CYPRUS
Cyprus, republic, and third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, located west of Syria and south of Turkey. The island has a maximum length of about 225 km (140 mi) from Cape Andreas in the north-east to the western extremity of the island. Its maximum width, from Cape Gata in the south to Cape Kormakiti in the north, is about 97 km (60 mi). The total area of the country is 9,251 sq km (3,572 sq mi).
Nicosia is the capital and largest city. Nicosia (Grk., Levkosνa; Turk., Lefkosa), city in northern Cyprus, capital of the country, on the Pedias River. Nicosia is mainly a commercial and administrative centre with some small-scale manufacturing industries. Products include processed food, clothing, textiles, and footwear. The city is served by an international airport at Larnaca, about 34 km (21 mi) to the south-east. Selimye Mosque (1209-1325), formerly the cathedral of St Sophia, is a major landmark. Also of interest are the Cyprus Museum, the Cyprus Historical Museum and Archives, and the Folk Art Museum. One of the world's oldest cities, Nicosia was the centre of an independent kingdom as early as the 7th century BC. Known in ancient times as Ledra, it came under Byzantine rule in the early 4th century AD and passed to Guy of Lusignan, the Latin king of Jerusalem, in 1192. The Lusignan kings held Nicosia until it was captured by the Venetians in 1489. The city passed to the Ottoman Turks in 1571 and to the British in 1878. It was made capital of British-ruled Cyprus in 1925, and Nicosia became the capital of independent Cyprus in 1960. The city has been divided into Turkish and Greek Cypriot zones since the Turkish invasion in 1974. Population (1991 estimate for the Greek Cypriot zone) 166,500; (1989 estimate for the Turkish zone) 39,496. Since 1974 the northern third of Cyprus has been occupied by Turkish troops and has formed, de facto, a separate-though officially unrecognized-state called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Cyprus is irregular in shape. In the extreme north-east the island narrows abruptly to form the Karpas Peninsula, which extends east towards the Syrian coast. Much of the land is a flat, treeless plain, located in the interior and called the Mesaoria (Grk., "between the mountains"); it extends from the western to the eastern coasts and is bordered on the north and south by mountain ranges. The northern range, known as the Kyrenia Range, is notable for its rocky, unbroken character. The Kyrenia Range parallels the coastline, extending into the Karpas Peninsula; its highest point is 1,019 m (3,343 ft). The southern range, called the Troodos Mountains, covers most of the south-western portion of the island. This range is broken and has many abrupt cliffs. Mount Olympus (1,953 m/6,406 ft) is its highest peak. Cyprus has no permanent rivers. A number of watercourses bring the overflow from the winter rains down to the Mesaoria plain in spring but are dry for most of the year. The island has a few freshwater lakes and two large saltwater lakes.
Cyprus has a typical Mediterranean climate, with summers that are hot and dry and a cool, rainy season that extends from October to March. The mean annual temperature is 20.6° C (69° F). The annual rainfall averages less than 500 mm (20 in).
The chief natural resource of Cyprus is its arable land. The mountain soils tend to be peaty on higher flatlands but are shallow and stony on the slopes. Farming provides income for much of the population. Copper and other minerals were formerly a major source of export earnings, but mining has declined considerably in importance.
Forest growths of pine, cypress, and cedar cover about one-seventh of the total area of Cyprus, principally in the mountainous areas. Other indigenous trees include juniper, plane, oak, olive, and carob; the eucalyptus has been planted extensively as an afforestation measure. Cyprus has few wild animals. The most notable of these is the mouflon, a wild sheep, which is no longer common. Birdlife is varied because the island is visited by migratory flocks. Among the prominent native birds are several varieties of partridge, especially francolin, and other game birds, including snipe, quail, woodcock, and plover.
Greek-speaking Cypriots make up about 80 per cent of the population. About 18 per cent of the population is of Turkish extraction, and the remainder is made up of Armenians and other ethnic groups. Both the Greek and Turkish communities retain the way of life, customs, and, to a great extent, the national identity of their coreligionists on the mainland. Mass migrations since the Turkish invasion in 1974 have effected a virtually complete geographical separation of Greeks and Turks, with the former occupying the southern two-thirds of the island and the latter occupying the remainder. The people are predominantly farmers who work the land surrounding their villages.
