Cyprus ( , transliterated: Kýpros, ; ),
officially the Republic of Cyprus ( ,
Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, ; ), is a Eurasian island
country in the Eastern
Mediterranean, south of Turkey
and west of
Syria
and Lebanon
.
It is the
third largest
island in the Mediterranean Sea
and one of its most popular tourist
destinations. A
highly
developed country, the Republic of Cyprus was a founding member
of the
Non-Aligned Movement
until it joined the
European Union on
May 1, 2004.
The island
has known human activity since
around the 10th millennium BC and
contains the well-preserved Neolithic
village of Choirokoitia
, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along
with the Tombs of the Kings
. It is home to some of the oldest water
wells in the world, and is the site of the earliest known example
of
feline-human association.
At a
strategic location in the Middle East,
Cyprus has been occupied by several major powers, including the
empires of the Hittites, Assyrians, Phoenicians
, Egyptians, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, and Ottomans. It was
placed under
British
administration in 1878 until it was granted independence in
1960, becoming a member of the
Commonwealth the following year. In
1974, following
11 years
of intercommunal violence and an attempted
coup d'état by
Greek
Cypriot nationalists, Turkey
invaded and occupied the northern
portion of the island. The Turkish invasion led to the
displacement of thousands of Cypriots and
the establishment of a separate
Turkish
Cypriot political entity in the north. This event and its
resulting political situation are matters of
ongoing dispute.
The
Republic of Cyprus has de jure
sovereignty over the entire island of
Cyprus and its surrounding waters except small portions that are
allocated by treaty to the United Kingdom
as sovereign military
bases. The Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts, the
area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus,
comprising about 59% of the island's area and the Turkish-occupied
area in the north, calling itself the
Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus
, covering
about 37% of the island's area and recognised only by
Turkey.
Etymology
The name
Cyprus has a somewhat uncertain
etymology. One suggestion is that it comes from
the Greek word for the
Mediterranean cypress
tree (
Cupressus
sempervirens),
κυπάρισσος (
kypárissos),
or even from the Greek name of the
henna plant
(
Lawsonia alba),
κύπρος (
kýpros). Another school suggests that it
stems from the
Eteocypriot word for
copper. Georges Dossin, for example, suggests
that it has roots in the
Sumerian
word for
copper (
zubar) or for
bronze (
kubar), from the large
deposits of copper ore found on the island. Through overseas trade
the island has given its name to the
Classical Latin word for copper through the
phrase
aes Cyprium, "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to
Cuprum.
Cyprus is also known as the Island of
Aphrodite, Venus, or Love since according to
Phoenician mythology, Astarte, goddess of love and beauty, who was later
identified with the Greek goddess
Aphrodite, was born on the shores of Paphos
.
The standard
demonym relating to Cyprus or
its people or culture is
Cypriot. The terms
Cypriote and
Cyprian are
also, less frequently, used.
History
Ancient times
The earliest confirmed site of human activity on Cyprus is
Aetokremnos, situated on the south coast,
indicating that
hunter-gatherers
were active on the island from around
10,000 BC, with settled
village communities dating from 8200 BC.
The arrival of the first humans correlates with the extinction of
the
dwarf hippos and
dwarf elephant. Water wells
discovered by archaeologists in western Cyprus are believed to be
among the oldest in the world, dated at 9,000 to 10,500 years old.
Remains of an 8-month-old
cat were discovered
buried with its human owner at a separate
Neolithic site in Cyprus. The grave is estimated
to be 9,500 years old, predating
ancient Egyptian civilization and pushing
back the
earliest known feline-human
association significantly.
The remarkably well-preserved Neolithic
village of Khirokitia
is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site dating to approximately 6800
BC.
The island was part of the Hittite empire during the late Bronze
Age until the arrival of two waves of Greek settlement. The first
wave consisted of
Mycenaean Greek
traders, which started visiting Cyprus around
1400 BC. A major wave of Greek settlement is
believed to have taken place following the
Bronze Age collapse of
Mycenaean Greece in the period 1100-1050
BC, with the island's predominantly Greek character dating from
this period. Cyprus occupies an important role in
Greek mythology being the birthplace of
Aphrodite and
Adonis, and home to
King
Cinyras,
Teucer and
Pygmalion. Beginning in the
8th century BC Phoenician colonies were founded on
the south coast of Cyprus, near present day Larnaca and
Salamis.
Cyprus was ruled by
Assyria for a
century starting in
708 BC, before a brief
spell under Egyptian rule and eventually Persian rule in
545 BC.
Cypriots, led by Onesilos, king of Salamis
, joined
their fellow-Greeks in the Ionian cities
during the unsuccessful Ionian Revolt
in 499 BC against the Achaemenid Empire. The revolt was
suppressed without bloodshed, although Cyprus managed to maintain a
high degree of autonomy and remained oriented towards the Greek
world. The island was brought under permanent Greek rule by
Alexander the Great and the
Ptolemies of Egypt following his death.
Full
Hellenisation took place during
the
Ptolemaic period, which ended
when Cyprus was annexed by the
Roman
Republic in
58 BC.
Middle Ages
When the
Roman Empire was divided into
Eastern and Western parts in 395, Cyprus became part of the East
Roman, or
Byzantine Empire, and
would remain part of it until the crusades some 800 years later.
Under Byzantine rule, the Greek orientation that had been prominent
since antiquity developed the strong Hellenistic-Christian
character that continues to be a hallmark of the Greek Cypriot
community. Beginning in 649, Cyprus suffered from devastating raids
launched from the Levant, which continued from the next 300 years.
