Welcome to Cyprus

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus is a Eurasian island in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea south of the Anatolian peninsula (Asia Minor) or modern-day Turkey. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The Republic of Cyprus is divided into six districts: Nicosia (THE CAPITAL), Ammochostos , Keryneia , Larnaka , Lemesos, and Pafos. A former British colony, the Republic of Cyprus gained independence in 1960 while the United Kingdom retained two Sovereign Base Areas. Following 11 years of alternating intercommunal violence and peaceful attempts at reconciliation, including the establishment of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in 1964, Turkey launched a two-stage invasion of the island in 1974 claiming it to be in response to an Athens-engineered coup. As a result around 200.000 Greek Cypriots, about one third of the Cyprus Population, were forced to leave their homes in the occupied areas and have since been prevented by the Turkish Army and the occupation regime from returning. At the same time the overwhelming majority of the Turkish Cypriot population who were leaving in the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus defied a ban imposed by the Cypriot government and moved to the occupied areas thus bringing about a de facto separation of the Cypriot population based on ethnic grounds. The occupation forces established a separatist regime to govern the occupied area, currently styling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, separated from the south by the UN-controlled Green Line and recognized only by Turkey. The Republic of Cyprus has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May 2004.