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Not to be confused with Cypress.
| Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία (Greek) Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti (Turkish) Republic of Cyprus |
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| Anthem: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν Ymnos is tin Eleftherian Hymn to Liberty1 |
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Location of Cyprus (dark green) – on the European continent (light green & dark grey) |
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| Capital (and largest city) | Nicosia (Lefkosia, Lefkoşa) | |||||
| Official languages | Greek, Turkish | |||||
| Demonym | Cypriot | |||||
| Government | Presidential republic | |||||
| - | President | Dimitris Christofias | ||||
| Independence | from the United Kingdom | |||||
| - | Date | 16 August 1960 | ||||
| EU accession | 1 May 2004 | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 9,251 km² (167th) 3,572 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | negligible | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2007 census | 788,457 | ||||
| - | Density | 85/km² (85th) 221/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2007 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $24.497 billion (110th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $31,522 (26th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2008 IMF estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $22.119 billion (90th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $28,209 (28th) | ||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0.903 (high) (28th) | |||||
| Currency | Euro (€)2 (EUR) |
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| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .cy3 | |||||
| Calling code | +357 | |||||
| 1 | Also the national anthem of Greece. | |||||
| 2 | Prior to 2008: Cypriot pound | |||||
| 3 | The .eu domain is also used, shared with other European Union member states. | |||||
Cyprus (Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros; Turkish: Kıbrıs), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti) is an island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean south of Turkey, west of the Levant, north of Egypt, and east-southeast of Greece.
Cyprus is the third-largest island and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year.Invest in Cyprus website - figures do not include tourism to the occupied North [1] A former British colony, it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 and became a Commonwealth republic in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus is a developed country and has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004. It adopted the Euro on the 1st of January 2008.
In 1974, following a period of violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and an attempted Greek Cypriot coup d\'état aimed at annexing the island to GreeceBBC News website [2] and sponsored by the Greek military junta of 1967-1974, Turkey invaded and occupied one-third of the island. This 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 is a matter of ongoing dispute.
The Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognized state, has de jure sovereignty over 97% of the island of Cyprus and all surrounding waters, and the United Kingdom controls the remaining three percent. The island is de facto partitioned into four main parts:The Republic of Cyprus exercises full effective control over approximately 59% of the island, the TRNC (area not under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus) de facto control over approximately 36% of the island, and the remaining approximately 5% of the land mass is split evenly between British-controlled Sovereign Base Areas and the UN-controlled Green Line (see relevant reference articles for areas).
Contents |
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), due to 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 the metal through the phrase aes Cyprium, "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum.[Fisher, Fred H. Cyprus: Our New Colony And What We Know About It. London: George Routledge and Sons 1878 pg 13-14.] Cyprus is also called "the island of Aphrodite" Les îles des Princes, banlieue maritime d\'Istanboul: guide touristique - Page 136 by Ernest Mamboury, since the Greek goddess Aphrodite, of beauty and love, was born in Cyprus. The most common theory is that it came from their word for copper, Kypros, because the island had rich deposits of copper.
Temple to Apollon Ilatis outside the city of Limassol.
A number of discoveries during the past twenty years have greatly enhanced our knowledge of the early prehistory of Cyprus. The earliest confirmed site of human activity is Aetokremnos, situated on the Akrotiri Peninsula on the south coast, indicating that hunter-gatherers were active on the island from around 10,000 BC. Recent evidence also suggests that there may have been short-lived occupation sites contemporary with Aetokremnos on the west coast of the island, in the area of the Akamas, and on the east coast at Nissi Beach.
At present the archaeological record presents us with a chronological gap in the use or occupation of the island between the earliest hunter-gatherers and the appearance in the record of more settled village communities at around 8200 BC. These people probably practiced a limited form of agriculture and animal husbandry, supplemented by hunting. Important remains from this early-Neolithic period can be found at Mylouthkia, Shillourokambos, Kastros, Tenta and, later toward the end of this period, the famous village of Khirokitia.
During the Painted-Pottery Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods that followed, small scale settlements and activity areas were in use all over the island, and the people of Cyprus produced decorated pottery and figurines of stone quite distinct from the cultures of the surrounding mainland. This has traditionally led some archaeologists to consider the island somewhat isolated and insular during this time, although this idea has recently been challenged.
Ruins of ancient Salamis, near Famagusta.
Kourion Theatre outside the city of Limassol.
The Bronze Age also brought rich finds, during which the people learned to work the island\'s rich copper mines. The Mycenæan culture seems to have reached Cyprus at around 1600 BC, and several Greek and Phoenician settlements that belong to the Iron Age can be found on the island. Cyprus came into contact with Egypt about 1500 BC and became an important trade partner.