Many were quick piratical raids, but others were large-scale
attacks in which many Cypriots were slaughtered and great wealth
carried off or destroyed. No Byzantine churches survive from this
period, thousands were killed, and many cities, such as Salamis,
were destroyed and never rebuilt. Byzantine rule was restored in
965, when General
Nikephoros Phokas
(later Emperor) scored decisive victories on land and sea. In 1191,
during the
Third Crusade,
Richard I of England captured the
island from
Isaac Komnenos of
Cyprus He used it as a major supply base that was relatively
safe from the
Saracens. A year later
Richard sold the island to the
Templars, who, following a bloody revolt, in
turn sold it to
Guy of
Lusignan.
Following
the death in 1473 of James II, the last Lusignan king, the Republic of
Venice
assumed control of the island, while his Venetian
widow, Queen Caterina Cornaro
reigned as figurehead. Venice formally annexed Cyprus in
1489, following the abdication of Caterina.
Using it as an
important commercial hub, the Venetians fortified Nicosia
, the current capital city in Cyprus, with its
famous Venetian Walls. Throughout Venetian rule, the
Ottoman Empire frequently raided
Cyprus.
In 1539 the Ottomans
destroyed Limassol
and so fearing the worst, the Venetians also
fortified Famagusta
and Kyrenia
.
During the almost four centuries of Latin rule, there existed two
societies on Cyprus. The first consisted of Frankish nobles and
their retinue, as well as Italian merchants and their families. The
second, the majority of the population, consisted of Greek Cypriots
serfs and laborers. Although a determined effort was made to
supplant native traditions and culture, the effort failed.
Ottoman and British rule
In 1570,
a full scale Ottoman assault with 60,000 troops brought the island
under Ottoman
control, despite stiff resistance by the inhabitants of
Nicosia and Famagusta. 20,000 Nicosians were
put to death, and every church, public
building, and palace was looted. The previous Latin elite was
destroyed and the first significant demographic change since
antiquity took place when Ottoman
Janissaries were settled on the island. The
Ottomans abolished the feudal system previously in place and
applied the
millet system to
Cyprus, under which non-
Muslim peoples were
governed by their own religious authorities. In a reversal from the
days of Latin rule, the head of the
Church of Cyprus was invested as leader of
the Greek Cypriot population and acted a mediator between Christian
Greek Cypriots and the Ottoman authorities. Ottoman rule of Cyprus
was at times indifferent, at times oppressive, depending on the
temperaments of the sultans and local officials, and during this
period the island fell into economic decline. Reaction to Ottoman
misrule led to uprisings by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots,
although none were successful. By 1872, the population of the
island had risen to 144,000 comprising 44,000 Muslims and 100,000
Christians.
Centuries of neglect by the Turks, the
unrelenting poverty of most of the people, and the ever-present tax
collectors fueled Greek nationalism, and by 19th century the idea
of enosis, or union, with newly independent Greece
was firmly
rooted among Greek Cypriots.
In the aftermath of the
Russo-Turkish War ,
administration, but not sovereignty, of the island
was ceded to the
British Empire in 1878 in exchange for
guarantees that Britain would use the island as a base to protect
the Ottoman Empire against possible Russian aggression. The island
would serve Britain as a key military base in its colonial routes.
By 1906,
when the Famagusta harbour was completed, Cyprus was a strategic
naval outpost overlooking the Suez Canal
, the crucial main route to India which was then
Britain's most important colony. Following the
outbreak of World War I and the entry of
the Ottoman Empire on the side of the Central powers, the United Kingdom
annexed the island in 1914. In 1915, Britain
offered Cyprus to
Constantine I
of Greece on condition that Greece join the war on the side of
the British, which he declined.
In 1923, under the Treaty of Lausanne, the nascent Turkish republic relinquished any claim to Cyprus and in 1925 it was
declared a British Crown Colony.
Many
Greek Cypriots fought in the British
Army during both World Wars, in the hope that Cyprus would
eventually be united with Greece.
During
World War II many enlisted in
the
Cyprus Regiment.
In January 1950 the Eastern Orthodox Church organized a referendum,
which was boycotted by the Turkish Cypriot community, where over
90% voted in favor of "enosis", meaning union with Greece.
Restricted autonomy under a constitution was proposed by the
British administration but eventually rejected. In 1955 the
EOKA organisation was founded, seeking
independence and union with Greece through armed struggle. At the
same time the
TMT,
calling for Taksim, or partition, was established by the Turkish
Cypriots as a counterweight. Turmoil on the island was met with
force by the British.
Independence
On August 16, 1960, Cyprus attained independence after an agreement
in
Zürich and
London between the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey.
The UK
retained two Sovereign Base
Areas in Akrotiri and Dhekelia
while government posts and public offices were
allocated by ethnic quotas giving the minority Turks a permanent
veto, 30% in parliament and administration, and granting the 3
mother-states guarantor rights.
In 1963 inter-communal violence broke out, partially sponsored by
both "motherlands" with Turkish Cypriots being forced into
enclaves and Cypriot President
Archbishop
Makarios III calling for
unilateral
constitutional changes as a means to ease tensions over the
whole island. The
United Nations was
involved and the United Nations forces in Cyprus (UNICYP) deployed
at flash points.