The combined population of the Greek and Turkish sectors (1992 official estimate) was about 719,000. The overall population density was about 78 per sq km (201 per sq mi). The principal city is Nicosia, the capital, with an estimated 1991 population of 166,500 for the Greek Cypriot zone and an estimated 1989 population of 39,496 in the Turkish zone. Limassol (129,700), Larnaca (59,600), and Famagusta (20,516) are the chief ports. Limassol, town in southern Cyprus, capital of Limassol district, on Akrotiri Bay (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea) near the capital city of Nicosia. Limassol is the most important town on the south coast. It exports agricultural produce, wines, chromite, asbestos, and ochre. Citrus fruit, barley, livestock, olives, and nuts are all grown in the surrounding area; food products, building materials, wine, brandy, perfumes, cigarettes, and beer are manufactured here. Limassol is the site of a technical school. The ruins of Kolossi Castle, where King Richard I of England is supposed to have honeymooned with Berengaria in 1191, are to the west; also nearby are the ruins of the 11th-century BC Mycenaean colony of Curium. The ruins of Amathus, founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC, are to the east of the city. In the city is a 12th-century Venetian castle, now a prison, in the chapel of which Richard and Berengaria are said to have been married. The city is called Lemesos by the Greeks and Limassol by the Turks. Population (1991 estimate) 129,700. Famagusta, town in eastern Cyprus, administrative centre of Famagusta District, near the capital city of Nicosia. A seaport, Famagusta is a centre for the export of citrus fruit and other agricultural produce, including livestock; other major economic activities include cotton spinning, the distillation of brandy, and fishing. Near the town are the ruins of the ancient city of Salamis, destroyed in AD 647. Famagusta was a haven for Christian refugees in 1291 after the fall of Acre (Akko, in what is now Israel) to the Ottoman Turks. The Genoese seized the town in 1376 and controlled it until 1464, when it became a part of the kingdom of Cyprus. In 1489 Famagusta passed into the hands of the Venetians, under whose control it became a rich and flourishing seaport with 30,000 inhabitants. In 1571, after a long siege, it fell to the Turks. Over a period of several decades it began to diminish in importance, and in 1735 an earthquake virtually destroyed it. The town came under British administration in 1878. Its harbour, once choked with silt, was thoroughly restored. During the Cypriot fighting in 1974 the town was occupied by Turkish forces and its residents displaced. Population (1989 estimate) 20,500.
Members of the Greek community adhere to the Church of Cyprus, which is in doctrinal agreement with the Eastern Orthodox church, but is independent and has no allegiance to any patriarch. The archbishop primate, who is bishop of Nicosia, and the three other bishops of the Cypriot church are elected by the church membership. The Turkish minority is mostly Muslim. Other small religious groups include Maronites (Christian Arabs), Roman Catholics, and Jews.
Greek and Turkish are the official languages and are taught in schools and used in broadcasting. English is widely spoken in the main towns. Cypriot Greek, although related to the language of the Greek mainland, is a dialect believed by language scholars to resemble more closely the speech of ancient Greece than any modern Greek dialect.
Separate educational systems are maintained by the Greek-speaking and Turkish-speaking communities. Greek Cypriot education is administered by the Ministry of Education. Six years of elementary education are free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 11. Six years of secondary school are also provided. In the early 1990s Greek Cypriot elementary schools had about 62,900 pupils enrolled each year, and Greek Cypriot secondary schools had about 44,600. Higher education is provided by the University of Cyprus (1988) and by teacher-training, technical, and vocational schools. Turkish Cypriot education is administered by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The illiteracy rate for both communities is low.
Examples of Cypriot folk art, which is an outgrowth of traditional Greek art, are in the Folk Art Museum (1950) in Nicosia. The Cyprus Museum (1883) at Nicosia houses many of the archaeological artefacts found on the island. Museums in Paphos, Larnaca, and Limassol display other important collections.
Cyprus has a gross national product (World Bank estimate, 1989-1991 average prices) of about US$6.1 billion. In the Greek Cypriot sector, this is equivalent to about US$8,640 per capita, whereas in the Turkish Cypriot sector it is estimated at about US$3,447 per capita. The economy of Cyprus is predominantly agricultural. Manufacturing and services are also important. After the fighting of 1974 divided the island, the economy suffered, but the Greek sector had a rapid recovery. In the early 1990s, annual budget figures showed about US$1.68 billion in revenue and US$1.86 billion in expenditure in the Greek sector, and US$59 million in revenue and expenditure in the Turkish sector.
