Cyprus - Discover The Amazing Holiday Island In The
Mediterranean
Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, 113 km
south of Turkey and 120 km west of the Syrian coast. The metal
"copper" in English stems from the Latin work Cyprus. Large
deposits of copper are found on the island. Geographically,
Cyprus is in Western Asia.
Historically, Cyprus has been a bridgehead between Europe and
Asia. It has interchanging periods of Levantine, Anatolian and
Greek influences.
It was in 1960 that Cyprus gained independence from the United
Kingdom. Still, U.K., Greece and Turkey retained limited rights
to intervene in Cyprus' internal affairs.
The Republic of Cyprus is the government of the island which is
internationally recognized and controls the southern two-thirds
of the island. Almost all foreign governments recognize the
sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over all of Cyprus.
Turkish Cypriots, together with Turkey, oppose the Republic's
rule over Cyprus and call it the "Greek Authority of Southern
Cyprus". They control the northern part of the island followed
by a military invasion by Turkey in the year 1974.
Since 1974, the Republic of Cyprus controls the southern
two-thirds of the island and the Turkish-Cypriot controls the
northern one-third. In reality the governments' power extends
only to the Greek Cypriot controlled areas though it is an
internationally recognized authority.
Even economically, the island is divided into Cyprus government
areas and northern Turkish Cypriot administered areas. The Greek
Cypriot economy is prosperous, but is highly susceptible to
external shocks. There were erratic growth rates in 1990s which
reflect the economy's vulnerability to swings in tourism, caused
by political instability and economic conditions in Western
Europe.
The Turkish Cypriot economy faces problems like arranging
foreign financing because it is only recognized by Turkey.
Foreign firms are also hesitant to invest there. It has
one-fifth of the population and one-third of per capita GDP of
the south. The economy remains heavily dependent on agriculture
and government services, which together employs half of the work
force.
To compensate for the economy's weakness, Turkey provides direct
and indirect aid to tourism, education, industry etc.
The Cypriots are among the most prosperous people in the
Mediterranean region. The island promotes its image as a
"bridge" between East and West, its educated English-speaking
population, moderate local costs, good airline connections and
telecommunications. Greek is predominantly spoken in the south
and Turkish in the north. Historically, Greek (its Cypriot
dialect) was spoken by nearly 82% of the population of Cyprus.
Along with Greek and Turkish, English is also widely used in
Cyprus.
The climate of Cyprus is temperate with hot and dry summers, and
cool and rainy winters.
Music in Cyprus has a variety of classical, folk and popular
genres. Folk music in Cyprus is similar to the folk music of
Greece and includes dances like sousta, syrtos, zeimbekikos,
dachas, and the kartsilamdhes.
As Cyprus was an important outpost of Christianity and European
civilization during the Crusades, a variety of styles, including
music from Armenia, France, Greece and Arabs, got merged with
the island's own culture.
Cyprus has retained its grandeur through the years of turmoil
and remains a great tourist destination in spite of political
upheavals. It is a unique place to visit with a distinct history
and culture.