In 1964,
Turkey attempted to invade Cyprus but was stopped by a
strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 5, 1964
Invasion and occupation
Turkey launched a military invasion on the island in 1974 following
the coup d'e'tatengineered by the Greek Junta. The Turkish air
force began bombing Greek positions on Cyprus, hundreds of
paratroops were dropped in the area between Nicosia and Kyrenia,
where well-armed Turkish Cypriot enclaves had been
long-established, while off the Kyrenia coast 30 Turkish troop
ships protected by destroyers disgorged 6,000 men as well as an
array of tanks, trucks, and armored vehicles. Three days later,
when a ceasefire had been agreed, Turkey had landed 30,000 troops
on the island and captured Kyrenia, the corridor linking Kyrenia to
Nicosia and the Turkish-Cypriot quarter of Nicosia. The junta in
Athens and then Sampson in Cyprus fell from power. In Nicosia,
Glafkos Clerides assumed the presidency and constitutional order
was restored; ostensibly removing the pretext the Turks gave for
the invasion, though the Turks having come this far were now
committed to implementing their long-held plan to partition the
island and annex northern Cyprus. The Turks used a period of sham
negotiations - during which Turkey enjoyed American moral,
intelligence and diplomatic support - to reinforce their Kyrenia
bridgehead and prepare for the second phase of the invasion, which
began on 14 August and resulted in the seizure of Morphou,
Karpasia, Ammochostos and the Mesaoria. Heavily outnumbered, the
Greek forces were unable to resist the Turkish advance.
International pressure led to a ceasefire and at that point 37% of
the land fell within the Turkish occupation zone, 180,000 Greek
Cypriots were evicted from their homes in the north. At the same
time around 50,000 Turkish Cypriots moved to the areas under the
control of the Turkish Forces and settled in the properties of the
displaced Greek Cypriots.
In 1983 Turkish Cypriots unilaterally
proclaimed independence
, which was only recognized by Turkey. As of
today, there are 1,534 Greek Cypriots and 502 Turkish Cypriots
missing as a result of the fighting. The events of the summer of
1974 dominate the
politics on the
island, as well as
Greco-Turkish
relations.
Around 150,000 settlers from Turkey are believed
to be living in the north in violation of the Geneva Convention and various UN resolutions. Following
the invasion and the capture of its northern territory by Turkish
troops, the Republic of Cyprus announced that all of its
ports of entry in the north are closed, as
they are effectively not under its control.
Recent history
Since
de facto, though not
de jure,
partition of the Republic, the north and south
have followed separate paths. The Republic of Cyprus is a
constitutional democracy that has
reached great levels of prosperity, with a booming economy and good
infrastructure. It is a member of the
UN, the
European
Union and several other organisations by whom it is recognised
as the sole legitimate government of the whole island.
The area of the
island not under effective control of the Republic of Cyprus,
Northern
Cyprus, is dependent on help from Turkey. The last
major effort to settle the
Cyprus
dispute was the
Annan Plan. It gained
the support of the Turkish Cypriots but was
rejected by the Greek Cypriots.
In July
2006, the island served as a safe haven for people fleeing Lebanon
because of the conflict between Israel
and Hezbollah.
In March 2008, a wall that for decades had stood at the boundary
between the Greek Cypriot controlled side and the UN
buffer zone was demolished. The wall had cut
across Ledra Street in the heart of Nicosia and was seen as a
strong symbol of the island's 32-year division.
On 3 April 2008,
Ledra
Street
was reopened in the presence of Greek and Turkish
Cypriot officials.
Geography
Topographic image of Cyprus
Cyprus is
the third largest island in the Mediterranean
(after the Italian
islands of Sicily and
Sardinia) and the world's 81st largest. It
measures 240 kilometers
latitudinally and
100 km
longitudinally, with Turkey
75 km to the north.
Other neighbouring territories include
Syria and Lebanon to the east
(105 km and 108 km, respectively), Israel 200 km
to the southeast, Egypt
380 km
to the south, and Greece to the
west-northwest: 280 km to the small Dodecanesian island of Kastellórizo 
, 400 km to Rhodes
, and
800 km to the Greek mainland.
The
physical relief of the island is dominated by two mountain ranges,
the Troodos
Mountains
and the smaller Kyrenia Range, and the central plain they
encompass, the Mesaoria. The Troodos
Mountains cover most of the southern and western portions of the
island and account for roughly half its area.
The highest point on
Cyprus is Mount
Olympus
at 1,952 m, located in the center of the Troodos
range. The narrow Kyrenia Range, extending along the
northern coastline, occupies substantially less area, and
elevations are lower, reaching a maximum of 1,024 m.
Geopolitically, the island is subdivided
into four main segments. The Republic of Cyprus, the
internationally recognized government, occupies the southern
two-thirds of the island (59.74%).
The Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third (34.85%) of the island
and is recognized only by Turkey, as it consists of the
Turkish-occupied areas. The
United
Nations-controlled
Green
Line is a buffer zone that separates the two and covers 2.67%
of the island.
Lastly, two
bases under British sovereignty are located on the island:
Akrotiri and
Dhekelia, covering the remaining 2.74%.
Government
Cyprus is a
Presidential
republic. The head of state and of the government is the
President, who is elected by a process of
Universal suffrage for a five-year term.
Executive power is exercised by the government with legislative
power vested in the House of Representatives whilst the Judiciary
is independent of both the executive and the legislature.
The 1960 Constitution provided for a presidential system of
government with independent executive, legislative, and judicial
branches, as well as a complex system of checks and balances,
including a weighted power-sharing ratio designed to protect the
interests of the Turkish Cypriots. The executive, was headed by a
Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice president
elected by their respective communities for five-year terms and
each possessing a right of veto over certain types of legislation
and executive decisions. Legislative power rested on the House of
Representatives, also elected on the basis of separate voters'
rolls. Since 1964, following clashes between the two communities,
the
Turkish Cypriot seats in the
House remain vacant. Turkish Cypriots refuse to establish the state
of affairs before the invasion of Cyprus in their attempt to de
jure partition the Republic of Cyprus. This is evident in the
Secretary-General of the United Nations report at the time. The
Turkish Cypriot leaders have adhered to a rigid stand against any
measures which might involve having members of the two communities
live and work together, or which might place Turkish Cypriots in
situations where they would have to acknowledge the authority of
Government agents. Indeed, since the Turkish Cypriot leadership is
committed to physical and geographical separation of the
communities as a political goal, it is not likely to encourage
activities by Turkish Cypriots which may be interpreted as
demonstrating the merits of an alternative policy. The result has
been a seemingly deliberate policy of self-segregation by the
Turkish Cypriots
In 1974
Cyprus was divided de facto into the Greek Cypriot
controlled southern two-thirds of the island and the Turkish controlled
northern third. The Turkish Cypriots subsequently declared
independence in 1983 as the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus, but were recognized only by Turkey. In
1985, the TRNC adopted a constitution and held its first elections.