About 47 per cent of the land area is under cultivation. Most of the holdings are small and are worked using unsophisticated methods. The principal crops are potatoes, grapes, citrus fruit, barley, wheat, carobs, and olives. The output of cereals and olives is insufficient to meet domestic demands. Livestock breeding, mainly of sheep and goats, is important. Pigs, cattle (including draft oxen), donkeys, mules, and horses are also raised. Dairy products are mainly cheese and yoghurt made from sheep and goat milk.
The chief forest products are lumber and firewood. Sponge fisheries in the coastal waters are valuable; fishing, otherwise, is not a significant source of wealth.
The chief mineral is copper, which was named after Cyprus (Grk., Kypros) because it was the main source of copper for the ancient world. Other minerals include asbestos, iron pyrites, gypsum, and chromite.
Light industries are becoming increasingly important on Cyprus. Manufactured goods include clothing and accessories, processed foods, footwear, construction materials, wine, cigarettes, chemicals, and cooking oils.
The monetary unit of the Greek sector of Cyprus is the Cyprus pound of 100 cents (0.4678 pounds equal US$1; 1995). Currency is issued by the Central Bank of Cyprus, which also regulates the money supply and acts as banker for the Greek and British commercial banks on the island. The monetary unit of the Turkish sector is the Turkish lira (40,483.7 lira equal US$1; 1995). The annual export trade in the Greek sector during the early 1990s totalled about US$872 million. The chief exports included agricultural products, principally potatoes and citrus fruit; wines; and manufactured goods, including clothing. Imports, primarily petroleum, textiles, cereals, and manufactured goods, amounted to about US$2.9 billion yearly. Great Britain is the major trade partner. In the Turkish sector, annual exports in the early 1990s were about US$52 million and imports were US$301 million. Turkey is the Turkish sector's major trade partner and financial benefactor; nevertheless, the United Kingdom is the leading purchaser of Turkish Cypriot exports.
Cyprus has about 10,780 km (6,700 mi) of roads, of which about half are paved. The country has no railway system. There are three international airports-at Larnaca and Paphos, in the Greek Cypriot zone, and at Tymbou (Ercan), in Turkish Cypriot territory. In the Greek Cypriot sector, two government-controlled radio transmitters are operated by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation; television was introduced in 1957. Broadcasts by the Bayrak Radio and TV Corporation serve the Turkish Cypriot sector. More than 309,000 television sets and 270,000 radios are in use, receiving both Greek- and Turkish-language programmes.
In theory the government of Cyprus is based on a 1960 constitution that apportioned power between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities according to their relative populations. In 1963 and 1964, however, the Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government. The institutions of the government continued to function with few changes, but their authority was limited in most respects to the Greek Cypriot community. In 1974, after Cypriot forces led by Greek officers overthrew Cyprus's president, Turkey invaded Cyprus and won control of the northern third of the country. In 1975 the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus was established in northern Cyprus; its constitution (1975), as amended, provides for a popularly elected president, a 50-member unicameral legislative assembly, and a system of independent courts. The Turkish sector in November 1983 unilaterally declared itself to be the independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, although the United Nations (UN) has refused to recognize the state.
The chief executive under the 1960 constitution is a Greek Cypriot president, elected by the Greek Cypriot community for a five-year term; the constitution calls for the Turkish Cypriot community to elect the vice president. The constitution vests legislative power in a House of Representatives to be composed of 35 Greek Cypriots and 15 Turkish Cypriots. The Greek Cypriot government continues to abide by the 1960 constitution where feasible, despite the lack of participation by the Turkish Cypriot community. In 1985 the number of Greeks in the legislature increased from 35 to 56. Since 1975, the Turkish Cypriots have had a separate constitution providing for their own president and legislative institutions.
The chief towns are administered by municipal corporations. Smaller towns are governed by commissions made up of a mukhtar (headman) and a body of azas (elders).
Under reforms instituted in 1964, the legal system in the Greek Cypriot community is headed by a supreme court. Lesser tribunals include assize courts and district courts. A supreme court and subordinate courts have also been established in the Turkish sector.
The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities have separate military organizations, the former aided by Greece, the latter by Turkey, which maintains 27,000 troops on the island. Great Britain also maintains around 4,100 troops in the sovereign base areas of Cyprus. The UN stationed a peacekeeping force on Cyprus in 1963; in the early 1990s this force totalled some 960 members.
According to archaeological investigation and conjecture, the aboriginal inhabitants of Cyprus were Indo-European people who had a written language. Extensive excavation has shown that during the Neolithic and Bronze ages, the Cypriots had an advanced civilization.
