A brief overview of the beautiful island of Cyprus
Our apartments are located in the Turkish part of Cyprus on the well-known “Long Beach” with a length of 1.5 km between Famagusta (Mağusa) and Iskele (Trikomo). Culturally significant sights and scenic excursion destinations can be reached in a short time. One of the highlights is the Karpas region, a natural park, where you drive to the edge of the island of Cyprus.
Location and climate
Cyprus with the capital Lefkosa (Turkish) and Nicosia (Greek) is the third-largest Mediterranean island after Sicily and Sardinia. Cyprus you can find in the northeastern part of the Levantine Sea. Geographically, it belongs to Asia, but politically and culturally it is mostly counted as part of Europe.
Cyprus has a Mediterranean climate with a distinctly continental character. Temperatures are higher than in the northern Mediterranean and hot desert winds often blow over the sea from the Levantine coast. The Mediterranean around Cyprus has the highest water temperatures in the entire area. In February around 17 ° C is reached, in August around 28 ° C.
The history of Cyprus is very special
Culturally, you look back a long way. The first permanent settlement of Cyprus took place in the Neolithic Age. Cyprus had been supplying the eastern Mediterranean with copper since the Bronze Age. Thereafter Cyprus became a part of the Assyrian, Egyptian and Persian spheres of influence. The kingdom of Salamis gradually gained dominance over the island.
The Cypriots and Alexander the Great
united in 332 BC. After Alexander’s death in 323 BC, Cyprus was ruled by Ptolemei, one of the best of Alexander’s commanders. And in BC Cyprus was annexed to the Roman-Byzantine Empire for about 1200 years.
Crusaders, Genoa and Venice:
The English King Richard the Lionheart conquered the island during the Third Crusade in 1191. As a result, Cyprus changed many times under different rulers of that time. 1196 was the Roman-German Emperor Heinrich VI. Liege of Cyprus. In 1232 the patricians came from the Republic of Genoa with extensive trade privileges through Henry the First. In 1464 the Venetians succeeded in taking Kyrenia and Famagusta with Egyptian and Spanish-Sicilian mercenaries. The island belonged to the Republic of Venice until 1571.
Ottomans and British:
Ottoman rule lasted from 1571 to 1878 (de jure to 1914). In 1878 the Ottoman Empire leased the island of Cyprus to Great Britain. When the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War (1914) on the side of the Central Powers, the island was annexed by the British. In 1925 Cyprus became a crown colony. In 1955, the EOKA, a Greek Cypriot underground army, began the fight against the British colonial power with acts of terrorism and attacks. On August 16, 1960, Cyprus gained independence due to the Zurich and London Accords between Great Britain, Greece and Turkey. At the same time, active and passive women’s suffrage was introduced.
Cyprus conflict after independence:
After unrest and tensions between the ethnic groups in the Republic of Cyprus, a United Nations peacekeeping force was deployed in 1964 to prevent the Cyprus conflict from escalating. Citing its role as a guaranteeing and protecting power for the Turkish islanders, Turkey intervened and occupied northern Cyprus. A ceasefire agreement was concluded on August 16, 1974, and the United Nations peacekeeping force has been monitoring compliance with the ceasefire ever since.
Opening of the borders of North and South Cyprus:
In 2003 the border between the two parts of the country was opened again after a long period. On April 3, 2008, an additional border crossing was opened in the pedestrian zone on Ledrastreet in the old town in the capital, called Lefkosa in Turkish and Nicosia in Greek. This is the only one in the center and only open to pedestrians and cyclists.
Northern Cyprus is called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the official currency is the Turkish Lira, the official language is Turkish. Ercan Airport, which is close to the capital Lefkosa, connects Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.