The United Nations recognizes the sovereignty of the Republic of
Cyprus over the entire island of Cyprus.
The House of Representatives currently has 59 members elected for a
five year term, 56 members by
proportional representation and
3 observer members representing the
Armenian,
Latin and
Maronite minorities. 24 seats are allocated
to the
Turkish community but remain
vacant since 1964. The political environment is dominated by the
communist
AKEL,
the liberal conservative
Democratic
Rally, the
centrist Democratic Party, the
social-democratic EDEK and the centrist
EURO.KO.
On 17 February 2008
Dimitris
Christofias of the
AKEL was elected
President of Cyprus, on AKEL's first electoral victory without
being part of a wider coalition.
Cyprus is currently one of only two
countries in the world to have a democratically elected communist government (the other being Nepal
), and the
only European Union member state under communist leadership.
Christofias took over government from
Tassos Papadopoulos of the
Democratic Party who had been in
office since February 2003.
Districts
The
Republic of Cyprus is divided into six districts: Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca
, Limassol and Paphos.
Exclaves and enclaves
Cyprus
has four exclaves, all in territory that
belongs to the British Sovereign Base Area of
Dhekelia. The first two are the villages of Ormidhia
and Xylotymvou
. The third is the Dhekelia Power Station,
which is divided by a British road into two parts. The northern
part is an exclave, like the two villages, whereas the southern
part is located by the sea and therefore not an exclave, although
it has no
territorial waters of
its own.
The UN buffer zone runs up against Dhekelia
and picks up again from its east side off Ayios Nikolaos, connected to the
rest of Dhekelia by a thin land corridor, and in that sense the
buffer zone turns the southeast corner of the island, the Paralimni
area, into a de facto, though not
de jure, exclave.
Pyrgos
is a de
facto exclave of the government-controlled part of the
island. It is the only Greek Cypriot town located on
the TRNC-controlled Morphou
Bay
.
Human rights
The constant focus on the division of the island can sometimes mask
other
human rights issues. Prostitution
is rife in both the Greek-controlled and the Turkish-controlled
regions, and the Greek south has been criticised for its role in
the
sex trade as one of the main
destinations for
human trafficking
from
Eastern Europe. The regime in
the North has been the focus of occasional
freedom of speech criticisms regarding
heavy-handed treatment of newspaper editors.
Domestic violence legislation in the
Republic remains largely unimplemented, and it has not yet been
passed into law in the North. Reports on the mistreatment of
domestic staff, mostly immigrant workers from
developing countries, are sometimes
reported in the Greek Cypriot press, and are the subject of several
campaigns by the anti-racist charity
KISA.
Military
The
Cypriot National Guard is
the main military institution of the Republic of Cyprus in the
South. It is an all Greek
combined
arms force, with land, air and naval elements.
The land forces of the Cypriot National Guard comprise the
following units:
- First Infantry Division (Ιη Μεραρχία ΠΖ)
- Second Infantry Division (ΙΙα Μεραρχία ΠΖ)
- Fourth Infantry Brigade (ΙVη Ταξιαρχία ΠΖ)
- Twentieth Armored Brigade (ΧΧη ΤΘ Ταξιαρχία)
- Third Support Brigade (ΙΙΙη Ταξιαρχία ΥΠ)
- Eighth Support Brigade (VIIIη Ταξιαρχία ΥΠ)
The air force includes the 449th Helicopter Gunship Squadron (449
ΜΑΕ) - operating
SA-342L and
Bell 206 and the 450th Helicopter Gunship
Squadron (450 ME/P) - operating
Mi-35P,
BN-2B and
PC-9. Current Senior officers include Supreme
Commander, Cypriot National Guard: Lt. Gen. Konstantinos Bisbikas,
Deputy Commander, Cypriot National Guard: Lt. Gen. Savvas Argyrou
and Chief of Staff, Cypriot National Guard: Maj. Gen. Gregory
Stamoulis.
Economy
The Cypriot economy is prosperous and has diversified in recent
years.
According to the latest IMF
estimates, its per capita GDP
(adjusted for purchasing
power) is, at $28,381, just
above the average of the European Union. Cyprus has been
sought as a base for several offshore businesses for its highly
developed infrastructure. Economic policy of the Cyprus government
has focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the European
Union. Adoption of the
euro as a national
currency is required of all new countries joining the
European Union, and the Cypriot government
adopted the currency on 1 January 2008.
Oil has recently been discovered in the seabed between
Cyprus and Egypt, and talks are underway between Lebanon and Egypt to reach an
agreement regarding the exploration of these resources. The
seabed separating Lebanon and Cyprus is believed to hold
significant quantities of
crude oil and
natural gas. However, the Turkish Navy
doesn't allow the exploration of oil in the region.
The
economy of the Turkish-occupied area (effectively a district of the
Mersin
Province
) is
dominated by the services sector, including the public sector,
trade, tourism and education, with smaller agriculture and light
manufacturing sectors. The economy operates on a
free-market basis, although it continues to be
handicapped by the political isolation of Turkish Cypriots, the
lack of private and governmental investment, high freight costs,
and shortages of skilled labor. Despite these constraints, the
economy turned in an impressive performance in 2003 and 2004, with
growth rates of 9.6% and 11.4%. The average income in the area was
$15,984 in 2008.