Around 1200 BC the Sea Peoples may have arrived in Cyprus, although the nature of their influence is disputed. The Phoenicians arrived at the island in the early first millennium BC. In those times Cyprus supplied the Greeks with timber for their fleets.
In the sixth century BC, Amasis of Egypt conquered Cyprus, which soon fell under the rule of the Persians when Cambyses conquered Egypt. In the Persian Empire, Cyprus formed part of the fifth satrapy, and in addition to tribute the island had to supply the Persians with ships and crews. In this fate the Greeks of Cyprus had as companions the Greeks of Ionia (on the west coast of Anatolia), with whom they forged close ties. When the Ionian Greeks revolted against Persia in 499 BC, they were joined by the Cypriots, except for the city of Amathus. The Cypriots were led by Onesilos, who dethroned his brother, the king of Salamis, for not wanting to fight for independence. The Persians reacted quickly, sending a considerable force against Onesilos and eventually putting down the Cypriot rebellion despite Ionian help.
After this defeat, the Greeks mounted various expeditions in attempt to take Cyprus from Persian rule, but all their efforts bore only temporary results. The island eventually regained Greek leadership under Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC) and, after his death, under his successors: in 318 BC it came under permanent control of the Hellenistic Ptolemies of Egypt; finally, it was annexed by Rome in 58-57 BC. Cyprus was visited by the Christian Apostles Paul of Tarsus and Barnabas, accompanied by St Mark, who came to the island at the outset of their first missionary journey in 45 AD. After their arrival at Salamis they proceeded to Paphos where they converted the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus to Christianity.
The Centaur floor mosaic in Paphos.
Cyprus is the mythical birthplace of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, of beauty and love, also known as Kypris or the Cyprian. According to Hesiod\'s Theogony, the goddess emerged fully grown from the sea where the severed genitals of the god Uranus were cast by his son Kronos, causing the sea to foam (Greek: Aphros). Her birth was famously depicted by the artist Botticelli in The Birth of Venus. The legendary site of Aphrodite\'s birth is at Petra Tou Romiou ("Aphrodite\'s Rock"), a large sea stack close to the coastal cliffs near Paphos. Throughout ancient history Cyprus was a flourishing centre for the cultic worship of Aphrodite.
Other mythological characters associated with Cyprus are the king Cinyras, Teucer (the founder of Salamis), the Cypriot sculptor Pygmalion, and (in some versions) Adonis. Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Part 1 and Its Kindred Sciences Comprising the Whole Range of Arts ... - Page 25
Cyprus became part of the Byzantine Empire The World Book Encyclopedia - Page 1207 by World Book after the partitioning of the Roman Empire in 395, and remained so for almost eight hundred years, interrupted by a period of Muslim Arab domination and influence (643-966).
After the rule of the rebellious Isaac Komnenos, King Richard I of England captured the island in 1191 during the Third Crusade. On May 6, 1191, Richard\'s fleet arrived in the port of Lemesos and took the city. When Isaac arrived to stop the Crusaders he discovered he was too late and retired to Kolossi Castle. Richard called Isaac to negotiations, but Isaac broke his oath of hospitality and started demanding Richard\'s departure. Richard ordered his cavalry to follow him in a battle against Isaac\'s army in Tremetusia. Joining Richard\'s army were the few Roman Catholics of the island along with the island\'s nobles, who were dissatisfied with Isaac\'s seven years of tyrannical rule. Richard\'s army was bigger and better equipped, assuring his victory. Isaac resisted for some time from the castles of Pentadactylos, but finally surrendered after the siege of his castle of Kantara. In a fit of sardonic irony, Richard had Isaac confined with silver chains, scrupulously abiding by a previous promise that he would not place Isaac in irons should he be taken prisoner. Richard became the new ruler of Cyprus, gaining for the Crusade a major supply base that was not under immediate threat from the Saracens, as was Tyre. He and most of his army left Cyprus for the Holy Land early in June. In his absence Cyprus was governed by Richard Camville.
In 1192, the French knight Guy of Lusignan purchased the island, in compensation for the loss of his kingdom, from the Templars. The Republic of Venice took control in February 1489 after the abdication of Queen Caterina Cornaro, the widow of James II, the last Lusignan king of Cyprus.
Dating back to French rule and located in the heart of Nicosia\'s old town is Hamam Omerye - a true working example of Cyprus\' rich culture and diversity, stone struggle, yet sense of freedom and flexibility. The site\'s history dates back to the 14th century, when it stood as an Augustinian church of St. Mary. Stone-built, with small domes, it is chronologically placed at around the time of Frankish and Venetian rule, approximately the same time that the city acquired its Venetian Walls.
