Kourdaka

Kourdaka is a village in the province of Paphos in Cyprus and it is situated 20 kilometers northeast of the homonymous city, 77 kilometers northwest of Limassol and 165 kilometers southwest of Nicosia.

A settlement between Houlou and Letimvou, Kourdaka is a rare case of a community that has overcome desertion and abandonment, and instead, it has gained new life since 2012 with newcomers who have chosen to live in the area.

Historically, this small mountain village of Pafos, under the Frankish and Venetian domination, was a royal feud that changed hands, was gifted or leased among royal families and feudalists of the time. Although it was mainly a Greek village, during the Ottoman domination, and more specifically in the 17th-18th century, its population changed its faith and were turned into Muslims, something confirmed by censuses during the British domination of the island.

Eventually, Kourdaka ceased to be inhabited since 1963, when the inter-communal turmoil between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots began. At that time, the last Turkish Cypriot inhabitants left the area in fear of an attack, leaving the community deserted, which was reborn after the Turkish invasion of 1974, when some individual settlers arrived here, taking advantage of the old Turkish Cypriot installations.

In 2008 the settlement was proclaimed as a Communal Authority by the state and is now inhabited by 14 permanent residents who work in the city of Paphos and live in the village. As part of the modernization and development of the "newly-built" community, the chapel of Agia Paraskevi has been built, and now there are also a beautiful community park and a cafe for its guests. Kourdaka is situated very close to Houlou (4 km), Lemona (5 km), Letimvou (2.5 km) and Polemi (7 km).