On the island of Cyprus, people from the Orient and Occident live side by side in a small space - which triggered an ongoing conflict and led to the division of the island, which has not yet been overcome.
Cyprus
is divided into the Greek “Republic of Cyprus” in the south and the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.
As a sovereign
state,
Cyprus is a
member of the EU.
Efforts to pacify the Cyprus conflict are hampered by the current dispute over natural gas reserves in the island's territory.
Nicosia - Today's capital of the island of
Cyprus
has an eventful
history
behind it.
With an area of 9,251 square kilometers, the island is the third largest in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia.
The strategically favorable location of Cyprus has always sparked a lot of desires - one reason why Cyprus was exposed to the influences of many cultures and rulers: The island was under Greek influence, was then first part of the Persian and then the Roman Empire, was from Richard the Lionheart and the Ottomans and finally sold to the British in 1878.
The fact that Cyprus became a British crown colony in 1925 can still be felt today, because with Akrotiri and Dhekelia there are still two British bases on the island.
Cyprus becomes independent
However, the Turkish and Greek ethnic groups who lived in
Cyprus
rebelled against British domination - especially the Greek Cypriots.
They tried - partly with acts of terror against the British colonial power - to fight for the unification of Cyprus with Greece.
In order to pacify the conflict, the independence of the
state of
Cyprus was
finally
decided
on August 16, 1960
and recognized by Great Britain, Greece and Turkey through the Zurich and London agreements.
A milestone in the
history of
Cyprus had been reached.
Cyprus: the conflict between Turks and Greeks
However, this did not result in calm on the island.
Rather, the tensions between the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek ethnic groups increased.
The situation escalated to the point that the United Nations deployed a peacekeeping force on
Cyprus in
1964
to end the violence - without success.
Instead, Turkey intervened and occupied the north of the island - according to its own statement to protect Turkish settlers.
After the protest of the United Nations against the occupation went unheard, it was decided in 1974 to largely accept the status quo and
to conclude
a
ceasefire
.
Cyprus: the division
A demarcation line, the “Green Line”, was created
between the Turkish and Greek parts of
Cyprus
and protected by the United Nations peacekeeping force.
The northern part of the island occupied by Turkey covers approximately 3,355 square kilometers, while the Greek part is 5,384 square kilometers.
The division of Cyprus was cemented in 1983 when Turkey proclaimed the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
, which, however, has not been officially recognized by any other country to date.
The state of Cyprus - a challenge for politics
Today around 1.2 million people live in
Cyprus
and the division of the
state
continues.
Even the capital Nicosia is divided: on the one hand it is the capital of the Republic of Cyprus in the Greek part and on the other hand the capital and most important metropolis of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The Green Line stretches across the island in the form of walls and barricades, more or less closed.
Crossing is only permitted at seven border crossings and upon presentation of the passport.
Since German reunification, Nicosia has been the only still divided capital in the world.
Cyprus becomes part of the EU
When the south, the
Republic of Cyprus
, tried to join the EU,
politicians made
a renewed attempt to overcome the division of the island.
The then UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan
drafted the Annan Plan, which provided for the establishment of a united Republic of Cyprus with half the political representation of the two population groups.
Greek and Turkish residents should also be better distributed over the whole island.
However, the Annan plan failed because of the Greek Cypriots, who rejected it in April 2004 with a 70 percent majority.
Nevertheless, Cyprus was
admitted to the EU
in May 2004 as a separate, sovereign
state
with a presidential government.
Legally, EU membership affects the entire island - but in fact only the Greek part, as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is still not recognized by the EU.
Cyprus: one island - two presidents
The President of the Republic of
Cyprus
has been the Christian Democratic-Conservative politician Nikos Anastasiadis since 2013.
On October 18, 2020, the Turkish Cypriot politician Ersin Tatarin was elected to this post on the Northern Cyprus side.
Cyprus: population and language
The inhabitants of
Cyprus
are called Cypriots or Cypriots.
Depending on the half of the island, the official
language is
Greek or Turkish.
The proportion of the Greek
population
, at more than 70 percent, is far larger than that of the Turkish ethnic group, to which just under 10 percent belong.
The remaining residents of the island are foreign immigrants.
This is also reflected in the religious affiliation of the Cypriots: the majority (approx. 77 percent) are Orthodox Christians, while only 21 percent of the Cypriots belong to the (mostly Sunni) Muslim faith.
Most of the population of Cyprus, around 70 percent, lives in
cities
.
In addition to the capital Nicosia, the port cities Limassol, Paphos and Larnaka are of particular economic importance.
The five most populous cities in Cyprus are (as of 2020):
Nicosia: 200,452 inhabitants
Limassol: 154,000 inhabitants
Larnaca: 72,000 inhabitants
Famagusta: 42,526 inhabitants
Paphos: 35,961 inhabitants
Cyprus: Tourism as an economic factor
The seaside resort of Agia Napa on the south coast is a major tourist destination.
Tourism is an important economic factor for Cyprus.
The beautiful island can boast a coastline of around 671 kilometers with extensive sand and pebble beaches.
Almost four million vacationers visited the small
state in
2018
, for example from Germany and Great Britain.
The flight from Munich to Larnaca takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, on the other hand, mainly attracts Turkish visitors from the mainland.
On January 1st, 2008, the Cyprus pound was replaced by the euro in the Republic of Cyprus, while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continues to use the Turkish lira.
Cyprus: geography
Cyprus
is heavily influenced by Greece, although it is approximately 830 kilometers from mainland Greece.
For comparison: the distance to Turkey is 68 kilometers and that to Syria 95 kilometers.
In purely geographical terms, Cyprus belongs to Asia, but it is counted as part of Europe because the
state has its
political and cultural roots here.
Cyprus: fertile valleys for citrus fruits
The island with a Mediterranean climate, which is the most forested in the entire Mediterranean area, is characterized by two mountain ranges: the
Kyrenia Mountains
in the north, which is part of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and the
Troodos Mountains
in the south-western interior.
The highest mountain in the volcanic Troodos Mountains,
Olympos,
is at 1,951 meters the highest point in
Cyprus
.
The longest river is the Pedias with approx. 100 kilometers.
Embedded between the two mountain ranges is the fertile and thus agriculturally important Messaria Plain, which after the partition of Cyprus is largely under Turkish rule.
Citrus fruits and potatoes are important export goods for both parts of Cyprus.
Since the rivers of Cyprus dry out badly in the hot summers, artificial irrigation is a necessity in many fields.
Cyprus: The fight for natural gas
There are also mineral resources in
Cyprus
, especially copper, chrome, clay, marble and asbestos.
In the waters around the island, which according to the law of the United Nations belong to the exclusive economic zone of the
state of
Cyprus (EEZ), larger natural gas reserves have also been discovered.
This gave rise to new political tensions: Turkey also laid claim to the coveted gas and sent its own drilling and exploration ships - unaffected by protests from Cyprus and Greece and the threat of sanctions from the EU.