In 1571, Mustapha Pasha converted the church into a mosque, believing that this particular spot is where the second caliph Omer rested during his visit to Lefkosia. Most of the original building was destroyed by Ottoman artillery, although the door of the main entrance still belongs to the 14th century Lusignan building, whilst remains of a later Renaissance phase can be seen at the north-eastern side of the monument. In 2003, the EU funded a bi-communal UNDP/UNOPS project, "Partnership for the Future", in collaboration with Nicosia Municipality and Nicosia Master Plan to restore the building. The Hamam is still in use today and in 2006, received the Europa Nostra prize for the Conservation of Architectural Heritage.
Throughout the period of Venetian rule, Ottoman Turks raided and attacked the peoples of Cyprus at will. The Greek population of Cyprus was given weapons by the Venetians and fought the attacking Ottomans. In 1489, the first year of Venetian control, Turks attacked the Karpasia Peninsula. In 1539 the Turkish fleet attacked and destroyed Limassol. Fearing the ever-expanding Ottoman Empire, the Venetians fortified Famagusta, Nicosia, and Kyrenia, but most other cities were easy prey.
In the summer of 1570, the Turks attacked again, but this time with a full-scale invasion rather than a raid. A fleet commanded by Piyale Pasha carried about 60,000 troops, including cavalry and artillery under the command of Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha, to the island and landed unopposed near Limassol on July 2, 1570, laying siege to Nicosia. The city fell (September 9, 1570), 20,000 Nicosian Greeks were put to death, and every church, public building, and palace was looted. Word of the massacre spread, and a few days later Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha took Kyrenia without having to fire a shot. Famagusta, however, resisted and put up a heroic defense that lasted from September 1570 until August 1571.
Ottoman rule brought about two dramatic changes in the history of the island. For the first time since the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, a new population group appeared, the Turks. The Ottoman Empire gave timars (land grants) to soldiers under the condition that they and their families would remain there permanently. This event radically changed the demographics of Cyprus. During the seventeenth century the Turkish population grew rapidly. Most of the Turks who had settled on the island during the three centuries of Ottoman rule remained when control of Cyprus (although not sovereignty; see Cyprus Convention) was ceded to Britain in 1878. Many, however, left for Turkey during the 1920s. By 1970, ethnic Turks represented 18% of the total population of the island, with ethnic Greeks representing the remainder. The distinction between the two groups was by religion and language.
The second important result of the Ottoman conquest benefited the Greek peasants, who no longer remained serfs of the land they were cultivating. Now they could acquire land by purchase, thus becoming land-owners. The Ottomans also applied the millet system to Cyprus, allowing religious authorities to govern their own non-Muslim minorities. This system reinforced the position of the Orthodox Church and the cohesion of the ethnic Greek population. Gradually the Archbishop of Cyprus became not only the religious but the ethnic leader as well. In this way the Church undertook the role of the guardian of Greek cultural legacy, a role the Church continues today, although diminished after independence. The Church itself paid no taxes to the Ottoman conquerors but was responsible for collecting taxes from the population and passing the funds on to the rulers.
The heavy taxes and the abuses against the population on the part of the Ottoman rulers in the early years after the Ottoman conquest gave rise to opposition, following which the Sultan ordered the Governor (the "Kadi") and the Treasurer to govern with justice.[citation needed] While the Sultan\'s orders indicated his goodwill toward the local population, the local administration proved indifferent, arbitrary and often corrupt, and the local rulers imposed a heavy burden of taxes.[citation needed] Disappointed at the mismanagement by Ottoman governors, Greek Cypriots began looking for outside help. Since their motherland, Greece, was also under Ottoman control, the Cypriots turned to Western Europe.
Between 1572 and 1668, around twenty-eight bloody uprisings took place on the island, and in many of these both Greeks and Turkish peasants took part.[citation needed] All ended in failure.
About 1660, in order to eliminate the mismanagement of the Ottoman administration, the Sultan recognised the Archbishop and Bishops as "the protectors of people" and the representatives of the Sultan. In 1670, Cyprus ceased to be a "pasaliki" for the Ottoman Empire and came under the jurisdiction of the Admiral of the Ottoman fleet. The Admiral sent an officer to govern in his place.
In 1703, Cyprus came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Vizier (Anthony Petane), who sent to the island a military and civil administrator. The title and function of this officer were awarded to the person who could raise the highest revenues (see Tax farming). As a result even heavier taxation was imposed. About 1760 the situation in Cyprus was intolerable. A terrible epidemic of plague, bad crops and earthquakes drove many Cypriots to emigrate. Even worse for the Greeks and Turks of the island, the newly-appointed Pasha doubled taxes in 1764. In the end, Chil Osman and 18 of his friends were killed by Greek and Turkish Cypriots, but the two ethnic elements had to pay a large sum of money to the Sultan and the families of the victims. The latter did not accept this judgment and broke into an open rebellion, having Khalil Agha, the commander of the guard of the castle of Kyrenia, as their leader. Finally the uprising was crushed and Khalil Agha was beheaded.
