CYPRUS

n.

officially Republic of Cyprus Greek Kípros Turkish K 0131; br 0131; s

Island and country, northeastern Mediterranean Sea.

Area: 3,572 sq mi (9,251 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 970,000 (whole island). Capital: Nicosia . Cyprus is currently divided into two de facto states. The Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognized government, occupies the southern two-thirds of the island. Its population (2002 est.: 692,000) is predominantly Greek. Language: Greek (official). Religion: Eastern Orthodoxy. Currency: Cyprus pound. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third of the country. Its population (2002 est.: 215,000) is overwhelmingly Turkish. Languages: Turkish (official), English. Religion: Islam. Currency: Turkish lira. The third largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus lies about 40 mi (65 km) off the southern coast of Turkey. It is largely mountainous, with a fertile heartland and coastal plains. Mount Olympus is its highest peak, 6,401 ft (1,951 m) above sea level. The climate is Mediterranean. Cyprus has a free-enterprise economy based mainly on trade and manufacturing, and it ranks high in the world in merchant shipping. The internationally recognized government is a multiparty republic with a unicameral legislature; its head of state and government is the president. Cyprus was inhabited by the early Neolithic Period ; by the late Bronze Age it had been visited and settled by Mycenaean s and Achaeans, who introduced Greek culture and language, and it became a trading centre. By 800 BC Phoenician s had begun to settle there. Ruled over the centuries by the Assyrian, Persian, and Ptolemaic empires, it was annexed by the Roman Republic and Empire in 58 BC. It was part of the Byzantine Empire in the 4th–11th centuries AD. It was conquered by the English king Richard I (the Lionheart) in 1191. A part of the Venetian trading empire from 1489, it was taken by Ottoman Empire in 1573. In 1878 the British assumed control, and Cyprus became a British crown colony in 1924. It gained independence in 1960. Conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots led to the establishment of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in 1964. In 1974, fearing a movement to unite Cyprus with Greece, the Republic of Turkey sent troops to occupy the northern third of the country. Turkish Cypriots established a functioning government, which obtained recognition only from Turkey. Conflict has continued, and the UN peacekeeping mission has remained in place. Negotiations to reunify the island under a single government have been inconclusive.