The recorded history of Cyprus begins with the occupation of part of the island by Egypt in about or just before 1450 BC, during the reign of Thutmose III. In subsequent centuries seafaring and trading peoples from the Mediterranean countries set up scattered settlements along its coast. The first Greek colony is believed to have been founded by traders from Arcadia in about 1400 BC. The Phoenicians began to colonize the island in about 800 BC. Beginning with the rise of Assyria during the 8th century BC, Cyprus was under the control of each one of the empires that successively dominated the eastern Mediterranean. Assyrian authority was followed by Egyptian occupation (550 BC), then Persian (525 BC). During the Persian occupation, King Evagoras I, ruler of the Cypriot city of Salamis, made the first recorded attempt to unify the city-states of Cyprus. In 391 BC Evagoras, with the aid of Athens, led a successful revolt against Persia and temporarily made himself master of the island. Shortly after his death, however, Cyprus again became a Persian possession. For almost a thousand years thereafter, control of the island passed from empire to empire. Alexander the Great took Cyprus from Persia in 333 BC, and after his death in 323 BC the island again became an Egyptian possession, under the Ptolemies. Rome gained control in 58 BC, followed by the Byzantines in AD 395, who ruled until 1191, when Cyprus was seized by Richard I of England. He gave it to Guy of Lusignan, titular king of Jerusalem-the Lusignan dynasty built several large forts and castles, some of which are still standing. In 1489 Venice took control of Cyprus. Turkey captured the island in 1571 and held it until 1878, when Turkey was defeated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Fearing greater expansion by Russia, Turkey induced the British to administer Cyprus.
The move served as a warning to Russia that any attempt to expand towards the Dardanelles would conflict directly with British interests. Under the enabling convention, signed by Turkey and the United Kingdom on June 4, 1878, the British received complete control of Cyprus for an annual rental of about US$500,000, while Turkey retained nominal title. When the British administrators assumed office in 1879, they were presented with a petition from the archbishop and the Greek community calling for enosis (Grk., "union"), that is, the political amalgamation of Cyprus with the kingdom of Greece. The petition was denied. Because Turkey joined the Central Powers in World War I (1914-1918), the United Kingdom nullified the 1878 treaty in November 1914 and annexed Cyprus. The British government then offered Cyprus to Greece if Greece would agree to enter the war on the Allied side. Greece was given one week to decide, and when the decision was delayed, the British withdrew the offer. By the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), the peace arrangement imposed on the Turks after the war, Turkey formally recognized British possession of Cyprus. Two years later the island was made a crown colony. In 1931 resentment over government measures resulted in serious riots. The British suppressed the riots, abolished the legislative council, and banned all political parties. Shortly after World War II ended in 1945, the enosis issue again began to create tension in Cyprus, and in 1946 the British proposed constitutional reforms leading to self-government on Cyprus. Meanwhile a Communist-controlled Cypriot organization, the Anorthotikon Komma Ergazomenou Laou (Progressive Party of Working People) known as AKEL, proclaimed full support for the enosis movement. The AKEL attracted a considerable following.
In 1948 the bishop of Citium of Cyprus, Mihail Christodoulou
Mouskos, later Makarios III, began to organize support for enosis through the
Church of Cyprus to exclude Communist influence and to restore the temporal
power of the church. IMakarios III (1913-1977), Cypriot Greek leader who was
Orthodox archbishop of Cyprus and first President of Cyprus. Makarios, was born
August 13, 1913, in Ano Panaya, Paphos, Cyprus, the son of a shepherd. Educated
at the Kykkos monastery, the Pancyprian Gymnasium, and the universities of
Athens and Boston, he was elected archbishop of Cyprus in 1950. Working for
enosis (union) with Greece, long desired by the Greek Cypriot majority, Makarios
repeatedly urged Britain, which controlled Cyprus, and the UN to allow a
plebiscite. To protect the Turkish minority, however, they refused. Meanwhile,
Makarios organized a patriotic youth group, which participated in terrorist
attacks, and began to accept Communist support. When riots spread in Cyprus,
Greece, and Turkey in 1955, the British sent in troops and eventually exiled
Makarios to the Seychelles Islands in 1956. As a compromise, Makarios accepted
Cypriot independence in 1959. Thrice elected president, he survived four
assassination attempts, temporary deposition by a coup in 1974, and Turkish
invasion, striving always to balance Greek and Turkish demands. He died in
Nicosia, August 3, 1977.