Detailed population statistics from Cyprus are available going back to the 1830s. The first large scale census of the Ottoman Empire in 1831 included Cyprus. Only men were counted, and information on religion was recorded. The male population at the time was 14,983 Muslims and 29,190 Christians."Memalik-i Mahrusa-i Sahanede 1247 senesinde mevcut olan nufus defteri", Istanbul University library, ms.kat d-8 no:8867. This implies a total population of 88,000 for the island.
By 1872, the population of the island had risen to 144,000 comprising 44,000 Muslims (mostly Turks) and 100,000 Christians (mostly Greeks).Osmanli Nufusu 1830–1914 by Kemal Karpat, ISBN 975-333-169-X and Die Volker des Osmanischen by Ritter zur Helle von Samo.
Cyprus was placed under British administration on 4 June 1878 as a result of the Cyprus Convention, which granted control of the island to Britain in return for British support of the Ottoman Empire in the Russian-Turkish War.
Famagusta harbour was completed in June 1906, by which time the island was a strategic naval outpost for the British Empire, shoring up influence over the Eastern Mediterranean and Suez Canal, the crucial main route to India.
On November 2, 1914, Cyprus was formally annexed by the United Kingdom after the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers. Many Cypriots, now British subjects, signed up to fight in the British Army, promised by the British that when the war finished Cyprus would be united with Greece. (This happened in both the First and in the Second World War.) In 1923, under the Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey relinquished any claim to Cyprus. In 1925 Cyprus was declared a Crown colony.
The possibility of the island\'s return to the Ottoman Empire, from which the British had leased it in 1878, kept local Greek nationalist feelings in check. Once the island formally became a British colony, Greek Cypriots gradually became more assertive, ultimately demanding union with Greece. In January 1950 the Cypriot Church organized a referendum regarding union with Greece. The referendum was boycotted by the sizable Greek Cypriot Left and by the Turkish Cypriot community. Among those who participated, a clear majority voted in favor of the island\'s annexation by Greece. Turkish Cypriots claim that the enosis movement largely ignored the Turkish Cypriots minority presence on the island, but all peoples of Cyprus recognize that the British sought to quell any movement which threatened their military control of the island. (Local autonomy was proposed by the British but was rejected by the Greek Cypriots). In 1955 an armed struggle against British rule erupted with the foundation of EOKA. The organisation\'s stated goal was the island\'s incorporation into Greece. The majority of non-leftist Greek Cypriots either took part directly or morally supported the EOKA struggle. By the end of the struggle in 1959, EOKA succeeded in shaking off British rule but failed to achieve the goal of annexation by Greece.
Instead Cyprus attained independence in 1960 after exhaustive negotiations between the United Kingdom (as the colonial power) and Greece and Turkey, the cultural "motherlands" for the two main communities in Cyprus. While retaining two Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, the United Kingdom granted Cyprus independence under a constitution allocating government posts and public offices by ethnic quota.
Cyprus was declared an independent state on August 16, 1960. The new state\'s constitution, as defined by the Zürich and London Agreements, explicitly recognised the two main ethnic communities in Cyprus: the Greek Cypriot community with approximately 92% of the population and the Turkish Cypriot community with approximately 8% of the population. These agreements were atypical in that they granted the numerically smaller Turkish Cypriot community political rights within the new republic greater than those of just an ethnic minority community. They were also atypical in that they placed constitutional limits on the absolute independence of the new republic by deeming certain articles unalterable and granting rights and responsibilities to the external guarantor states of Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The complexity of these agreements and their limits on the new Republic’s independence reflected the complex situation in pre-independence Cyprus, where there was little or no cohesive pan-Cypriot national identity, with each of the two main ethnic communities seeking to pursue purely ethnically-based visions for Cyprus\' future.
Before independence the Greek Cypriots, largely considering themselves Greeks living in Cyprus rather than Cypriots with Greek ethnicity, sought a Cypriot future based on Enosis, the ceding of Cyprus to Greece. This was thought to be a natural outcome during the Greek War of Independence as well as the fulfillment of the Greek Megali Idea. Enosis for Cyprus was silenced during the Greek War of Independence but was later renewed as the natural expected outcome of the end of British rule.
