About Cyprus

GEOGRAPHY

Cyprus is an island in the north-eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. With an area of 9.251 sq.km (3.572 sq. miles) Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia.

The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia with a population of some 224.500 (in the sector controlled by the Cyprus Government) people. It is situated roughly in the centre of the island and is the seat of Government and main business centre. Limassol is situated in the South, has a population of 176.900 people and is the main commercial port, the industrial centre and the chief exporting town of Cyprus. Larnaka, in the south east of the island, has a population of 79.000 and is the islands second commercial port and home of the International Airport. Finally Paphos in the south west has a population of about 52.800 and with its own Airport is rapidly gaining importance as a tourist centre. The towns of Famagusta, Kyrenia and Morfou as well as part of Nicosia are under Military occupation since the Turkish invasion of 1974. The Greek Cypriot inhabitants of these towns were forced to flee to the Government controlled area.

POPULATION

The estimated population of Cyprus is 854.300. Greek Cypriots form by far the largest ethnic group, accounting for about 78% of the population. Turkish Cypriots comprise about 18%, while British, Armenians, Maronites and others make up the rest.

HISTORY

Cyprus has played a most important role in the history of the Eastern Mediterranean. From as early as the 2nd millennium B.C. Greek colonies were established on the island introducing with them their religion, language, script, customs and institution of city states. The island was for a time tributary to Persia and later became part of the Ptolemaic and Roman Empires. For nearly nine centuries Cyprus was a province of the Byzantine Empire (330 - 1191 A.D.) and later became a independent Frankish Kingdom: it then passed to the Venetians and was subsequently occupied by the Turks in 1571. The long list of rulers left no mark on the Greek character of Cyprus though remnants from various phases of the island's life are to be seen at every glance of the country. Cyprus was ceded to Britain by the Turks in 1878. British rule lasted until August 1960 when after a four year liberation struggle the island was granted independence and was proclaimed a republic. In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus and occupied some 40% of the island.

On the 1st May 2004, Cyprus joined the European Union as a full member, but without achieving the desired goal of acceding as a unified country. Negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem are taking place under the auspices of the United Nations. The people of Cyprus yearn and search for a viable settlement that would enable all Cypriots to live in a unified country.

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