In January 1950 the British refused his request for a plebiscite on enosis. When
the church hierarchy polled the Greek community, however, 95.7 per cent favoured
union with Greece. In October Bishop Mouskos was elected archbishop primate of
Cyprus, with the title Makarios III, and he soon became the recognized leader of
the enosis movement. A British announcement that the strategic position of
Cyprus made it impossible to discuss any change in the political status of the
island was followed by a terrorist campaign against the British that was
instituted by an underground movement of Greek Cypriots known as the Ethniki
Organosis Kypriakou Agonos (National Organization of Cypriot Struggle), known as
EOKA. In August 1954 Greece, which had previously avoided involvement in the
situation because of its alliance with the United Kingdom, unsuccessfully sought
to have the question of Cyprus brought before the UN General Assembly. In the
subsequent UN discussion, Turkey announced that it opposed the union of Cyprus
with Greece and declared that if the British withdrew from Cyprus, the island
should revert to Turkey. Early in 1955 the Cypriots intensified their terrorist
campaign against the British. A British attempt to settle the dispute by
conference with the foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey was unsuccessful.
Early in 1956 the British government exiled Archbishop Makarios and the bishop
of Kyrenia to the Seychelles Islands on the grounds that the church leaders were
responsible for the enosis demonstrations. The reaction in Cyprus to this move
was so violent that the government declared a state of emergency. In early 1957
the UN General Assembly asked that negotiations be resumed. The EOKA leaders
proposed a truce conditional on the release of Archbishop Makarios and the
resumption of negotiations with him. The archbishop was released but was not
permitted to return to Cyprus.
In June 1958 the British announced a plan to maintain the international status quo of Cyprus for seven years but to establish representative government and communal autonomy. Archbishop Makarios and the Greek and Turkish governments rejected the British plan, but on October 1, the British put a modified version into effect. Talks held in 1959 among the various parties led to an agreement on the general features of a constitution for an independent republic of Cyprus. The status of the republic was guaranteed by the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Greece. The United Kingdom retained sovereignty over two military bases. Archbishop Makarios, who returned to Cyprus on March 1, was elected president on December 13; Fazil Kόchόk, a Turkish Cypriot, became vice president. Independence was proclaimed on August 16, 1960. Cyprus was admitted to the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations. In December 1963, Greek and Turkish Cypriots clashed after Makarios proposed constitutional changes, including abolition of the Turkish minority's power to veto laws in the legislature. Fighting spread throughout the island, with the Turkish Cypriots demanding partition while the Greek Cypriots insisted on a unitary state with minority rights safeguarded. After both Greece and Turkey threatened to intervene, full-scale civil war was forestalled by British troops; the UN appointed a mediator and organized a peacekeeping force to patrol the island. Acceptance of a UN resolution calling for a cease-fire on August 10, 1964, ended sharp fighting between the factions. Subsequent UN efforts to bring about a settlement failed, and bitterness between Greece and Turkey continued to increase. Makarios was reelected president in 1968 and 1973. Renewed tension in the early 1970s culminated, on July 15, 1974, in Makarios being ousted from office and forced into exile by members of the Cypriot national guard who opposed his reluctance to unite the island with Greece. The national guard, which had close ties with the Greek government, installed Nikos Sampson, a newspaper publisher, as president, but he was replaced on July 23 by Glafkos Clerides, president of the Cyprus House of Representatives, after Turkish forces landed on the island. By late August, following fighting that left many people homeless, the Turks controlled the northern third of the island. In December Makarios returned to Cyprus and assumed the presidency. On February 13, 1975, a semi-independent Turkish Cypriot state was proclaimed in the Turkish-held sector. In April 1975 intermittent talks began under UN auspices to create a federal system with Greek and Turkish zones. The talks continued after Makarios died in 1977 and was succeeded by Spyros Kyprianou, who was reelected in February 1983. In November 1983 Rauf R. Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot president, proclaimed his community an independent republic, suspending all talks. George Vassiliou defeated Clerides and Kyprianou in the 1988 presidential elections. The UN-sponsored talks resumed on an intermittent basis in 1988. In 1991 the UN passed a resolution urging the creation of a federal state made up of two politically equal communities. Cyprus hosted the Non-aligned Movement Conference in February 1992 and urged closer ties with Western countries. In the 1993 elections Vassilion lost his presidential seat to Clerides, the candidate of the right-wing party Democratic Rally.