Turkish Cypriots likewise largely saw themselves as Turks living in Cyprus rather than Cypriots with Turkish ethnicity. For them the idea of handing Cyprus over to Greece after the end of British rule, and therefore becoming citizens in a Hellenic republic, was anathema. Largely in response to calls from the Greek Cypriot community for enosis, the Turkish Cypriot community developed the concept of Taksim, the partitioning of Cyprus into a Greek Cypriot-controlled region, free to pursue enosis as it saw fit, and a Turkish Cypriot-controlled region. This was despite the fact that the two ethnic communities were geographically intermingled throughout Cyprus, and Taksim by its very nature would have required mass population movements. Caesar V. Mavratsas, Politics, Social Memory, and Identity in Greek Cyprus since 1974, cyprus-conflict.net, <http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/mavratsas.html>. Retrieved on 13 October 2007
These differing expectations were why the Zürich and London Agreements, drawn up after lengthy negotiation principally among Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, became so complex and atypical, granting the Turkish Cypriot community political rights disproportionate to their numbers and containing permanent restrictions on the pursuit of both Enosis and Taksim alike. It is commonly held among Greek Cypriots that these agreements were imposed on them against their will by external powers and that Archbishop Makarios, the recognised leader of the Greek Cypriot community, only signed them under great pressure from the United Kingdom and Greece.
The Flag of Cyprus came into use on August 16, 1960, under the Zürich and London Agreements. The flag features a geographic depiction of the island above two olive branches symbolising peace. The background is white, also a symbol of peace. Cyprus was the only country to display its land area on its flag until February 2008 when Kosovo declared independence and adopted a new flag which features the land area of Kosovo. The geographic depiction on the flag is shown in copper-yellow, symbolizing the island\'s large deposits of copper ore for which Cyprus is said to be named.
Before the flag of Cyprus was introduced, the flags of Greece and Turkey were used. The current flag was created as the result of a design competition in 1960. Under the constitution, the flag should not include the colours blue or red (the colours of the flags of Greece and Turkey) and should not portray a cross or a crescent. All participants avoided use of these elements in order to make the flag "neutral".
The winning design was based on a proposal by İsmet Güney, a Turkish Cypriot painter. The design was chosen by Makarios III, the President of Cyprus, with the consent of Vice President Fazil Küçük.
During the period from independence in 1960 to 1963 a series of disputes arose between the two communities over the implementation and interpretation of the agreements and constitution. These disputes involved:
Relations between the two communities became increasingly strained during this period, and distrust grew with both sides preparing for military confrontation by establishing groups of armed irregulars and bringing in military officers from the two respective \'motherlands\'.The Cyprus Conflict; The Main Narrative, continued, cyprus-conflict.net, <http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main-2.html#The%20%crisis%20%of%20%1963>. Retrieved on 13 October 2007 In addition the abuse of Constitutional safeguards by the Turkish Cypriot leadership made the Constitution ultimately unworkable, necessitating the submission of constitutional amendments to alter those provisions.
Aerial view of Nicosia.
In November 1963 Archbishop Makarios, by then the first President of the Republic of Cyprus, proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution. The amendments were said to be an attempt to make the cumbersome agreements and constitution of 1960 more workable and to remove causes of friction. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots, however, claimed that the proposed amendments represented a fundamental change to the basis of the 1960 agreements and would have removed nearly all the political protections the Turkish Cypriot community gained in those agreements.The 13 Points: November 1963, cyprus-conflict.net, <http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/13_points.html>. Retrieved on 13 October 2007 The proposed amendments were immediately rejected, first by Turkey and later by Dr. Küçük, the Turkish Cypriot Vice-President. At Turkey\'s instigation, the Turkish Cypriot leadership decided to resort to insurrection against the state. The Turkish Cypriot members of the executive, legislature, judiciary, and the civil service withdrew from their posts, and military enclaves were created in Nicosia and other parts of the island. On 21 December 1963 a street brawl erupted in a Turkish quarter of Nicosia between a Turkish Cypriot crowd and plainclothes police officers, resulting in the outbreak of widespread intercommunal violence throughout the island. Against the backdrop of a breakdown of internal security in Cyprus and inter-communal violence threatening to bring into direct conflict the NATO members of Greece and Turkey during the height of the cold war, the United Kingdom and the USA proposed stationing a neutral NATO force within Cyprus to prevent further inter-communal conflict. The Makarios government blocked this move, after which the United Kingdom raised the matter with the UN Security Council by letter on 15 February 1964. On the same date, the Makarios government sent a letter to the Security Council alleging that Turkey was preparing for an obvious, imminent invasion of Cyprus.