Economic and Social Indicators 1977-2008,
TRNC State Planning Organization. Growth has been buoyed by the
relative stability of the
Turkish new
lira and by a boom in the education and construction
sectors.The island has witnessed a massive growth in tourism over
the years and as such the property rental market in Cyprus has
grown along side. Added to this is the capital growth in property
that has been created from the demand of incoming investors and
property buyers to the island.
Numismatics
In Cyprus, the
euro was introduced in 2008.
Three different designs were selected for the Cypriot coins. To
commemorate this event, a €5 collector coin was also issued. This
coin is a legacy of an old national practice of minting silver and
gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not
legal tender in all of the eurozone; so they cannot be used in any
other country but only in Cyprus.
Demographics
Population distribution of
Cyprus
Population growth (numbers for the
entire island, excluding in recent years some 150,000 Turkish
immigrants residing in Northern Cyprus).
Population structure.
According to the first population census after the declaration of
independence, carried out in December 1960 and covering the entire
island, Cyprus had a total population of 573,566, with Greek
Cypriots comprising 77% of the island's population and Turkish
Cypriots 18% (other nationals accounted for the remaining 5%).
According to the last census covering the entire island (April
1973), the population of Cyprus was 631,778 with the Turkish
Cypriots estimated at 19% of the total (about 120,000).
The
subsequent censuses conducted in 1976-2001 after the de facto
division of the island covered only the population in the area
controlled by the Republic of Cyprus government, and the number of
Turkish Cypriots residing in Northern Cyprus was estimated by the Republic of Cyprus Statistical
Service on the basis of population growth rates and migration
data. In the last census of 2001 carried out by the Republic
of Cyprus, the population in the area controlled by the government
was 703,529. The number of Turkish Cypriots residing in Northern
Cyprus was estimated by the Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service
at 87,600, or 11% of the reported total.
The latest available estimates by the Republic of Cyprus
Statistical Service put the island’s population at the end of 2006
at 867,600, with 89.8% (778,700) in the government controlled area
and 10.2% (88,900) Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus. However,
the Republic of Cyprus estimate of Turkish Cypriots does not
represent the total population of Northern Cyprus. In addition, the
Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service also estimated that
150,000-160,000 Turkish immigrants (described as “illegal settlers”
in the Republic of Cyprus
Statistical Abstract 2007,
footnote on p. 72) were living in Northern Cyprus, bringing
the de facto population of Northern Cyprus to about 250,000. This
estimate produced by the Republic of Cyprus matches the results of
the 2006 population census carried out by the 'government' of
Northern Cyprus, which gives 265,100 as the total population of
Northern Cyprus. The total population of Cyprus is thus slightly
over 1 million, comprising 778,700 in the territory controlled by
the government of the Republic of Cyprus and 265,100 in the
territory controlled by the government of TRNC.
Cyprus
has seen a large influx of guest
workers from countries such as Thailand
, the Philippines
, and Sri
Lanka
, as well as major increases in the numbers of
permanent Russian, British or other EU residents.
Sizeable
communities from Russia and Ukraine
(mostly Pontic Greeks,
immigrating after the fall of the Eastern
Bloc), Bulgaria
, Romania
, and Eastern European states. By the end of
2007, about 124,000 immigrants settled in Cyprus, the three largest
groups being 37,000 Greeks, 27,000 Britons, and 10,000 Russians.
The
island is also home to a Maronite
minority of 6,000, an Armenian
minority of around 2,000, and refugees mainly from Serbia
, Palestine, and Lebanon.
There is also a
Kurdish minority
present in Cyprus.
Outside Cyprus there is a significant and thriving Cypriot diaspora
in other countries, within the United States, the United Kingdom,
Greece and Australia hosting the majority of migrants who left the
island after the de facto division in 1974. Specifically in the
United Kingdom it is estimated that there are 150,000
Cypriots.
Pyla
village in
Larnaca
District
is the only settlement in Government controlled
territory with a mixed Greek and Turkish Cypriot
population.
Genetics
Y-Dna haplogroups
are found at the following frequencies in Cyprus :
J (43.07% including 6.20% J1),
E1b1b (20.00%),
R1 (12.30% including 9.2% R1b),
F (9.20%),
I (7.70%),
K (4.60%),
A (3.10%). J, K, F and E1b1b
haplogroups consist of lineages with differential distribution
within
Middle East,
North Africa and
Europe
while R1 and I are typical in West European populations.
Religion
Most Greek Cypriots are members of the
Greek Orthodox Church, whereas most
Turkish Cypriots are
Muslim. According to Eurobarometer 2005, Cyprus is
one of the most
religious
countries in the European Union, along with Malta, Romania,
Greece, and Poland. Even the first President of Cyprus,
Makarios III, was an
archbishop. It is also one of only five EU states
that have an official state religion (
Cypriot Orthodox Church, the other
four states being Malta, Greece, Denmark, and United Kingdom
(Church of England)). In addition to the Christian Orthodox and
Muslim communities, there are also small
Bahá'í,
Jewish,
Protestant (including
Pentecostal),
Roman Catholic,
Maronite (Eastern Rites Catholic) and
Armenian Apostolic
communities in Cyprus.
Education
Cyprus has a highly developed system of primary and
secondary education offering both public
and
private education. The high
quality of instruction can be attributed to a large extent to the
above-average competence of the teachers but also to the fact that
nearly 7% of the GDP is spent on education which makes Cyprus one
of the top three spenders of education in the EU along with Denmark
and Sweden.
