The European island nation Republic of Cyprus is located in the Eastern Aegean area of the Mediterranean. Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean - it’s located south of Turkey, west of Lebanon and Syria, and northwest of Israel.

The Two Sides of Cyprus

Following a coup instigated by the ruling Greek dictatorship in 1974 and the Turkish military offensive which followed, it was divided into a Greek southern side and the Turkish northern site. An incomplete separation of these two communities had earlier been caused by inter-ethnic violence. When independence occurred in 1960 there was a Greek majority of the population of around 77%, and many people assumed that Cyprus was part of the wider Greek culture. In the fourth century the island joined the Byzantine Empire, and between the years 1571 and 1878 it formed part of the Ottoman Empire - with more than 18% Turkish minority by 1960. Turkish Cypriots are Sunni Muslim, while Greek Cypriots are Christian Orthodox.

Geography and Location

Cyprus is nearby to Turkey, Egypt and Syria and, interestingly, both Turkish and Greek Cypriots generally prefer to consider themselves living closer to Europe as opposed to the Middle East and Africa. The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia and is centrally located, known as Lefkosha by Turkish Cypriots and Lefkosia by Greek Cypriots. The city is divided and as such it functions as a capital city of each side.

Cyprus began showing its independence in 1960, after nearly one hundred years of British colonial rule. The demographics of Cyprus at that time were –

Greek Cypriots - 77 percent

Turkish Cypriots - 18.3 percent

Armenians–Gregorians - 0.6 percent; and

Roman Catholics and Maronites - 0.5 percent

This amounted to a total population of 573,566. However, the populations statistics do not seem to be agreed upon since the 1974 division. A large number of Turkish Cypriots left due to the failing economic climate on their side of the island, and at the same time the majority of Turkish settlers moved in because they considered Northern Cyprus to be a better choice than Turkey. So, as at 1977 new figures show that the population was almost 736,000; with 85,000 Turkish settlers located on the side of Turkish Cypriots, while 45,000 Turkish Cypriots have emigrated.

Linguistics

Greek Cypriots employ Standard Modern Greek, while Standard Modern Turkish is employed by Turkish Cypriots. Each sector of the community uses what is generally known as the Cypriots dialect. In terms of literacy, Cyprus enjoys a very high standard of literacy, with most people being able to effectively be understood in English – particularly those in their twenties and younger.