Threats by Turkey during this period against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus were followed by UN resolutions calling, inter alia, for respect of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus. The Security Council debated the unfolding crisis in Cyprus at its 1094th to 1103rd meetings from 17 February to 4 March 1964,Consideration of questions under the Council\'s responsibility for the maintenance of international beace and security, U.N. Security Council, <http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/repertoire/64-65_08.pdf>. Retrieved on 13 October 2007 {The Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, 1964-1965, Chapter 8, 8.72 Mb) and passed UN Security Council resolution 186 on 4 March 1964,Resolution 186 (1964), United nations Security council, 4 March, 1964, <http://www.un.int/cyprus/scr186.htm>. Retrieved on 13 October 2007 establishing a UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), and a Mediator was appointed. The peacekeeping force remains to this day. In his subsequent report (S/6253, A/6017, 26 March 1965), the Mediator, Dr Gala Plaza, criticised the 1960 legal framework and proposed certain amendments. These amendments were rejected by Turkey, resulting in serious deterioration of the situation.
Archbishop Makarios III.
By 1974, dissatisfaction among right-wing Greek nationalists favoring the long-term goal of unification with Greece precipitated a coup d\'etat against President Makarios. The coup was sponsored by the military government of Greece and led by Greek officers in the Cypriot National Guard. The Greek military junta and their supporters attempted to assassinate President Makarios. The new regime replaced Makarios with Nikos Giorgiades Sampson as president and Bishop Gennadios as head of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. Seven days later, on 20 July 1974, Turkey launched an air- and sea-based invasion of Cyprus, claiming its aim was "to re-instate the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus" per its obligation under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
The coup was dissolved after strong resistance from the Greek Cypriot people, but the constitution was re-instated only in areas of Cyprus not under Turkish army occupation. Talks in Geneva involving Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the two Cypriot factions stalled, and on 12 August Turkey offered a proposal for a confederate system dividing the island into Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot regions. The Greek government was given 24 hours to accept the terms.Whitney, Craig R.. "Turkish Plan for Cyprus Disrupts Talks in Geneva", New York Times, 1974-08-13, p. 3. Retrieved on 2007-03-06. The talks soon collapsed after Turkish planes attacked Nicosia,Staff. "Cyprus Fighting Continues as Peace Talks Collapse; U.N. Called Into Session", New York Times, 1974-08-14, p. 1. Retrieved on 2007-03-06. after which Turkish forces advanced from the previous cease-fire lines to gain control of 37% of the island. In the process, large numbers of Greek Cypriots lost their lives in the areas overrun by Turkish forces, and 170,000 Greek Cypriots were evicted from their homes and forced to move to Greek Cypriot-held territory.Decision of European Commission of Human Rights in the Cyprus v. Turkey 1st and 2nd Interstate Applications. Reported in the Sunday Times on the 23rd January 1977 The invasion also led to the displacement of around 50,000 Turkish Cypriots who migrated from areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus to Turkish army-controlled areas, sometimes settling in the homes and property left behind by the departing Greek Cypriots. Much of the migration occurred clandestinely, in defiance of Cypriot government-imposed restrictions aimed at preventing the separation of the island\'s population along ethnic lines.
As of today, there are 1,534 Greek Cypriots Over 100 missing identified so far, Cyprus Mail, <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=34064&cat_id=1>. Retrieved on 13 October 2007and 502 Turkish Cypriots Missing cause to get cash injection, Cyprus Mail, <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=30795&cat_id=1>. Retrieved on 13 October 2007unaccounted for, as well as over 150,000 Greek Cypriot refugees and over 60,000 Turkish Cypriot displaced persons.[citation needed] The events of the summer of 1974 have dominated Cypriot politics ever since and have been a major point of contention between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, as well as between Greece and Turkey.
Since 1974, continual efforts to negotiate a settlement have met with varying levels of disagreement from both sides in the conflict. The Turkish government arranged an influx of settlers from Turkey, altering the demographics of the island in violation of the Geneva Convention. The exact number of these settlers is disputed but is believed to be more than 100,000.
Turkish Cypriots proclaimed a separate state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), under the leadership of Rauf Denktaş, on November 15, 1983. UN Security Council Resolution 541 of November 18, 1983 declared the action illegal and called for the withdrawal of Turkish troops. The Resolution also asked all member states to refrain from recognising and providing assistance to the government of the secessionist entity. The only country to recognise the TRNC is Turkey, which does not recognise the authority of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole island. Turkey refers to the government of the Republic of Cyprus as \'the Greek Cypriot administration\'.