State schools are generally
seen as equivalent in quality of education to private-sector
institutions. However, the value of a state high-school diploma is
limited by the fact that the grades obtained account for only
around 25% of the final grade for each topic, with the remaining
75% assigned by the teacher during the semester, in a minimally
transparent way. Cypriot universities (like universities in Greece)
ignore high school grades almost entirely for admissions purposes.
While a high-school diploma is mandatory for university attendance,
admissions are decided almost exclusively on the basis of scores at
centrally administered university entrance examinations that all
university candidates are required to take. The majority of
Cypriots receive their higher education at Turkish, Greek, British,
other European and North American universities. It is noteworthy
that Cyprus currently has the highest percentage of citizens of
working age who have higher-level
education in the EU at 30% which is ahead of Finland's 29.5%. In
addition 47% of its population aged 25–34 have tertiary education,
which is the highest in the EU. The body of Cypriot students is
highly mobile, with 78.7% studying in a university outside
Cyprus.
Culture
Art
The art
history of Cyprus can be said to stretch back up to 10,000 years,
following the discovery of a series of Chalcolithic period carved figures in the
villages of Khoirokoitia
and Lempa
, and the
island is also the home to numerous examples of high quality
religious icon painting from the
Middle Ages.
In modern times, however, Cypriot art history begins with the
painter Vassilis Vryonides (1883-1958) who studied at the Academy
of Fine Arts in Venice.
Arguably the two founding fathers of modern
Cypriot art, however, were Adamantios Diamantis (1900-1994), who
studied at London's Royal College of Art
, and Christopheros Savva (1924-1968), who also
studied in London, at St Martins School of Art
. In many ways these two artists set the
template for subsequent Cypriot art, and both their artistic styles
and the patterns of their education remain influential to this day.
In
particular the majority of Cypriot artists still train in England
, although art schools in Greece are also
popular, and local art institutions, such as the Cyprus College of Art, University of Nicosia and the Frederick Institute of
Technology are becoming more popular.
One of the features of Cypriot art is a tendency towards figurative
painting, although
conceptual art is
being rigorously promoted by a number of art institutions, most
notably the Nicosia Municipal Art Centre
[546]. Municipal art
galleries exist in all the main towns, and there is a large and
lively commercial art scene.
Cyprus was due to host the international art
festival Manifesta in 2006, but this was
cancelled at the last minute following a dispute between the Dutch
organisers of Manifesta and the Cyprus Ministry of Education and
Culture over the location of some of the Manifesta events in the
Turkish sector of the capital Nicosia. The ensuing furore over this event resulted
in questions in Cyprus as to whether Manifesta was a
CIA-backed plot to undermine the Greek Cypriot side in
on-going negotiations over the reunification of Cyprus.
Other notable Cypriot artists include Rhea Bailey, Mihail
Kkasialos, Ioannis Kissonergis, Theodoulos Gregoriou,
Helene Black, George Skoteinos,
Kalopedis family,
Nicos Nicolaides,
Stass Paraskos,
Arestís Stasí,
Telemachos Kanthos,
Konstantia Sofokleous and
Chris Achilleos.
Music
The traditional
folk music of Cyprus has
many common elements with Greek mainland and island folk music,
including dances like the
sousta,
syrtos,
zeibekikos, tatsia,
and the kartsilamas. The instruments commonly associated with
Cyprus folk music are the
violin ["fkiolin"], the
lute ["laouto"], the
accordion,
and the Cyprus flute "
pithkiavlin". There is also
a form of musical poetry known as "chattista", which is often
performed at traditional feasts and celebrations. Composers
associated with traditional music in Cyprus include
Evagoras Karageorgis,
Marios Tokas, Solon Michaelides, Savvas
Salides.
Pop music in Cyprus is generally
influenced by the Greek pop music "
Laïka"
scene, with several artists such as
Anna
Vissi and
Evridiki earning widespread
popularity. Cypriot rock and "
Éntekhno"
rock music
is often associated with artists such as
Michalis Hatzigiannis and
Alkinoos Ioannidis. Metal also has a
following in Cyprus, represented by bands such as Armageddon Rev.
16:16,
Winter's Verge, RUST, Blynd
and Quadraphonic.
Literature
Literary production of the antiquity includes the
Cypria, an
epic poem
probably composed in the later seventh century BC and attributed to
Stasinus. The
Cypria
is one of the very first specimens of Greek and European poetry.
The Cypriot
Zeno of Citium was the
founder of the Stoic philosophy. Epic poetry, notably the "acritic
songs", flourished during
Middle Ages.
Two chronicles, one written by Leontios Machairas and the other by
Voustronios, refer to the period under French domination (
15th century). Poèmes d'amour written in
medieval Greek Cypriot date back from
16th
century. Some of them are actual translations of poems written
by
Petrarch,
Bembo,
Ariosto and G.
Sannazzaro. Modern literary figures from Cyprus
include the poet and writer Kostas Montis, poet
Kyriakos Charalambides, poet Michalis
Pasardis, writer
Nicos Nicolaides,
Stylianos Atteshlis,
Altheides and also Demetris Th. Gotsis.
Dimitris Lipertis and
Vasilis Michaelides are folk poets who
wrote poems mainly in the
Cypriot-Greek dialect.
Lawrence Durrell lived on Cyprus for a
time, and wrote the book
Bitter Lemons
concerning his time there, which book in 1957 won the second
Duff Cooper Prize. The majority of
the play
Othello by
William Shakespeare is set on the island
of Cyprus. Cyprus also figures in religious literature, most
notably in
Acts of the
Apostles, according to which the Apostles Barnabas and Paul
preached on the island.
Cuisine
Halloumi or Hellim cheese originated in
Cyprus and was initially made during the
Medieval Byzantine period,
subsequently gaining popularity throughout the
Middle-East. Halloumi is commonly served sliced,
either fresh or grilled, as an appetiser.
