Holidays and living on Cyprus
- where East meets West
The modern history of Cyprus - from independence to divided island
Cyprus - Discover The Amazing Holiday Island
In The Mediterranean by: Mark Minding
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.
Anysubject has both Greek and
Turkish tutors throughout the UK and beyond. We also offer contact
with these tutors via our excellent online service.
If you would like to see our prices
for Piano tuition - please click here
Greek and
Turkish
lessons
About the author
Mark Minding is a top travel journalist
from the UK who has recently established a string of websites based on his
travels, including places like Cyprus (
http://www.cypruss.co.uk
), Thailand (
http://www.thailands.co.uk ), and New York (
http://www.newyorkz.co.uk
).
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