In 2004 Cyprus was scheduled to join the European Union (EU), and the UN-backed Annan Plan for Cyprushttp://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/annanplan/annanplan.pdfPDF (28.9 MiB) sought to reunify the island before EU accession. The UN plan was put to a vote throughout the island, and Turkish Cypriots accepted the plan while Greek Cypriots rejected it. As a result Cyprus entered the EU as a divided country. EU countries recognize the government of the Republic of Cyprus and officially treat the north as a militarily occupied region. The EU acquis communautaire (European Union law) applies only to those regions under the control of the Republic of Cyprus, although EU ministers have stressed their intention to open direct trade links with the occupied area.
The current state of affairs has affected, but not derailed, negotiations with Turkey regarding its own bid for EU accession. Since the 1974 invasion, the economy of Cyprus has grown substantially, and Cypriots enjoy a high standard of living. The north maintains a lower standard of living due to international embargoes and is still reliant on aid from Turkey, although increased revenues from tourism and a construction boom have led to rapid economic development in recent years. The Turkish Cypriot administration has allowed the legally questionable sale of real estate, consisting largely of property owned by Greek Cypriots before the 1974 Turkish invasion, to private buyers from overseas. In 2005 the UK\'s Guardian newspaper reported that up to 10,000 Europeans had invested in property in the north of Cyprus. This has caused concern in the south, highlighted by an event in 2006 involving Cherie Booth, the wife of Britain\'s then-prime minister. Mrs. Booth, in her capacity as an advocate at law, represented a UK couple, the Orams, who had been taken to court by Greek Cypriots who claimed ownership of the land on which the Orams had built a houseHigh Court of Justice, Queen\'s Bench Division, judgement of 6 September 2006, Orams v. Apostolides, [2006] WLR (D) 228. A French summary of the judgement of the Cypriot court (Eparchiako Dikastirio Lefkosias, case no. 9968/04, 19 April 2005, Apostolidis v. D. and L. Orams) is available in Reflets, Informations rapides sur les développements juridiques présentant un intérêt communautaire, N° 1/2006. A reference for a preliminary ruling has been made by the Court of Appeal to the European Court of Justice on 13 September 2007(case C-420/07, Official Journal of the European Union, 8.12.2007, 2007/C 297/34).. Tassos Papadopoulos, President of the Republic of Cyprus since 2003, referred to Mrs. Booth\'s decision to represent the Orams as "a provocative action", as reported in the UK\'s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
On 5 December 2006, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended a further six-month extension in the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force that has been deployed on the island for over four decades.http://www.un.org/news/dh/pdf/english/2006/05122006.pdfPDF (132 KiB) Mr. Annan said that, while the situation remained “calm and stable with no major violations of the ceasefire lines,” he regretted the continued stalemate in the political process and the “missed opportunities” of the past 10 years.
In July 2006 the island served as a safe haven for people, most of them foreigners, fleeing Lebanon due to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.Xinhua. "About 11,500 people flee Lebanon to Cyprus", People\'s Daily Online, 2006-07-21.
In March 2007, Greek Cypriot authorities demolished a wall that for decades stood at the boundary between the Greek Cypriot controlled side and the UN buffer zoneGreek Cypriots dismantle barrier, BBC News, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6433045.stm>. Retrieved on 7 March 2008 . The demolished wall had cut across Ledra Street, which runs through the heart of the city\'s tourist area and is seen as the strongest symbol of the island\'s 32-year partition. This move came shortly after the Turkish Cypriots dismantled a footbridge close to Ledra street in December 2006 as a gesture of good will. After its erection in 2005, the footbridge was the cause of the withdrawal of Greek Cypriot plans to demolish the Ledra street wall, due to the bridge\'s encroachment of the UN buffer zoneTurkish Cypriots move to end row, BBC News, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6216355.stm>. Retrieved on 7 March 2008. Despite these developments, Ledra street cannot yet be opened for the public for crossing to the other side, due to the Greek Cypriot administration\'s demands for the Turkish Cypriot administration to pull its troops back from the areaGreek Cypriots dismantle barrier, BBC News, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6433045.stm>. Retrieved on 7 March 2008.
Kyrenia Mountain Range.
Topography of Cyprus.
The third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia), Cyprus is situated in the eastern Mediterranean, just south of the Anatolian peninsula (or Asia Minor) of the Asian mainland; thus, it is often included in the Middle East (see also Western Asia and Near East). Turkey is 75 kilometres (47 mi) north; other neighbouring countries include Syria and Lebanon to the east, Israel to the southeast, Egypt to the south, and Greece to the west-north-west.
However, historically, politically and culturally Cyprus is closely aligned with Europe – the Greek Cypriots with Greece and the Turkish Cypriots with Turkey. Historically, Cyprus has been at the crossroads between Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa, with lengthy periods of mainly Greek and intermittent Anatolian, Levantine, and British influences. Though these influences may cause some to consider Cyprus as a transcontinental island, such a term is properly applied only to nations whose boundaries straddle more than one continent e.g. Turkey, Russia and Egypt.