Seafood and fish dishes of Cyprus include
squid,
octopus,
red mullet, and
sea bass.
Cucumber and tomato are used widely in salads. Common vegetable
preparations include potatoes in olive oil and parsley, pickled
cauliflower and
beets,
asparagus and
kolokassi. Other traditional
delicacies of the island are meat marinated in dried coriander,
seeds and wine, and eventually dried and smoked, such as
lountza (smoked
pork loin),
charcoal-grilled lamb,
souvlaki (pork and
chicken cooked over charcoal), and
sheftalia / seftali (minced meat wrapped
in
mesentery).
Pourgouri
(
bulgur, cracked wheat) is the traditional
carbohydrate other than bread.
Fresh vegetables and fruits are common ingredients in Cypriot
cuisine. Frequently used vegetables include
courgettes, green peppers,
okra, green beans, artichokes, carrots, tomatoes,
cucumbers, lettuce and grape leaves, and
pulses such as beans,
broad beans, peas,
black-eyed beans,
chick-peas and
lentils. The
commonest among fruits and nuts are pears, apples, grapes, oranges,
mandarines,
nectarines,
mespila,
blackberries, cherry, strawberries, figs,
watermelon,
melon, avocado,
lemon,
pistachio,
almond,
chestnut,
walnut,
hazelnut.
Sports
Governing bodies of sport in Cyprus include the
Cyprus Automobile Association,
Cyprus Badminton Federation,
Cyprus Basketball Federation,
Cyprus Cricket
Association,
Cyprus
Football Association,
Cyprus
Rugby Federation and the
Cyprus Volleyball Federation.
Marcos Baghdatis is one of the most
successful
tennis players in international
stage.
He
was a finalist at the Australian Open in 2006, and reached the
Wimbledon
semi-final in the same year. Also
Kyriakos Ioannou a Cypriot
high jumper born in Limassol achieved a jump of
2.35 m at the 11th
IAAF World Championships
in Athletics held in
Osaka, Japan, in 2007
winning the bronze medal.
Football is by far the most popular
spectator sport. Notable teams include
AEL Limassol,
APOLLON FC,
Anorthosis Famagusta FC,
AC Omonia,
Apollon
Ladies,
Olympiakos Nicosia ,
Nea Salamina Famagusta,
AEK Larnaca and
APOEL
Nicosia FC.
Stadiums or sports venues in Cyprus include
the GSP
Stadium
(the largest in Cyprus), Makario Stadium
, Neo GSZ
Stadium
, Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium
, Ammochostos Stadium
and Tsirion Stadium
. The
Cyprus
Rally is also on the
World
Rally Championship sporting calendar.
Media
Newspapers include the
Phileleftheros,
Politis ,
Simerini,
Cyprus Mail, the
Cyprus Observer,
Famagusta Gazette,
Cyprus Today,
Cyprus
Weekly,
Financial Mirror,
Haravgi,
Makhi and
Kathimerini (in a special Cypriot
edition). TV channels include
ANT1
Cyprus,
Alfa TV,
CNC Plus TV,
Cyprus Broadcasting
Corporation,
Lumiere TV,
Middle East Television,
Mega Channel Cyprus and
Sigma TV.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Main roads of Cyprus
A1 Highway - Limassol
The
Cyprus Government
Railway ceased operation on the 31st December 1951, the
remaining
modes of transport are
by road, sea, and air. Of the of roads in the Greek Cypriot area as
of 1998, were paved, and were unpaved. As of 1996 the Turkish
Cypriot area had a similar ratio of paved to unpaved, with
approximately of paved road and unpaved. Cyprus is one of only four
EU nations in which vehicles drive on the
left-hand side of the road, a
remnant of British colonisation, the others being Ireland, Malta
and the United Kingdom.
Motorways
Number of licensed vehicles
| Vehicle Category |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
| Private vehicles |
270,348 |
277,554 |
291,645 |
324,212 |
344,953 |
| Taxis |
1,641 |
1,559 |
1,696 |
1,770 |
1,845 |
| Rental cars |
8,080 |
8,509 |
9,160 |
9,652 |
8,336 |
| Buses |
3,003 |
2,997 |
3,275 |
3,199 |
3,217 |
| Light trucks (lighter than 40 tonnes) |
107,060 |
106,610 |
107,527 |
105,017 |
105,327 |
| Heavy trucks (over 40 tonnes) |
10,882 |
11,182 |
12,119 |
12,808 |
13,028 |
| Motorcycles (2 wheels) |
12,956 |
14,983 |
16,009 |
16,802 |
16,836 |
| Motorcycles (3 wheels) |
42 |
41 |
43 |
55 |
558 |
| Scooters |
28,987 |
25,252 |
25,464 |
24,539 |
22,987 |
| TOTAL |
442,999 |
448,687 |
466,938 |
498,054 |
517,087 |
In 1999,
Cyprus had six heliports and two international airports: Larnaca
International Airport
and Paphos International Airport
. Nicosia International Airport
has been closed since 1974 and although Ercan
airport was still in use it was only for flights from
Turkey. Since 2006 Ercan
International Airport
has been mentioned in talks between Britain, United
States and the EU for direct flights, with the EU sanctioning the
opening, however International flights direct are still
unavailable.
Public transport in Cyprus is limited to
privately run bus services (except in Nicosia), taxis, and 'shared' taxi services (referred to
locally as service taxis). Per capita private car
ownership is the 5th highest in the world. In 2006 extensive plans
were announced to improve and expand bus services and restructure
public transport throughout Cyprus, with the financial backing of
the
European Union Development Bank.
The main
harbours of the island are Limassol harbour and Larnaca harbour, which service cargo, passenger, and
cruise ships.
