Cyprus - About the Country


Cyprus (Kypros) is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The Capital is Nicosia (Levkòsia).

Cyprus is 240 km long and 100 km wide, which makes it the third largest island in the Mediterranean sea. There are two mountain ranges, the Troodos Mountains and the smaller Kyrenia Range with the central plain named Mesaoria in between.

Cyprus has a rather nasty history, during the 20th century Greece and Turkey were fighting about the island. The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island, but there is still a Turkish enclave in the northern part of the island. Cyprus is independent of Greece, but the culture is definitely greek, language, religion and anything, and like Greece it is a member of the EU. As a result the occupation is viewed as illegal under international law and amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory. We have no political opinion on this matter but would suggest tourists should avoid the northern part of the island.