The central plain, the Mesaoria, is bordered by the Kyrenia and Pentadactylos mountains to the north and the Troödos mountain range to the south and west. There are also scattered, but significant, plains along the southern coast. The island\'s highest point is at the summit of Mount Olympus 1,952 metres (6,404 ft), in the heart of the Troödos range.
The major cities in Cyprus are the capital Nicosia (Lefkosia in Greek, Lefkoşa in Turkish), Limassol (Lemesos in Greek), Larnaca, Paphos, Famagusta (Gazimağusa or Mağusa in Turkish, Ammochostos in Greek), and Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish, Kerynia in Greek).
The climate is temperate and Mediterranean with dry summers and variably rainy winters. Summer temperatures range from warm at higher elevations in the Tröodos mountains to hot in the lowlands. Winter temperatures are mild at lower elevations, where snow rarely occurs, but are significantly colder in the mountains with sufficient snow for seasonal ski facilities. Dust storms are frequent throughout the year.
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After independence, Cyprus became a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement despite all three guarantor powers (Greece, Turkey and the UK) being NATO members. Cyprus left the Non-Aligned Movement in 2004 to join the European Union, though it retains special observer status.
The 1960 Cypriot 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, for example, was headed by a Greek Cypriot president, Archbishop Makarios III, and a Turkish Cypriot vice president, Dr. Fazıl Küçük, elected by their respective communities for five-year terms and each possessing a right of veto over certain types of legislation and executive decisions.
The House of Representatives was elected on the basis of separate voters\' rolls. Since 1964, following clashes between the two communities, the Turkish Cypriot seats in the House remained vacant, while the Greek Cypriot Communal Chamber was abolished. The responsibilities of the chamber were transferred to the newly founded Ministry of Education.
By 1967, when a military junta had seized power in Greece, the political impetus for enosis had faded, partly as a result of the non-aligned foreign policy of Cypriot President Makarios. Enosis remained an ideological goal, despite being pushed significantly further down the political agenda. Dissatisfaction in Greece with Makarios\'s perceived failure to deliver on earlier promises of enosis convinced the Greek colonels to sponsor the 1974 coup in Nicosia.
Turkey responded by launching a military operation on Cyprus, the "Cyprus Peace Operation". Turkish forces captured the northern part of the island. Many thousands of others, from both sides, left the island entirely. In addition to many of the Greek Cypriot refugees (a third of the population), many Turkish Cypriots also moved to the UK and other countries where for the past 30 years they have lived as neighbours with the Greek Cypriots. In the meantime Turkey illegally imported Turkish colonists to populate the occupied territories, thereby altering the ethnic make up of the occupied north. Under the Geneva Conventions of 1949, it is a war crime to transfer, directly or indirectly, the civilian population of a country power onto land under that country\'s military occupation.
Subsequently, the Turkish Cypriots established their own separatist institutions with a popularly elected de facto President and a Prime Minister responsible to the National Assembly exercising joint executive powers. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriots declared an independent state called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), an action opposed by the United Nations Security Council. In 1985, the TRNC adopted a constitution and held its first elections.
Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, with the UK, Greece and Turkey retaining limited rights to intervene in internal affairs.
In July 1974, after an attempted coup against the Makarios government by extreme right-wing factions aided by the Greek junta, Turkey invaded Cyprus. The coup had been quashed before the arrival of Turkish paratroopers. Turkey has ever since occupied the northern part by a military force estimated at 35 to 60 thousand troops[citation needed]. Cyprus has been divided, de facto, into the Greek-Cypriot controlled rump of the Republic, somewhat less than two-thirds of the island and the Turkish-occupied approximately one third in the north. Further, British sovereign bases under the term of the establishment of the Republic in 1960, occupy 99 square miles (256 square kilometers). The Republic of Cyprus is the legitimate internationally-recognised government of Cyprus. Turkey aside, all foreign governments and the United Nations recognise the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole island of Cyprus.
The Turkish Cypriot administration of the northern part of the island, together with Turkey, rejects the Republic\'s rule over the whole island and refers to it as the "Greek Authority of Southern Cyprus". The TRNC\'s territory, known internationally as the "occupied area", extends over the northern 36 calculated from the data provided on this page and TRNC (i.e. 3355/9251 km²) percent of the island.
The other power with territory on island of Cyprus is the United Kingdom. Under the independence agreement, the UK retained entitlement to lease two areas on the southern coast of the island, around Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Known collectively as the UK sovereign base areas, they are used as military bases.