Telecommunications
Cyta, the
state-owned telecommunications company,
manages most
Telecommunications
and
Internet connections on the island.
However, following the recent
liberalisation of the sector, a few private
telecommunications companies have emerged including
MTN,
Cablenet,
TelePassport,
OTEnet
Telecom and
PrimeTel.
International membership
The
island nation Cyprus is member of:
Australia Group,CN, CE, CFSP, EBRD, EIB,
EU, FAO, IAEA
, IBRD, ICAO
, ICC, ICCt, ITUC, IDA, IFAD, IFC
, IHO,ILO, IMF
, IMO, Interpol
, IOC
, IOM, IPU, ITU,
MIGA, NAM,
NSG, OPCW
, OSCE, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO
, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UPU
, WCL,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO.
International rankings
See also
References
- Fouskas, V. 2002. Eurasian gambles over Cyprus' European
prospects. Turkish Yearbook of International Relations
(ISSN: 0544-1943): Vol. 33, pp. 183-207; on p. 186: "[In analysing
Cyprus within a wider geopolitical context, t]he requirement is to
decipher the parameters and the linkages of the balance of power in
the Eurasian region, and
in its Near Eastern
subregion, to which Cyprus belongs."
- Cyprus is approximate to Anatolia (which comprises the bulk of Turkey) but it may be considered to be
in Asia and/or Europe, which together constitute
Eurasia.[1] The UN classification of world regions places Cyprus in
Western Asia;
[2] National Geographic also places Cyprus in Asia.
Conversely, numerous sources place Cyprus in Europe such as the
BBC [3] and www.worldatlas.com; it is also a member of the
European
Union. Additionally, sources may place Cyprus in the
Middle East,
e.g., the CIA World
Factbook.[4]
- Invest in Cyprus website - figures do not include tourism to
the occupied North [5]
- Background Information: Member States and Other
Participants, Non-Aligned Movement
- International Position of Cyprus, Cyprus
Net
- Wade, Nicholas, " Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East",
The New York Times, June 29,
2007
- Cyprus, CIA World Factbook ; CIA
Atlas of the Middle East (1993) ( online edition)
- Middle East Region, Xpeditions Altas,
National Geographic
- Middle East (region, Asia), Britannica Online
Encyclopedia
- Middle East Map, MSN Encarta
- Cyprus date of independence (click on
Historical review)
- Fisher, Fred H. Cyprus: Our New Colony And What We Know
About It. London: George Routledge and Sons 1878, pp.
13-14.
- Les îles des Princes, banlieue maritime d'Istanboul: guide
touristique - Page 136 by Ernest Mamboury
- Mithen, S. After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20000 BC
- 5000 BC. Boston: Harvard University Press 2005, p.97.
[6]
- The earliest prehistory of Cyprus from colonization to
exploitation, ed. Swiny, Stuart, American Schools of
Oriental Research, 2001, In
PDF
- Simmons, A.H. Faunal extinction in an island society: pygmy
hippopotamus hunters of Cyprus. New York: Springer 1999, p.15.
[7]
- Thomas, Carol G. & Conant, C.: The Trojan War,
pages 121-122. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. ISBN 031332526X,
9780313325267.
- Thomas, C.G., Conant, D. The Trojan War. Santa
Barbara, CA, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group 2005. p.64. [8]
- Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Part 1 and Its Kindred Sciences
Comprising the Whole Range of Arts … - Page 25
- Riddle, J.M. A History of the Middle Ages. Lanham, MD,
USA: Rowman & Littlefield 2008. p. 326. [9]
- Cyprus - OTTOMAN RULE, U.S. Library of
Congress
- Cyprus - OTTOMAN RULE, U.S. Library of
Congress
- Cyprus - OTTOMAN RULE, U.S. Library of
Congress
- Osmanli Nufusu 1830–1914 by Kemal Karpat, ISBN
975-333-169-X and Die Völker des Osmanischen by Ritter zur
Helle von Samo.
- Cyprus - OTTOMAN RULE, U.S. Library of
Congress
- Ledra Street crossing opens in Cyprus.
Associated
Press article published on International Herald Tribune
Website, 3 April 2008
- Quotation from March 1999 report submitted by Cyprus in the
framework of the Convention for the Protectino of Mational
Minorities citing United Nations Secretary General Report S/6426,
10 June 1965
- List of countries by future GDP (PPP) per capita estimates
- Eric Solsten, ed. Cyprus: A Country Study,
Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 1991.
- Statistical Abstract 2007, Republic of
Cyprus, Statistical Service, Report No. 53
- (n=65), Population structure in the Mediterranean basin: a
Y chromosome perspective, Capelli et al. 2005
- Chrysanthos Christou, A short History of Modern and
Contemporary Cypriot Art, Nicosia 1983.
- Ministry of Education and Culture, State Gallery of
Contemporary Cypriot Art (Nicosia: MOEC,1998)
- Michael Paraskos, 'The Art of Modern Cyprus', in
Sunjet, Spring 2002, 62f
- Martin Herbert, 'School's Out' in Freeze, 2 September
2006
- Michael Paraskos, 'Was Manifesta a CIA Plot?' in
Artcyprus, issue 2, Autumn 2006, 2
- "An indication that at least the main contents of the
Cypria were known around 650 BCE is provided by the representation of the
Judgment
of Paris on the Chigi vase" (Burkert 1992:103). On the
proto-Corinthian ewer of ca. 640
BCE known as the Chigi "vase", Paris is identified as
Alexandros, as he was apparently called in
Cypria.
- Th. Siapkaras- Pitsillidés, Le Pétrarchisme en Cypre. Poèmes d'
amour en dialecte Chypriote d' après un manuscript du XVIe siècle,
Athènes 1975 (2ème édition)
Further reading
External links
- Government
- General information
- Official publications
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University
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