region during the 19th century. Male inhabitants are indicated by name, along with their age, profession, physical characteristics and assets. It is valuable historical material which sheds light on the history of the two communities on the island and contributes to the history of Cyprus during Ottoman times. Apart from the contribution to be made by this publication, it must be pointed out here that it is of particular importance to academic ethics in the countries of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. Our partnership, Evangelia Balta, Mustafa Oğuz and Ali E. Özkul, wishes to show and emphasize that it is the duty of historians interested in the history of their land to work together to produce knowledge, bypassing any political rigidities, thus proving that science obeys only the rules of Science.